The rent for these houses was also about twenty-five percent higher than normal for the area.
The town however was not a model the homes on the outskirts of town were shabbily built - some without any kind of plumbing. From the outside, Pullman appeared to be a model town, and guided tours were given to impress outsiders. These cuts were bad in themselves, but when coupled with Pullman’s actions of not lowering the rents for his company owned homes in Pullman, the laborers began to unite. The problem arose when after the panic of 1893 the workers of Pullman received several wage cuts that on the average added up to twenty-five percent. This town was conceived and designed on the premise of being a model town for his workers, with every aspect complete including parks and a library. Pullman founded the town of Pullman as a place where his workers could live. One of these manufacturing locations was in Pullman, Illinois. Pullman Palace Car Company was famed for its sleeper and luxury rail cars that it manufactured. Ultimately, this political climate caused resentment amongst workers and resulted in many residents eventually losing long-term affection for their towns such was the case at Pullman, Chicago. Accordingly, workers often had no say in local affairs and therefore, felt dictated. Other times, a town may not officially be a company town, but it may be a town where the majority of citizens are employed by a single company, thus creating a similar situation to a company town (especially in regard to the town’s economy).Īlthough economically successful, company towns sometimes failed politically due to a lack of elected officials and municipally owned services.
If the owning company cuts back or goes out of business, the economic effect on the company town is devastating, as people move to jobs elsewhere.Ĭompany towns often become regular public cities and towns as they grew and attracted other business enterprises, pool transportation and services infrastructure. The company may also donate a church building to a local congregation, operate parks, host cultural events such as concerts, and so on. Typically, a company town is isolated from neighbors and centered on a large production factory, such as a lumber or steel mill or an automobile plant and the citizens of the town either work in the factory, work in one of the smaller businesses, or is a family member of someone who does. Since company stores often had a monopoly in company towns, it was possible to pay in scrip (a term for any substitute for legal tender). Dam sites and war-industry camps founded other company towns. Origins: Traditional settings for company towns were for the most part where extractive industries existed– coal, metal mines, lumber - and had established a monopoly franchise.
#Factory town mining free
In the South, free laborers and convict laborers were often housed in the same spaces, and suffered equally terrible mistreatment. Company towns often housed laborers in fenced-in or guarded areas, with the excuse that they were “protecting” laborers from unscrupulous traveling salesmen. Without external competition, housing costs and groceries in company towns could become exorbitant, and the workers built up large debts that they were required to pay off before leaving. In some cases, companies paid employees with a scrip that was only good at company stores. The remoteness and lack of transportation prevented workers from leaving for other jobs or to buy from other, independent merchants. In other cases, the company’s motivations were less ideal. Saloons or other places or services believed to be negative influences were prohibited. Churches, schools, libraries, and other amenities were constructed in order to encourage healthy communities and productive workers. In some situations, company towns developed out of a paternalistic effort to create a utopian worker’s village. As a pragmatic solution, the employer sometimes developed a company town, where an individual company owned all the buildings and businesses. Introduction: In the 1890s, in remote locations such as railroad construction sites, lumber camps, turpentine camps, or coal mines, jobs often existed far from established towns. In: Housing, Programs Company Towns in the U.S.
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