What was life like in a company town?

Company towns often housed laborers in fenced-in or guarded areas, with the excuse that they were “protecting” laborers from unscrupulous travelling salesmen. In the South, free laborers and convict laborers were often housed in the same spaces, and suffered equally terrible mistreatment.

What was life like in a company coal town?

West Virginia coal operators built small, company-owned towns for their miners to live in. The coal towns were almost always unincorporated; there were no elected officials, no independent police forces. Owners hired private detective agencies to watch over their workforce.

Why did company towns fail?

Although economically successful, company towns sometimes failed politically due to a lack of elected officials and municipally owned services. Accordingly, workers often had no say in local affairs and therefore, felt dictated. Pullman founded the town of Pullman as a place where his workers could live.

Are company towns still a thing?

There have been approximately 2,000 of these industry-based communities in America, though many no longer exist. But here are 12 examples of company towns you can still visit today. When George M. Aside from the strike, Pullman achieved his goal of creating a model company town — from the outside, at least.

What was wage slavery in company towns?

In hard times, a steady wage and company-provided food and shelter can sound like a pretty good deal, but the wages were often paid in “scrip,” company-printed currency that could only be spent at stores and establishments owned by the company. The effect was to increase workers’ dependancy on their employers.

What does a company town look like?

Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and recreation facilities. Some company towns have had high ideals, but many have been regarded as controlling and/or exploitative.

What is the meaning of a company town?

Definition of company town : a community that is dependent on one firm for all or most of the necessary services or functions of town life (such as employment, housing, and stores)

What was it like living in a mining town?

Life in a mining town was challenging in the best of times. Thrown up in haste to accommodate the throngs — nearly all of them young, unattached men — hotels and houses were crudely made of wood, neither cool in summer nor warm in winter. And winters could be fierce in the mountains.

Was Hershey PA a company town?

Due to the remote location of the factory, Hershey also constructed a town for his employees, intending it as an industrial utopia that reflected his progressive beliefs. However, after the chocolate king died in 1945, Hershey survived, unlike other company towns, and chocolate is still made there today.

How did company towns trap workers in wage slavery?

How do company towns work?

A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and recreation facilities.

All life in company towns revolved around the company-owned store. Since these towns were located in isolated areas, the company store offered the only option for buying groceries, mining tools and other goods. Most company stores also contained the local post office and payroll office.

What is a company town?

As a pragmatic solution, the employer sometimes developed a company town, where an individual company owned all the buildings and businesses. In some situations, company towns developed out of a paternalistic effort to create a utopian worker’s village.

Are company towns good or bad?

Some company towns have had high ideals, but many have been regarded as controlling and/or exploitative. Others developed more or less in unplanned fashion, such as Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, United States, one of the oldest, which began as an LC&N Co. mining camp and mine site nine miles (14.5 km) from the nearest outside road.

What happened to company towns?

During the Industrial Revolution, company towns—communities built by businesses—sprouted up across the country. For anyone who wants to tour what remains of them today, it’s helpful to remember two things.