The Mill Girls in Story & Song

The Mill Girls in Story & Song is a 45-minute museum tour examining the lives and work of women in the early American industrial economy. At the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, the tour focuses on the Boston Manufacturing Company and the Boston Associates’ textile mills in Waltham and Lowell, exploring the trials and achievements of the women who worked there.

The program combines historical interpretation with songs written by mill women and recorded during a museum concert by historical folk singer Diane Taraz. Artifacts and images of the women help show how they became the first industrial workforce in the United States, challenged the belief that women could not be breadwinners, and participated in early workers’ rights movements and trade unions. The tour examines these workers as a case study in American industrialization and covers a limited section of the museum’s exhibits.

When: Friday, November 20, 2026

Showtimes: 11:00 AM–11:45 AM

Tickets: Free tour. Visitors who stay to tour the rest of the museum are asked to pay regular museum admission.

Run time: 45 minutes

Venue: Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation

Address: 154 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453

Format: Guided industry and innovation tour featuring historical storytelling, mill-worker songs, artifacts, and images

Featured artist: Diane Taraz, historical folk singer

Note: The free tour covers only a limited portion of the museum’s exhibits; regular admission applies to the remainder of the museum.