The early 20th century was the golden age of American factory work — a time when steel mills, textile plants, and assembly lines roared to life across cities like Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Chicago. Inside, machines clanged and sputtered as millions of workers clocked in each day in search of steady wages and a shot at the new American dream. As the country’s manufacturing sector grew, these factories churned out everything from automobiles and airplanes to household goods at breakneck speed.
But behind the booming production and soaring profits lay a much tougher reality: Grueling hours, hazardous conditions, and even child labor. These 19 photographs capture both the promise and the price of America’s manufacturing heyday.
1. Photographer Lewis Hine Captures a Young Girl in a Textile Factory During the Early 20th Century
2. In an Era Before Labor Laws, Children Like These Worked Long Hours in Dangerous Conditions
3. In the Shadowy Depths of Mines, Boys and Mules Worked Side-by-Side to Keep the Coal Moving
4. Another Reminder That America’s Industrial Rise Came at a Steep Human Cost
5. Colorized Image of Child Laborers Working in a Glass and Bottle Factory in Indiana, 1908
6. American Workers Standing Next to Machinery, Circa 1905
7. Workers, Including a 15-Year-Old Boy, Pictured at the Pittman Handle Factory in Texas, 1913
8. Assembly Workers Putting In Hours at an Airplane Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, 1918
9. Machinery Used for Processing Lumber at a Factory in Pittsburgh, Circa 1910
10. Workers at a Fountain Pen Factory in Fort Madison, Iowa, 1935
11. A Factory Town Housing Workers for the ‘Homestead Steel Works, Carnegie Steel Co.,’ in Pennsylvania, 1910
12. Workers Pictured on an Assembly Line Inside the Ford Motor Company Factory at Highland Park, Michigan, Circa 1913
13. A Woman Works at a Radio Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Circa 1928
14. A Man Pushes a Crate While Working at a Stove Factory in Chelsea, Michigan, 1901
15. A Boy Works on Crafting Melon Baskets at a Melon Factory in Evansville, Indiana, 1908
16. ‘Margaret Ciampa, 14-Years-Old, Finishing Flowers at the Boston Floral Supply Co., Factory, 1917’
17. Men Work on Assembling Parts at a Factory in Dayton, Ohio, 1902
18. Workers Take a Break to Pose for a Picture at an Unidentified Shoe Factory in Brooklyn, New York, 1920
19. Another Young Boy Puts in a Shift at a Textile Factory, Early 20th Century
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