"From Farm to Factory: Transitions in Work, Gender, and Leisure at Banning Mill, 1910 1930s"

Abstract This study explores new and traditional forms of leisureenjoyed by white southern rural millhands at Banning Mill between1910 and the 1930s. As they moved from farm to factory, millhandsexperienced unfamiliar working conditions, changes in genderroles in and outside the home, and an increase in leisure time.While both farmers and millhands had opportunities to socialize,this study will compare traditional forms of entertainment availableto farmers with similar and new recreations found in rural millvillages such as Banning Mill in Carroll County, Georgia. A comparison of leisure activities also reveals new ways inwhich rural cotton millhands separated themselves in socialsettings. Gender divisions in village recreation reflect changingroles at home as men and women coped with the transition fromfarm to factory in different ways. Specific or individual interestscreated an atmosphere in which wives, husbands, teenagers, andchildren typically socialized with members of their own sexand age. Juxtaposing the ways in which men and women chooseto spend their free time suggests husbands had a more difficulttime adjusting to work and life in mill villages than theirspouses or children.