Catherine Street House of Industry

Abstract The Female Society of Philadelphia for the Relief and Employment of the Poor was established in 1795 by Quaker Anne Parrish. The society's original mission was to provide relief and an opportunity for improvement in quality of life for women widowed by the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. The Female Society opened the House of Industry, where women were employed to sew and weave. The House of Industry was the Female Society's main focus until 1949, when new opportunities for women had begun to...