Margaret E. Knight (1838-1914) Ask about the role of American
women in the 19th century Industrial Revolution, and you may be
told of women who worked in the New England textile mills. But
the story does not end there. Fascinated by tools and machinery,
Margaret E. Knight applied her natural creative genius while
working at various factories to invent devices that improved
productivity and saved lives. Knight was fortunate that her
family allowed her to pursue these unconventional interests
during her childhood in Maine. Knight received little schooling
and never traveled out of northern New England, instead joining
her brothers in factory work. Before electricity, manufacturers
built their facilities along rapidly flowing water, preferably
waterfalls, which provided the energy to turn the waterwheels
that powered the belts that turned the wheels inside the factory
In Knight's time, mills expanded from producing lumber and
processing grains to manufacturing many types of goods, such as
fabric and shoes which