Patience and Women at Work

INTRODUCTION

to the Patience and Women at Work Online Exhibit

     Have you seen a grandmother, granddaughter or grandson using irons like these before? These sad irons and the other objects in the collections are from the 19th-century. These are like the irons Mrs. Patience Loader Rozsa used as an ironer for the U.S. Army, as well as the women and girls who did the ironing for the civilians and family in the inn. This is an online exhibit entitled, Patience and Women at Work which shows a spinning wheel, an adobe brick, photographs of women cooks, a washboard and tub, and many other objects exclusively from the Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum. The park buildings are located in the city of Fairfield, Utah and include The Commissary, the Stagecoach Inn and the Fairfield District School.

     The Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn Park and Museum (CF/SI Park and Museum) has relics and photographs in three buildings giving a glimpse of the work women did from 1858-1890 in the Camp Floyd and Fairfield area. Within the topic of Women at Work, subtopics include one featured ironer/military laundress, Patience Loader Rozsa; another subtopic is the work of women running the inn, and another subtopic is single women teaching and mothers' homeschooling. The topic aligns with the CF/SI Park and Museum's mission of interpreting the history of the early territorial history of Utah.

     There is much to learn about what ordinary women did during this period in history on the frontier. One learns from the exhibit the objects in the Camp Floyd, Stagecoach Inn and Fairfield District School exhibit that show the work women did. Learn about tools of teaching in the exhibit's the Fairfield District School collection. Learn about tools of running an inn and Patience Loader Rozsa's ironing from the Stagecoach Inn Collection. Finally, learn about the product of women's hands in making the adobe bricks that went into Camp Floyd in the Commissary Museum US army and photo collection.

     The inclusion of photographs, tools of women's work and the three buildings owned by the CF/SI state park and museum in this online exhibit fulfill the need for preservation. The images and information align with the need to interpret the early territorial history of Camp Floyd, the Stagecoach Inn, and the Fairfield District School which had women working at each. You are invited to explore this exhibition in an order that appeals to your interests. From this page, click on one of the three subtopics: Patience Loader Rozsa and ironing, the work of women in the Stagecoach Inn, and single women teaching and mothers' homeschooling.