Western New York Heritage

Conflagration in the Cobblestone District: The Birge Factory Fire of 1880

By John Grandits - January 28, 2015

When a fire erupted in the M.H. Birge & Sons Wallpaper Company factory in December 1880, the workers – many of whom were children – had little time to escape. John H. Grandits looks at the Birge fire as an example of the dangers of child labor.

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