Laundresses Quarters

A long row of crude log buildings at Fort Abercrombie served as quarters for married soldiers in 1868, according to Assistant Surgeon W.H. Gardner, and later maps identified them as laundresses quarters. Known by the slang term "Suds Row," this part of the fort housed laundresses, who were a common part of frontier army forts. These working-class women lived at the fort with permission from the commanding officer and were hired to do laundry for the soldiers there. They set their own fees with each individual soldier, and although the work was hard, a good laundress often earned more than the soldiers she served. Laundresses were often married to noncommissioned officers or enlisted soldiers, and in such cases the soldier could leave the barracks and live in quarters like these.

Abercrombie, North Dakota · United States