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Fort Scott National Historic Site
Laundress-Overview
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![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081028041934im_/http://www.nps.gov/mwr/templates/images/graphics/spacer.gif) |
Called the "red armed women of the west", laundresses scrubbed their way into history as they took on the task of keeping the army their whitest and their brightest.
These pages contain information about who the laundress was, laundry methods, soap making, etc.
At Fort Scott, evidence indicates that the laundresses had rooms in the barracks. Today, in the reconstructed dragoon barracks, one room is restored as a laundress quarters.
Those who were married might have stayed in tents with their husbands close to the riverbank, a situation which made their job easier. These rows of tents were often referred to as "soap suds row".
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![Col. George Croghan Col. George Croghan](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081028041934im_/http://www.nps.gov/mwr/customcf/apps/CMS_HandF/Pictures/FOSC_Did-You-KnowGC.jpg) |
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Did You Know?
Colonel George Croghan, the inspector general, visited the fort in 1844. He praised living conditions, but disliked the layout. He remarked that the hospital "interrupted in the most offensive way, the only refreshing summer breezes" One author doubted that any building could stop a Kansas wind.
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Last Updated: February 17, 2008 at 12:59 EST |