The Adirondack farmwoman played an important role as in-home wage earner. Cash from outside sources was essential in sustaining the family since the actual farming was so poor. Women were in a position to earn cash through extension of their "normal" duties without leaving home. In almost every area of "women's work"-- sewing, knitting, maple sugaring, and feeding their family -- women sold surpluses. If the amount of work involved is ignored, this is a simple way of making money. Historians have compared these rural women to factories. Both factories and women on subsistence farms converted raw materials into marketable goods.

Lucelia Mills Clark, October 25, 1901: "I dressed and cooked two chickens and mopped the floor, washed the chais . . . and cast up butter record from March to the present time . . . have made 673 lbs."

Cow management by women was limited to processing the milk: separating, churning, and packing the butter. Through most of her dairy career, Lucelia Clark converted almost all of her milk into butter. Butter kept much better than fresh milk and could be stored and transported to what markets there were. The amount of money any Adirondack woman could make in this way was limited by access to market. Mrs. Clark's "butter and egg" money received a boost in 1915 when the Emporium Forestry Company built a logging railroad through the woods near her house. The railway enabled her not only to get whole milk out, but also opened a new market for butter in the town of Conifer, New York.

Women in the Adirondacks found a variety of ways -- in addition to churning butter -- to provide cash income for their families - the choice dependent on resources, circumstances, or individual talents.

Maple syrup or sugar were common products sold by Adirondack farm wives.

Some women took in boarders to make extra cash. Particularly before the Civil War, travelers could expect to be taken in at almost any farmhouse. In May of 1909 Lucelia Clark who sold butter and welcomed guests wrote, "We have got 7 meals today: 2 breakfasts, 3 dinners, and 2 suppers."

Julia Baker Kellogg of Minerva washed the fleeces from her flock of sheep, picked the wool, spun, and knitted mittens and socks for her husband. Having no children, she also had the time to knit for the market. Her diary entry for November 1, 1883 is eloquent: "Went to Olmsteadville (New York). Sold 60 pairs of socks. Got lots of things."