Macculloch Hall Historical Museum

The following questions can be discussion questions in class or short answer writing assignments. Think about the experiences of the women serving in the land army and why the WLA was so important. 

Discussion Questions

Gibson, Charles Dana, Artist. Help! The Woman's Land Army of America, New Jersey Division, State House, Trenton / C.D. Gibson ; Greenwich Litho. Co., N.Y. United States, ca. 1918. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002712339/.

What is the Woman's Land Army of America?

Ensuring farms were properly producing enough food was crucial to people working on the home front in America and soldiers fighting overseas. The two primary sources describe the work women did on farms to keep them running. Read both primary sources.

The Woman's Land Army- Helping the Farmer

Helen Olansen, Letter and Envelope, July 3, 1918, Letter, AR2016.0030 (A1105-6), Photo: Karina Filipowski

Helen Olansen- Farmerette in Morristown NJ

The experience of women enrolled in the Woman's Land Army across the country would have been similar to the women in Morristown, NJ. The primary sources in the slideshow provide insights into what it was like to be a farmerette. Click through each slide to learn more. 

In The Woman's Land Army in Morristown, NJ

This picture was taken in Morris County of farmerettes in the Woman's Land Army around 1918. Look at the picture and as a group, discuss and share what you think is going on in this image. The dots on the image have prompts to help you dig deeper.

What is going on in this picture? What makes you say that?

Image From the Collection of the Morristown and Morris Township Library

Farmerettes in Morris County

Woman's Land Army of America, From the Collections of the Morristown and Morris Township Library

After World War I

Communities across the country in World War I had a problem. There was a shortage of farm labor due to men fighting in the war in Europe. By 1917, the Woman's Land Army was established, employing young women across the country on farms. 

Explore the experiences of women serving in the Woman's Land Army in Morristown, NJ. Through primary source analysis, this resource kit illustrates the organization of the WLA both nationally and locally in Morristown. 

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Help for the Farmer: The Women's Land Army in WWI