BIDDEFORD — An upcoming presentation will examine how women working in local mills contributed to the suffrage movement in America.

The Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center will host Dr. Elizabeth DeWolfe, a history professor at the University of New England, as she discusses “The Great Turn-Out: Factory Girls and Maine’s First Labor Strike” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 at McArthur Library on Main Street in Biddeford.

DeWolfe’s presentation remembers the 100th anniversary of Woman’s Suffrage in the State of Maine and the contributions of the factory girls in accomplishing this.

In 1841, nearly 500 female factory workers walked out of Saco’s York Manufacturing Company and paraded up Main Street, chanting and singing. They gathered in a local church, formed a committee, and sent the factory owner a document articulating their complaints about wages, housing, and paternalistic rules.

During her illustrated discussion, DeWolfe will explore the life of New England’s “factory girls,” the opportunities that mill work brought, and the challenges of this difficult labor.

She will discuss the tense days that followed the “turn-out,” to examine and see how a strike in one Maine town connected to national agitation for women’s rights, including suffrage.

DeWolfe received her Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University and is the award-winning author of several works of history including “The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories,” about the short life and tragic death of a New England textile operative. Her research focuses on the stories of ordinary women whose lives would otherwise be forgotten and she brings her archives-based research into the classroom in courses on women’s history, historical research methods and American culture.

The Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization where the community can explore, learn and share information on Biddeford culture, heritage and history.

For more information, visit www.biddefordculturalandheritagecenter.org.