What was it like to work at the shoe and boot shop?
Exactly what Kent’s earliest shoe and boot shop looked like is not known. He probably organized his shop according to methods he learned while in Massachusetts. Shops of this operating size typically had one open room ranging in size from ten to fourteen feet square. The ceiling was only six and a half feet high, with the garret or upper attic space unfinished and used for storage. Between 4-6 men could work at one time. Each worker had a bench or seat and needed space enough to be able to move his arms while sewing. In the winter a stove was moved into the room. Daylight was an important light source, but in addition there also would have been candles and oil lamps. The shop contained all sizes and types of leather, as well as a variety of sizes of wooden shoe and boot lasts. Tools for cutting, punching holes, and sewing, as well as threads, polish, and wax, would have been close at hand for each worker. During working hours the floor would have been littered with scraps of leather, p
