Help wanted – single young women, 21 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent, to be waitresses in Harvey Eating Houses on the Santa Fe Railroad in the West. Good wages, with room and meals furnished. Experience not necessary.

For nearly a century starting in the late 1880s, more than 100,000 young women braved the unknown frontier and traveled west to become Harvey Girls. Seeking new opportunities, they left behind their homes in the East and Midwest to work at Harvey Houses. Serving excellent food with outstanding service, the Harvey Girls were the first female workforce in America.

Innovative Restauranteur

With the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, rail travel quickly replaced stagecoach lines as the main method for crossing the United States. During that time, Fred Harvey worked for a railroad and observed deplorable dining options for passengers. He was revolted by the food quality, which ranged from nonexistent to toxic.

Drawing on prior restaurant experience, Harvey came up with a revolutionary idea: to create first-class eating establishments inside train stations. In 1876, Harvey leased a lunch counter in the Santa Fe Depot in Topeka, Kansas and opened for business. His eatery focused on cleanliness, delicious meals, exceptional service and reasonable prices. It was an immediate success and became very popular.

Harvey’s Vision

Harvey envisioned a series of restaurants and hotels spread along the Santa Fe Railroad that would provide travelers a sense of luxury and safety in a remote region of America. Soon Harvey Houses were located every 100 miles along the rail line from Kansas to California.

Unorthodox Staffing

When the Harvey Houses were first established, they were staffed by a traditional male waitstaff. However, Harvey realized the servers were as wild as the West. After one too many scuffles between the male staff and paying customers, Harvey implemented another groundbreaking concept: to hire women. Starting in 1883, Harvey hired only women to wait on customers. At the time, the only jobs available for respectable females were as teachers, nurses or housekeepers.

Coveted Positions

The reputation of the Harvey Houses was very important, so these women were not referred to as waitresses, which had a negative and undesirable connotation in society. Harvey’s all-female waitstaff were called Harvey Girls to instill a sense of pride in the young women selected. Prospective Harvey Girls had to have good manners, at least an eighth-grade education, and be neat and articulate. The response to the Harvey Girls’ newspaper advertisement overwhelmed Harvey. Being a Harvey Girl became a coveted position.

The Fred Harvey Company paid good wages, as much as $17.50 per month in the early days, along with free room, board and uniforms. Harvey Girls agreed to a minimum six-month contract, to remain unmarried and to abide by company rules, including no fraternizing with guests. It was no coincidence that their uniforms, long black dresses with white aprons, resembled nun habits. When their contracts expired, they could be extended. Some women applied to work at different locations, while others chose to leave the company. One reason why Harvey Girls left was to marry a regular customer and to start a family.

Life as a Harvey Girl

Being a Harvey Girl offered women a chance to travel. Upon hiring, they participated in an intensive six-week training. They learned how to properly set a table and to be sure that none of the uniquely designed Harvey House plates and glasses were cracked or chipped. After their training, they received a train ticket to their Harvey House destination. Rarely were they assigned to establishments close to their hometowns.

Harvey Girls worked up to 12-hour shifts six days a week and lived in dormitories with house matrons and curfews. The dorm-style housing and sheltered living conditions eased their parents’ concerns and worries and made it possible for more refined women to endure in developing, uncivilized railroad towns. Harvey Girls were expected to conduct themselves in a ladylike manner at all times. Their courteous and genteel demeanor changed the public’s perception of working, single women.

High Expectations

These meticulously-trained women served meals with precision and grace. Harvey had high expectations and strict standards of etiquette and codes of behavior. Harvey Girls learned to work with a sincere smile, regardless the circumstances, and they could not speak to another Harvey Girl in the presence of a customer. According to Lynne Miller, Harvey Girl Historical Society member, being a Harvey Girl was a lot of hard work, but it was a job to be proud of. In the 1960s the company was sold, which ended the Harvey Girls era.

Harvey Girls were an essential reason why the Harvey Houses were successful. Serving delicious meals in pleasant surroundings became their legacy. The Harvey Girls brought refinement and hospitality to the towns where they worked and helped tame the American Southwest. These women had the opportunity to see the West become settled and to live independently in a time when this was uncharted territory for women’s rights.

Route 66 Connection

Many of the Harvey Houses were in proximity to Route 66 and became preferred dining stops for many car travelers and local towns people, in addition to the train passengers. So the next time you see a highway historical marker sign that indicates a “HARVEY HOUSE” is at that exit, you will know the background and some of the history of that site.