Slater Mill Historic Site
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| Old Slater Mill | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
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| Location: | Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI |
| Coordinates: | 41°52′39″N 71°22′57″W / 41.8775°N 71.3825°W |
| Area: | 4.23 acres[1] |
| Built/Founded: | 1793 |
| Governing body: | Private |
| Added to NRHP: | November 13, 1966[2] |
| Designated NHL: | November 13, 1966[3] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000001 |
Slater Mill Historic Site, also known as Slater Mill or Old Slater Mill, is located on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, RI. It has been cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in America, though the Beverly Cotton Manufactory was an earlier horse-powered factory.[4] Slater Mill is modeled after a mill in England where Samuel Slater, the mill's founder, had been an employee, as well as concept ideas founded at the Beverly Mill site by Moses Brown of Providence, Rhode Island and investors Thomas Somers and James Leonard from England. Brown's family was one of the major owners of Slater Mill, and a partial owner of the Beverly Mill.
Slater Mill was built in 1793. It served as the first commercially viable cotton-spinning mill with a fully mechanized water power system in the United States. Others were built before it that demonstrated different power technologies before water became a viable idea in the manufacturing process. It was used to convert raw cotton into cloth. Slater brought this new technology from England where he had learned it from Jedediah Strutt. Slater's design was based on Richard Arkwright's cotton spinning system which included carding, drawing, and spinning machines. Slater's "Rhode Island System" was later eclipsed by Francis Cabot Lowell's Waltham System.
Slater Mill has the distinction of carrying the first, lowest reference number in the National Register of Historic Places reference number series, although many hundreds of other sites were listed on the NRHP before it.[2][5] The site was further designated a National Historic Landmark on the same date in 1966.[1][3]
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[edit] From mill to museum
The original 1790 Slater Mill was added onto several times between 1801 and 1835. Between 1869 and 1872 a large addition was made to the north end of the mill. The site was used as a spinning mill until 1895, then for various industrial uses until 1923, when efforts began to restore it into a museum. The structure was restored to its 1835 appearance. In 1955 it opened as a museum. Restoration of the nearby Wilkinson Mill (built 1810-1811) was completed in 1978 as part of the Slater Mill site.[6]
[edit] Modern times
The Slater Mill site remains today and serves as a living history museum. Many of the museum staff wear period clothing. The Mill has become a cultural center for Pawtucket. The Slater Mill Historic Site also includes the Wilkinson Mill, built in 1810; the Sylvanus Brown House, built in 1758, and moved through the streets of Pawtucket in the 1970s to its current location as part of the museum complex. A small park is located nearby.
[edit] Riversing
Slater Mill hosts and sponsors the Riversing festival. Riversing is a yearly event held on Rivers day featuring multiple concert stages. The event includes a children's stage, children's parade, and children's activities.
[edit] Pawtucket Arts Festival
Slater Mill hosts the family-oriented Pawtucket Arts Festival. Art exhibits for the festival are also displayed within the 2nd floor gallery.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Blanche Higgins Schroer (September 15, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Old Slater Mill / Old Slater Mill; Slater Mill Historic Site, National Park Service and Accompanying 6 images, including print from ca. 1812, drawing from 1907, and photos from 1973 and 1974 and undated
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/. Note, however, the first batch of NRHP listings were on October 15, 1966, so why does NRIS report this later date?
- ^ a b "Old Slater Mill". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=6&ResourceType=District. Retrieved on 2008-06-29.
- ^ "Made In Beverly-A History of Beverly Industry", by Daniel J. Hoisington. A publication of the Beverly Historic District Commission. 1989.
- ^ Oddly, the NRIS and NHL summary systems give that it was listed on NRIS and designated an NHL on November 13, 1966, while hundreds of other NHLs were designated from 1960 to 1965, and all of those were listed onto the National Register on October 15, 1966.
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey "Slater Mill"
[edit] External links
- Providence Journal video of Slater Mill Historic Site
- Providence Journal video of the Blackstone River
- Slater Mill website
- Site about Slater and his mill
- Riversing
- Pawtucket Arts Festival
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