| Old Slater Mill | |
| Nrhp Type: | nhl |
| Location: | Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
| Coordinates: | 41.8775°N -71.3825°W |
| Area: | 4.23acres |
| Built: | 1793 |
| Designated Nrhp Type: | November 13, 1966[1] |
| Added: | November 13, 1966 |
| Refnum: | 66000001 |
The Slater Mill is a historic water-powered textile mill complex on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England. It is the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in America to utilize the Arkwright system of cotton spinning as developed by Richard Arkwright.
The mill's founder, British immigrant Samuel Slater - having apprenticed as a young man with industrialist Jedediah Strutt in Belper, England - arrived in Rhode Island with the desire to use English mill plans to build like mills in America. Slater - with capital provided by Moses Brown of Providence, Rhode Island - first produced a working set of machines necessary to spin cotton yarn using water power, with construction of the machines completed in 1793, with a working mill, dam, waterway and waterwheel. Manufacturing was based on the Arkwright cotton spinning system, which included carding, drawing, and spinning machines.
While celebrated as bringing upon the Industrial Revolution with the establishment of the first successful textile mill in the nation, Slater’s initial employment of young children ages 7-13 also brought the mill notoriety. Renowned photographer Lewis Hines documented the extremely harsh working conditions for the children, and publication of the images helped lead to the establishment of new laws created to help protect children.
Slater’s hiring practices involving children and families established a pattern that was replicated throughout the Blackstone Valley known as the "Rhode Island System".
The Rhode Island System was later eclipsed by Francis Cabot Lowell's Waltham System. The mill and surrounding area were the site of early labor resistance, including the first factory strike in the United States, which was led by young women workers in 1824.[2]
Slater Mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on November 13, 1966, the first property to be listed on the register.[3] [1] In December 2014, the mill was added to the newly formed Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
The original portion of the Slater Mill built in 1793 was six bays long and two stories tall. Several additions were made beginning in 1801, and a second added in 1835. Between 1869 and 1872, a large addition was made to the north end of the mill. Cotton spinning continued until 1895, after which the mill was used for various industrial purposes until 1923. The building had suffered numerous fires in the past, and two fires occurred in 1912 which precipitated awareness of the building and the need for its preservation.
In 1921, the non-profit Old Slater Mill Association was founded with the purpose of saving the historic Mill. Efforts to restore the mill began in 1923; modern additions to the structure were removed, restoring the mill 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.[4]
The Slater Mill site now serves as a museum, educational center, and music venue, which "celebrates innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit by engaging audiences in relevant cultural, historic, and artistic endeavors". It includes five acres of land on both sides of the Blackstone River, a dam on the river, two historic mills (the Slater Mill and Wilkinson Mill), and the Sylvanus Brown House (built in 1758 but moved to the site in the 1960s).[5]
The Slater Mill and other key buildings that are part of the Old Slater Mill Historic District were acquired by the National Park Service in 2021.[6]