Old Slater Mill - 150 Years - Pawtucket, RI
N 41° 52.664 W 071° 22.951
19T E 302301 N 4638945
The Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA, celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 1940.
Waymark Code: WMQ3YY
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 12/14/2015
Views: 2
The plaque on the mill reads as follows:
In Commemoration
of the
150th Anniversary of the Founding
of the
First Successful Cotton Mill in America
This Tablet
was Presented to the Old Slater Mill Association
Present Owners of This Historic Building
in Honor of
the Textile Pioneer Whose Name They Perpetuate
Samuel Slater
Father of the American Factory System
From This Little Mill Started by Slater in 1790, Grew
America’s Great Cotton Manufacturing Industry
Whose Products are Known Around the World
Presented Jointly by
The National Association of Cotton Manufacturers
The Rhode Island Textile Association
October 10, 1940
Although the plaque says the Slater Mill was built in 1790, the mill's website (visit link) says it was 1793:
"In 1793, the firm of Almy, Brown, and Slater hired local artisans and laborers to construct a wooden building suitable for manufacturing cotton thread by waterpower. Slater Mill became the first successful cotton-spinning factory in the United States. It was dedicated exclusively to the production of cotton thread until 1829, and then was continuously occupied until 1921 by various owners and renters. Through the years, Slater Mill supported many types of production and manufacture, including tools for the jewelry industry, coffin trimmings, cardboard manufacture, and bicycle sales.
In 1921, after the last private owner ceased operations, a group of local businessmen with ties to the textile industry organized the Old Slater Mill Association to purchase, restore and preserve the Slater Mill – recognized then, and now, as the “Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.” Restoration of the structure was completed in 1925. With the support of 62 founders – including industrial giants like Henry Ford, Walter Chrysler, and Harvey Firestone – Slater Mill became one of the first operating industrial museums in the United States.
Slater Mill museum soon housed an impressive array of industrial artifacts. By the early 1950s, the museum was opened on a regular basis. In 1966, Slater Mill was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. The Sylvanus Brown House was relocated to the site in 1962, and restored along with the Wilkinson Millin the 1970s. Additional acreage was purchased, and the campus designated the Slater Mill Historic Site, and given National Historic Landmark District status.
Today, the Slater Mill campus includes three historic structures, a gift shop, exhibition gallery space, the Jencks Education Conference Center and rental hall, and the Hodgson Rotary Park, open to the community for passive recreation and special events. Slater Mill is open March through November for museum tours, and by appointment during the winter months."