Wilkinson Mill - Pawtucket, RI
N 41° 52.656 W 071° 22.962
19T E 302286 N 4638931
This historical marker is located at the entrance to the Wilkinson Mill, which is one of the structures located at the Slater Mill Historic Site in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Waymark Code: WM68XJ
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2009
Views: 19
The marker text reads as follows:
National Historic
Mechanical Engineering Landmark
Wilkinson Mill
1810
Site of the Shop of
David Wilkinson (1771-1852)
Father of
The American Machine Tool Industry
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers - 1977
From Wikipedia:
David Wilkinson (January 5, 1771 - February 3, 1852) was a U.S. mechanical engineer who invented a lathe for cutting screw threads, which was an extremely important development in the development of the machine tool industry in the early 19th century.
Wilkinson Mill
In 1810, the present-day Wilkinson Mill was built near their existing rolling and slitting mill and Slater's cotton mill. Three and one-half stories tall and constructed from field stones, and contained a machine shop on the first floor.
In 1829, during a depression in the textile industry, David Wilkinson was forced to sell the mill and leave the business. He eventually left Rhode Island. In 1831 the mill was sold to William Field and Thomas LeFavour. The mill would later be used to produce woolen and knitted textiles. Between 1873 and 1887 Lorenzo P. Bosworth operated a machine shop in the mill. He produced machinery and tools for the leather and jewerly industries. A braiding company would occupy the second and third floors between 1884 and 1901.
The Wilkinson Mill was later sold to the Pawtucket Electric Lighting Company. It was also used as a furniture warehouse during the 20th century.
Legacy
The Wilkinson Mill was restored in the early 1970s as part of the Slater Mill Historic Site in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
In 1977, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the Wilkinson Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.