Slater Mill is a national historic landmark located next to the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Slater modeled his mill after cotton mills first established in England. Slater Mill was the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in North America which utilized the system of cotton spinning as developed by Richard Arkwright.
Samuel Slater,mill founder, was a apprentice as a youth in Belper, England. After immigrating to the USA, Samuel Slater was hired by Moses Brown of Providence, Rhode Island to design a set of machines for spinning cotton yarn using hydraulic power.
Construction began in 1790, and included a damn, waterway, waterwheel, and mill. Construction was completed in 1793, and was based on Richard Arkwright’s cotton spinning system which included carding, drawing, and spinning machines. Slater hired children and families to work in his mill, a pattern that was replicated throughout the Blackstone Valley and known as the “Rhode Island System”.
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