Located on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Slater Mill is a museum complex dedicated to bringing one of the most exciting and significant periods of American history to life. Visitors to the site experience a time when an America of small farmers and craftsmen was poised to become the industrial leader of the world

With commentary from costumed interpreters, visitors can imagine the lives of the people – many of them children – who made the early mills come alive. In the Wilkinson Mill they can feel the throb of the great 16,000-pound water wheel, a replica of the original wheel that harnessed the power of the Blackstone River to make the era’s finest tools. Students get up close and personal with early production processes in the hands-on Apprentice Alcove. In the Slater Mill itself, visitors are surrounded by working antique textile machinery and experience what it was like working in the first cotton factory. In the Sylvanus Brown House they can look back to a time when spinning, weaving, cooking and quilting were the stuff of everyday life.

The story of Slater Mill is the story of innovation, of labor, of artisans, of women’s rights, of the cotton economy, of immigration and assimilation, as well as the story of industry.

Slater Mill is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is the cornerstone of the John H. Chafee Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor.

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