North Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, settled as a farming community in 1666 and incorporated into its present form in 1871. North Smithfield includes the historic villages of Forestdale, Primrose, Waterford, Branch Village, Union Village, Park Square, and Slatersville. The population was 12,588 at the 2020 census.
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls and Lincoln to the north, and North Providence to the west. The city also borders the Massachusetts municipalities of Seekonk and Attleboro.
North Providence is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 34,114 at the 2020 census.
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson, and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the United Kingdom, he was called "Slater the Traitor" and "Sam the Slate" because he brought British textile technology to the United States, modifying it for American use. He memorized the textile factory machinery designs as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the U.S. at the age of 21.
The Blackstone River is a river in the United States that flows through the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is 48 mi (77 km) long with a drainage area of 540 sq mi (1,400 km2) and drains into the Seekonk tidal river at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Its long history of industrial use has caused significant pollution, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency describing it as “the most polluted river in the country because of high concentrations of toxic sediments.”
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel.
The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and National Historical Park.
This is a list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island. As of May 29, 2015, there are more than 750 listed sites in Rhode Island. All 5 of the counties in Rhode Island have listings on the National Register.
The Blackstone Canal was a manmade waterway, linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, and Narragansett Bay, through the Blackstone Valley, via a series of locks and canals in the early 19th century. Construction started in 1825, and the canal opened three years later. After the opening of the Boston and Providence Railroad (1835), the canal struggled for business. Its transportation role was taken over by the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which completed a parallel line in 1847. The canal shut down in 1848. Several segments of the canal are preserved, and the canal alignment and remains are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Slatersville is a village on the Branch River in the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the Slatersville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district has been included as part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. The North Smithfield Public Library is located in Slatersville.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence County, Rhode Island.
Albion is a village and historic district in Lincoln, Rhode Island, in the United States.
Cromford Mill is the world's first water-powered cotton spinning mill, developed by Richard Arkwright in 1771 in Cromford, Derbyshire, England. The mill structure is classified as a Grade I listed building. It is now the centrepiece of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a multi-use visitor centre with shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The Woonsocket Company Mill Complex is a historic district encompassing one of the largest mill complexes in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The district includes all of the buildings historically associated with the Woonsocket Company, a major manufacturer of cotton textiles in the 19th century. The complex is located along the eastern bank of the Blackstone River between Court and Bernon Streets. It includes three handsome stone mills, built between 1827 and 1859, and a power plant that was built on the site of the former #3 mill between 1890 and 1920, as well as the remnants of the canal that originally carried water to the buildings for power.
The Valley Falls Company was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, a historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River, within the modern-day town of Cumberland and city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. The Valley Falls Company is the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
David Wilkinson was a U.S. mechanical engineer who invented a lathe for cutting screw threads, which was extremely important in the development of the machine tool industry in the early 19th century.
Pawtucket Falls is a waterfall on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The falls are located a half mile upstream from where the Blackstone flows into the Seekonk River. The falls provided power for Samuel Slater’s cotton spinning mill, which was built in 1793 and is said to have been responsible for starting the Industrial Revolution in America.
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The park was created for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and interpreting the industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley and the urban, rural, and agricultural landscape of that region. The Blackstone River Valley was the site of some of the earliest successful textile mills in the United States, and these mills contributed significantly to the earliest American Industrial Revolution. The subsequent construction of the Blackstone Canal, a few years after the successful completion of the Erie Canal, helped to sustain the region's industrial strength.
