Often considered the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, the Old Slater Mill complex invites visitors to learn about the advantages of water-powered machines during the later years of the 18th century. Slater Mill, built next to Pawtucket Falls, was first to successfully implement European water-powered cotton spinning technology in America. Here the initial stages were set for machine made goods, hourly wages, and labor unions.
   The idea of spinning cotton fiber into thread was first envisioned by a merchant from Providence, Rhode Island. Moses Brown rented a workspace next to the Blackstone River. Here was a source of power and a community of tool and machine makers. In 1789 Brown hired Samuel Slater, a recent immigrant from England who knew the workings of an English textile mill. By 1790 Slater had the machines running, and by 1793 the first water powered textile mill in America was fully operational.
   Here in Pawtucket, the Slater Mill is part of a complex of three buildings. One is the Slater Mill, which had been expanded six times during the 1800s. Adjacent to the Slater Mill is the Sylvanus Brown House, the home where Samuel Slater spent his first night in Pawtucket. The rubble stone Wilkinson Mill was built by Pawtucket blacksmith Oziel Wilkinson in 1810. On the first floor of the Wilkinson Mill building, machines and machine parts were designed and built for Slater Mill. The upper two floors housed a textile mill. The Old Slater Mill is open Thursdays to Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm, and a 30-minute tour conveys the importance that the complex had on American history.

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