A Living History Museum

Bevel Gear Cloth Cotton Gin Fiber Gate Governor Power Train Race Roving Silver Spinning Mule Wheel Pit Yarn Thread or string spun from fibers. A wheel with an angled rim fitted with specially shaped teeth that will mesh with teeth in another bevel gear. A solid piece, often called fabric or material made from knitted or woven yarn. A machine that removes cotton seeds from raw cotton using rotating brushes and blades. A single strand of hair or plant material that can be separated from a pod, stem or fleece. Fibers grown on plants or animals or made by a worm are called ‘natural fibers’. Man- made fibers such as acrylics, polyester, and spandex are made with chemicals. A device that regulates the flow of water in a race, usually by moving vertically. A device designed to regulate the speed of a waterwheel, turbine or flywheel to meet the fluctuating demands of machinery. A system of gears, shafts, pulleys, and belts designed to transmit the power of the water wheel to the various machines. A channel that carries water from the river to and from the wheel pit. (Also called a flume.) A single loose strand of fibers made from sliver and with very little twist. A continuous rope-like strand of loosely assembled fibers that is fairly uniform but with a twist. A machine that simultaneously draws and twists fiber into yarn or thread, then winds it on a spindle. The stone or timber-lined enclosure in which the water wheel turns.

Seeing handlooms and spinning wheels in use will help visitors understand the more complex machinery in the Slater Mill, and the dramatic change from home-based production of textiles to industrial manufacturing. The Sylvanus Brown House (1758) The Sylvanus Brown House was built in 1758 and moved to its present location in Sylvanus Brown was a woodworker, a pattern maker (craftsman who made wooden patterns from which metal machine parts were cast), a millwright and a dam builder He made wooden patterns for Samuel Slater’s early textile machines. Sylvanus’ son James trained as a machinist, probably in Oziel and David Wilkinson’s machine shop. The Brown House is furnished as an early 19th century workman’s home. Historically costumed staff demonstrate period crafts, which might include preparing, spinning and weaving with flax and wool, open-hearth cooking, sewing and gardening. The costumed staff will also talk with visitors about life and work at home and in workshops during the early industrial era.

In the wheel pit, visitors see the gears and shafts which use the turning waterwheel to run machines in the shop above. In the shop, historically costumed staff will be at work, possibly using drills, lathes, planers, and milling machines to produce parts for nearby mills and workshops. Conversations about the life and duties of a machinist, as well as the apprentices hoping to become machinists are likely. Wilkinson Mill ( ) Built between 1810 and 1811 by Oziel Wilkinson, the rubblestone structure houses a 19th century machine shop powered by a wooden water wheel. Oziel Wilkinson came to Pawtucket in the 1780s to make nails and anchors for the local shipbuilders. Later, he and his son David made rollers and spindles for other workshops. They cast the iron parts for Slater’s carding machine. One of David Wilkinson’s claims to fame is the invention of a screw-cutting lathe that he developed in 1794.

The Old Slater Mill (1793) Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, the Slater Mill was built in It was the first commercially successful cotton- spinning mill with a fully mechanized power system in America.

Slater’s special genius lay in his ability to put the machinery into profitable production. After considerable effort, and with the help of many other, including Sylvanus Brown, David Wilkinson, Slater built a complete Arkwright spinning system with carding, drawing, and spinning machines, which turned raw cotton into thread. The Old Slater Mill (1793) The Slater Mill houses machinery that shows the process of turning raw cotton into cloth. A number of early machines demonstrate textile processes still carried on in the area today, such as knitting and braiding. Spinning technology was not fully understood in this country before Slater’s arrival. He had technical and management training in England, where he learned to build the mills and the machinery in them from Jedediah Strutt. Strutt was one of the first people to use a system of water-powered machinery developed by Arkwright.

How is labor different for workers today? Discussion Questions Look at the clothes you are wearing. Where were your clothes made? Are the fibers in the fabric natural or synthetic? What is work? What is the difference between leisure and idleness? How did the nature of work change when we moved from the farm to the factory? How was the Blackstone River used before there were factories? How was it used after textile factories were built? How do we use the river today? What was life like in New England before Samuel Slater came to America?

What questions will you have for our visit to Slater Mill ?