seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Norway
seen from Israel
seen from United States
seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Switzerland
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Sweden
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Yemen
Old Slater Mill, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 1969.
"The Slater Mill is a historic textile mill complex on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England. It is the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in North America to utilize the Arkwright system of cotton spinning as developed by Richard Arkwright.” Wikipedia.
Slater Mill Pawtucket, Rhode Island
You may have read about this place in your history books in school. In 1793 it became the first water powered cotton mill which through demonstration of it’s efficiency, helped industrialize the nation. It is commonly referred to as “Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution”. However, this mill has a dark past in that children were put to work in the mill under dangerous work conditions. Some of them got caught in machines such as the mule spinner. They were small so they were made to go into the machine to repair it. Many of them never emerged alive.
The spirits of the dead children are said to haunt the mill to this day, one of them a nine year old boy. The Slater Mill complex is open today as a working museum. When tours have been given, it is said that the voices of young children have been heard screaming when the machines have been turned on for demonstration purposes.
The ghost of Samuel Slater himself has been seen wandering around the mill complex on occasion as well. Or at least his apparition has anyway. An apparition has been spotted throughout the mill walking about the machinery and also strolling along the Blackstone River. Many have spotted the figure through the windows walking around inside and upon entering the building, not a single soul was around. The phantom has been identified through old photos as Samuel Slater, the original owner of the mill.
The wheel pit is said to contain a huge amount of electrical energy. Some say that they get a very uneasy feeling when entering the wheel pit. Tingling sensations have been felt by many who enter this area. A young girl was once assaulted by an unseen being, leaving scratches on her face as she fled the building.
Happy Statehood Day, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations! Here’s to our teensiest state with the lengthiest name!
Stamp details: Top left: Issued on: April 14, 1982 From: Washington, DC; Providence, RI SC #1991
Top right: Issued on: May 29, 1990 From: Pawtucket, RI SC #2348
Middle left: Issued on: April 4, 2002 From: New York, NY SC #3599
Middle middle: Issued on: February 23, 1976 From: Washington, DC SC #1645
Middle right: Issued on: July 4, 1968 From: Pittsburgh, PA SC #1349
Stamp on bottom: Issued on: August 11, 2011 From: Columbus, OH SC #4319
Answering a question about David Wilkinson, an early Rhode Island inventor, we bumped into these images of the Slater Mill area in Pawtucket RI. From the top: 1. 1886; 2. 1910; 3. 1910; 4. 1914.
courtesy the Pawtucket History Research Center
Slater Mill Pawtucket, Rhode Island
You may have read about this place in your history books in school. In 1793 it became the first water powered cotton mill which through demonstration of it’s efficiency, helped industrialize the nation. It is commonly referred to as “Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution”. However, this mill has a dark past in that children were put to work in the mill under dangerous work conditions. Some of them got caught in machines such as the mule spinner. They were small so they were made to go into the machine to repair it. Many of them never emerged alive.
The spirits of the dead children are said to haunt the mill to this day, one of them a nine year old boy. The Slater Mill complex is open today as a working museum. When tours have been given, it is said that the voices of young children have been heard screaming when the machines have been turned on for demonstration purposes.
The ghost of Samuel Slater himself has been seen wandering around the mill complex on occasion as well. Or at least his apparition has anyway. An apparition has been spotted throughout the mill walking about the machinery and also strolling along the Blackstone River. Many have spotted the figure through the windows walking around inside and upon entering the building, not a single soul was around. The phantom has been identified through old photos as Samuel Slater, the original owner of the mill.
The wheel pit is said to contain a huge amount of electrical energy. Some say that they get a very uneasy feeling when entering the wheel pit. Tingling sensations have been felt by many who enter this area. A young girl was once assaulted by an unseen being, leaving scratches on her face as she fled the building.
Slater’s Mill Museum is open year round for public tours and is located at 67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860. Take a tour, you just may see one of the resident ghosts. However, you may want to stay away from the wheel pit!
For National Textiles Day: A Trip Home
May 3 is National Textiles Day. To say that this topic is outside of my ordinary beat is to put it mildly. But I had a very insightful experience while vacationing with my son last year, kicking around old haunts. Admittedly, it was the farthest thing from an original revelation. It was more like being a fish in an aquarium and suddenly noticing the water for the first time. Or, rather, a fish…
View On WordPress
I’ll be giving this special people’s history tour of Slater Mill next Thursday. Get tickets now, space is limited. Tour is followed by performances from Shey Rivera and Muggs Foggarty.
The tour addresses Rhode Island history from about 1790-1824, covering issues such as child labor in the early mills, the connections between the slave economy and Rhode Island factories, early forms of worker and community resistance, and the Pawtucket factory strike of 1824.
Tomorrow at Slater Mill Museum in Pawtucket, RI. 7pm.
Labor history tour with poetry performances from Vatic Kuumba and Laura Brown-Lavoie.
Covering about 1793-1830 it will focus on workers' resistance to the industrial regime and the connections between Rhode Island's early (and present) economy and slavery.
Tickets are limited. Pre-order here.
