Slater Mill Historic Site
67 Roosevelt Ave.
Pawtucket, RI.
October 11, 1999
Since 
we were
in New England it was a must that we go to Pawtucket and
Providence since those were the cities that Bob's parents were
originally from. We figured if we could visit there and find a
story it was a real plus. Well, fortunately we were able to find
such a story. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any
pictures inside of the buildings.
The tour of the
mill is conducted from the Pawtucket Visitors Center. Our guide
was Joyce Gilbert. I have seen quite a few guides in our travels
but Ms. Gilbert was one of the best. Not only did she act as
guide, but was able to run the antique machines that were inside
the buildings (no small task believe me).
The Slater Mill
Historic Site is a museum complex dedicated to the preservation 
and interpretation of the American industrial
heritage. The programs examine the transition from manufacture to
factory production and the role of water and steam power in the
industrial revolution. It serves as a regional educational
center, a place in which to study the fiber arts, the history of
industrialism, and the way technology has shaped and continues to
influence our culture. The Wilkinson Gallery houses temporary
exhibitions on the arts; and the permanent exhibits interpret the
past so that we may better understand the present and plan for
the future.
When you first
get to the visitors center, be sure and see the movie and look
around at the various exhibits. Your guide will take you from the
visitors center to the mill complex just a short walk across the
street. There are 12 different items in the complex, five of
which will be pointed out by your guide.
The first
building we went into was the Sylvanus Brown House. This building
was originally built
in 1758. From 1789 through 1791 the
business relationship between Syvanus Brown and Samuel Alter was
encouraged by Moses Brown, and solidified Slater's need for Brown's
expertise in pattern making. By the 1870s the Sylvanus Brown
House was moved to Marrin Street. in 1962 it was moved to Slater
Mill Historic Site. In 1973, it was placed on its present
foundation and restored. The house is a typical artisan's
dwelling of the mid-to late 1700s. It is furnished based on
Brown's 1825 probate inventory and contains a loom, spinning
wheels, and other tools used to make cloth by hand. As we went
through the house our guide pointed out various items of
interest. One of which was the double kitchen in the basement
level. The house when originally built was built for two
families. Knowing that two women can't work in the same kitchen
they constructed two working kitchen at right angles to each
other. Also, our guide explained the origin of some common
expressions we all hear. Such as, "sleep tight". This
originated from the old rope beds having to be tightened before
you slept in them. In addition she very aptly demonstrated how
the women of that day spun cotton and flax. Brown's wife, Ruth
and other workers wove cloth by hand at home for their own use
and factory sale until after the invention of the power loom in
the 1800s.
We next moved
on to the Wilkinson Mill building. Surrounding the building 
we saw the dam at Slater Mill and the
Great Flume (also known as Slater's Trench). This trench was
constructed by Samuel Slater to reroute some of the river water
into a flume or trench so it could propel his water wheel used
for power. This building contains an extensive collection of
belt-driven machines that would have been used in a late 19th
century machine shop. Once again our stalwart guide showed her
expertise by running a drill press and showed how they would have
used it to drill holes in boards, thus eliminating the cumbersome
task of hand drills. It was amazing to see the number of
operations that could be done utilizing water power and a series
of inter-connecting leather belts. You have to remember that in
addition to her demonstrating the use of various tools and
machines, our guide also was able to answer any number of
questions on the time period, the people, and the impact that
this mechanization had on the people of Pawtucket as well as the
nation.
Next we were
off to Slater Mill. As you walk in the door of Slater Mill you
are greeted by an office setting and a beautiful picture of
Samuel Slater. The office would have been a typical one for that
time period. Slater Mill houses a number of textile machinery such
as stocking knitters, a thread winder, and a knitting machine
that created very complex designs. Again our guide was actually
able to operate several of the machines to show us how they would
look in operation. On one of the machines that did the winding,
she explained that small children were utilized to run behind the
machine (very dangerous) if something broke and they had to tie
it off to start up again. One of the things that struck me as I
went along through the tour is the high cost that we as a society
paid for mechanization. One of which was forcing very young
children into the factories thus causing a loss of their
childhood. It seems that progress always has a cost but sometimes
I wonder if the end result is worth what we paid for it. As we
finished up the tour I couldn't help but marvel at the skill with
which our tour guide conducted our tour.
Was it worth
the cost and time we invested in it? Most definitely. If you
would like to know more about the Slater Mill Historic Site drop
by their website at: http://www.slatermill.org.
*** THE END ***
Good Luck! Have Fun! and Stay Safe!
Laura