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The Blackstone River Valley of Massachusetts and Rhode Island is the Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, the place where America made the transformation from Farm to Factory. America’s first textile mill could have been built along practically any river on the eastern seaboard, but in 1790 the forces of capital, ingenuity, mechanical know-how and skilled labor came together at Pawtucket, Rhode Island where the Blackstone River provided the power that kicked off America’s drive to industrialization.

The success of this mill (now known as Slater Mill) inspired other entrepreneurs to build their own mills, first throughout the Blackstone Valley and then eventually all over New England. To take advantage of water power sources, new mill villages were built where once only field and forest stood.

Here investors built not only mills, but homes, schools and churches for their workers. The lifestyle changes for these new mill workers, mostly Yankee farmers, were dramatic. On the farm, the seasons and the sun governed the workday. Once in the mill, the rhythm of nature was replaced by the tolling of the factory bell. Time became a commodity, to be strictly measured and sold at a set rate. The artisan's skill or farmer's produce no longer had as much value as the sheer amount of time a worker was able to stand beside their ceaseless machine.

As larger mills were constructed over the 1800's, new workers were needed to fill them. Immigrants from Ireland, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and Latin America flocked to the Valley in successive waves. Each added their own unique culture to the story of the Blackstone Valley.

Source: NPS Website (2020)

Establishment Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park — Dec. 19, 2014

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The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

Plan Your Visit Half-Day Itinerary 2016

Plan Your Visit Full-Day Itinerary 2016

cover only Passport Book c2016

Cultural Landscape Report for Slater Mill Historic Site, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (Jeffrey Killion, Clelie Fielding, Maryrose Kulick and Eliot Foulds, 2021)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Slater Mill Historic Site, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (2021)

Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (September 2023)

Foundation Document, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, Rhode Island-Massachusetts (February 2020)

Foundation Document Overview, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, Rhode Island-Massachusetts (February 2020)

Newsletter (2015)

Special Resource Study, Blackstone River Valley (2011)

Special Resource Study Information Bulletin, Blackstone River Valley (Fall 2009)

Special Resource Study Newsletter #1, Blackstone River Valley (June 2010)

Rangers