Welcome to Slatersville, Rhode Island, one of six sites that make up Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.What makes this place special? At first glance, Slatersville looks like a classic small town in New England. But Slatersville is more than a quaint village. Slatersville was once a blueprint for industrial America. Start your tour at: 20 Main Street, Slatersville, RI
To understand Slatersville’s evolution, we must start with water. You are now standing along the banks of the Branch River. The Branch River is a tributary of the Blackstone River, meaning it flows into the Blackstone. At the point where you are now standing, the river drops 40 feet in just a mile. That is a tremendous drop, and it makes this place ideal for building a water-powered mill. In fact, it was this drop, and the potential power it provided, that attracted industrialist John Slater to this site. An English immigrant, John was the younger brother of a better known mill owner named Samuel Slater. John convinced his brother and other business partners to purchase 1,200 acres of land and the rights to the water. As you look at the river, you may notice two distinct waterfalls. These are not natural waterfalls but human-made dams. The dam off in the distance is the middle dam. The middle dam and its twenty-foot drop create a reservoir of water, known as a mill pond. This mill pond is over 170 acres in size. A mill pond is intended to provide a water-powered mill with an ample source of water that could power, at first, wooden waterwheels, and eventually mechanical turbines. Although it might not be evident today, this human manipulation of the river stored enough water to eventually power 3 large textile mills on this site. One of those mills, the Western Mill, once stood on the hillside behind. We will see one of the two remaining structures from this complex at one of our next stops.
Directions to next stop: Walk back up the path which lead to the top of the hill. Once in the parking lot, turn right and walk towards the North Smithfield Public Library. Stand on the sidewalk in front of the library and look at the large brick buildings on the opposite side of the road. Elements of this structure are part of what little remains of the once large Western Mill complex. In 1821, the Slaters constructed an additional eight buildings in town. The Western Mills complex, as it was known, doubled the company’s capacity. During the mid-to-late 1800s, the complex expanded to include additional buildings. In each one, workers completed some part of the textile production process. However, much of the Western Mill Complex was condemned and demolished in the early 20th century. Only two of the buildings remain today. The former storehouse, which you see in front of you, became part of the North Smithfield Public Library in 1966. Some traces of the past are still with us, such as the rubble-stone construction you see here. This offers a window into what this complex once looked like.
Directions to next stop: From where you are standing, turn around and look at the brick buildings on the opposite side of the street The Slaters’ workers finished construction of their first mill in 1807. They succeeded in building the largest textile mill in the country at the time. However, they soon faced a big problem: their new mill was essentially isolated. There was very little infrastructure around them, and there was only small cluster of buildings nearby. This meant that the Slaters and their partners needed to hire people to build everything that their newly arrived workers would need. This included a store where workers could purchase goods. By 1850, a larger store was needed and the brick building you see on the right was constructed. A second commercial building was added by 1870 (the one on the left). These structures housed the company store, a bank, barber shop, hardware store, and eventually a dance and movie hall. The company store became an important part of a mill village. This was where employees went to purchase everything from dry goods to foodstuffs. Often, only company script could be used in the store and workers could pay off their debts against their paychecks. This indebted many workers to their employers through the guise of the company store. The original Slatersville Mill, built in 1807, burned down in 1826 and was replaced by the large stone mill in front of you. Known as the Center Mill or Mill number 1, this four-story building features a beautiful 5 story belltower. The belltower became an iconic feature in mill construction. It was the mill’s belltower that dictated daily life to the village’s inhabitants. A Providence-based poet writing in the 1830s critiqued this system: “Hark! Don’t you hear the factory bell? Of Wit and Learning ‘tis the knell. It rings them out it tolls them in. Where men they weave and girls they spin.” By 1833, Slaterville Mills had 9,500 spindles and 225 looms in action. 66 men, 109 women, and 169 children operated these machines, either making thread or weaving that thread into cloth. The work was tedious and repetitive. While not as physically demanding as some other jobs, without safety regulations, conditions were often dangerous. Laborers were also expected to do this work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. All 344 worker’s wages combined totaled $57,000 annually. That’s only a little higher than the average annual wage earned by a single person in the United States today. In 1843, a third mill was added in Slatersville. This mill still stands behind the 1826 mill. At its peak of water-powered operations, three mills were all powered by this section of the Branch River. In 1894, the large brick mill was constructed, and steam powered operations commenced at the site. The wooden building to your right, the last remaining structure from the original 1807 mill, served as the office building for the company. In 2007, this workplace became a place for rest when the mills were converted into an apartment complex. The restored mill remains the center and heart of the village. Directions to next stop: Walk back in the direction of the road. Turn right and walk up the sidewalk, up the hill. Follow the road up and to the right. When you arrive at the crosswalk, cross the street. Once you arrive on the opposite side of the street, turn right and walk down the sidewalk. Stop when you arrive in front of the large white building (the Congregational Church). Would you want to live this close to where you work? These are some of the earliest worker houses built here in Slatersville around 1810. Originally, these were very plain, multi-family worker homes. Four families inhabited each house: two families on the first floor and two families on second floor and attic space. On average, one of these Slatersville homes would have housed between 20 to 45 occupants. This would have made for cramped living conditions. Although family units shared a house, each family had their own living space. For the most part, everyone in these homes worked for the Slaters. This system, known as the Rhode Island System of Manufacture, or the Slater System, used the entire family for employment in the mills. Fathers often worked on the company owned farm or as mechanics fixing the machines, while mothers and children worked in the mill. About 88% of the laborers in Slater-owned mills came from families employed by the company and living in company houses. Children were the driving force behind this system. H. Humphrey, a noted 19th century author, wrote, “Our children must have employment – [they] must be brought up in habits of industry. It is sinful, it is cruel to neglect this essential branch of their education.” Today, children in the United States are obligated to receive a different kind of education, one that does not involve a factory. This marks a major change from how children lived in Slatersville throughout most of the nineteenth century. In the 1920s, these mill houses you are now looking at were converted to single-family management homes, by the then owner of the mill, Henry Kendall. Kendall added ornamental touches like side porches, fancier doorways, and white picket fences as part of his efforts to restore Slatersville. The Slatersville church common has long served as an important social center for the village. The common, laid out by the Slaters in 1838, also adds to the traditional New England essence of Slatersville. The Slater family built this Greek Revival church in 1838. The first church, built in 1808, is now a private residence located behind this structure. The company church became an important part of a mill village. It was constructed to meet both the social and spiritual needs of the company’s employees. Church festivals, organizations, and prayer groups offered church members a sense of community. This was one of the only places, outside of the mill, where workers could gather. It was also a place management and workers congregated together. Even though the Slaters were raised in the Church of England, they decided to open a Congregationalist Church because most of their workers were Congregationalists. Their main concern was that workers were attending services. Preachers, selected and paid by mill owners, were sure to focus on the less radical teachings of Christianity. They preached on ideas of obedience to authority, timeliness, and thrift. In other words, the ideals that mill owners wanted to reinforce in their workers. Often the pulpit became a mouthpiece for the mill’s ownership – making this church yet another example of how owners sought to control their workers. Directions to next stop: If facing the Church, turn right and walk along the sidewalk to the street in front of you. Turn left and stop when you see the blue home next to the church. John Slater built this home in 1810. It originally stood on the corner of North Main and Green Streets, across the street from the North Smithfield Town Hall. This home was much like his employee housing. The major difference was that he shared his home with one other family, not two or three. Though he lived at a higher standard, John still lived and worked alongside his workers. While he oversaw a system which ensured his workers could be managed and controlled, he too was held accountable to his employees. There was a certain degree of respect between both employer and employee which came from the proximity in which they all lived. As future generations of Slaters moved further and further away from the community, they became increasingly disinterested in their employees. This would lead to even more labor unrest. John would remain personally and financially invested in the community until his death in 1843. After his death, the family moved the house to its current location and converted it into worker housing. The family moved to a large mansion home which once stood on the outskirts of the village. Slatersville served as the model for other mill villages throughout the Blackstone Valley, and eventually in other parts of the Northeast. This type of industrially planned community was also replicated again and again in factory towns, mine towns, and mill villages across the country. In each of these communities, workers faced tradeoffs. Living and working together, laborers of all ages usually endured the tight supervision of a family or corporation. Yet some also experienced new freedoms and a chance to begin again in a new place or new country. Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Slatersville is the fact that it is still here – a testament to the resiliency of a community and of the people who call it home. 
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Last updated: April 30, 2025