slater mill museum

We visited the Museum and were amazed at the interest that was generated seeing the equipment that Samuel Slater used to bring the Industrial Revolution to New England and eventually to America.Cotton processing machines from raw material to yarn were developed in Pawtucket near a river that provided power. Slater studied English equipment and developed new equipment that spread throughout the U.S.

Carl provided an exceptional tour of the Brown house and machine shop, while another interpreter showed us around the textile mill. It was fascinating to understand the brilliance that lead to the mill and machine shop coming into being as well as how these would have changed life in New England and society. Not only educational, Carl's tour was a great deal of fun as well. I understand that he also does ghost tours of the site, and hope to return one day to enjoy some of the other special events hosted at yhe Slater Mill.

Considering this is the oldest operating textile mill in America, it is well worth seeing. The building is kept up nicely and sits on a quiet river. The tour explains the history of the mill. Ghost tours are offered certain nights!

On 10/10/14 I attended the ghost tour at Slater Mills, with my 19 y.o. son and my 15 y.o. daughter. It was our first ever investigation and we didn't know what to expect. I brought a digital thermometer and a super precise digital recorder I I use for recording music. The main mill provided a great warm-up for the tour- I measured a 5 degree temperature fluctuation in less than a minute, while a member of the N.E.A.R. group measured a significant K2 fluctuation. My recorder seemed to be drained of battery, though I had put fresh batteries in before I left home. My daughter found the problem on the way to the water wheel powered workshop- I had inadvertently hit the hold switch. Lucky break as I later recorded what I believe to be EVP's while in the Brown house. While in the basement, we heard what sounded like a door latch being jiggled rapidly, my son heard a ball bounce then roll around in the room that the door led to. Carl told us that nothing was in that room, so we went in with my recorder and checked- nothing. When I checked the recording the next day, I got a voice that said "Don't trust him" just before Carl told us there was nothing in the room! The recording also contained what seemed to be a ghostly command or challenge "Rush!" We shut the door and continued our investigation. Later the door latch got progressively louder, seeming to try to get our attention. I observed the door latch and it was not moving or vibrating in anyway. I opened the door and put my recorder in the doorway. When we listened to the recording the next day, I had recorded a the exact sound my son had heard earlier (ball bounce/roll)!! Later, my son and daughter tried communicating with a spirit known as Becca (my daughter's name as well). We wouldn't have believed it but the divining rods they held moved to answer questions (simple "yes"- rods spread wide and "no" - crossed rods). They spent a good 15 minutes asking questions and receiving answers. Well worth the money ($20 each)!!! We loved it!!! We will return to investigate again!!!!!!!!!

Liked it there it is great for the kids of all ages.Its in down town Pawtucket RI .There is place to eat and sit

I enjoyed very much the visit to the mill. The guides were very nice and showed us how things really worked and how people lived. It was very interesting to see some of the machines actually working, we could have a much better understanding both of their structure and of what the environment and working conditions were.

There is no wandering around. Dedicated staff (in period dress) will link you up with the tour. Our tour lasted almost two hours and we didn't have time for all! We learned so much about mill production, life during the times, child labor, water power and more. Leave a lot it time and wear comfortable shoes. Lovely things in the gift store although I didn't have time to shop.

Start by watching a short video in the visitor center then cross the street and take the 1 1\2 guided tour. Our guides were very knowledgeable and made the time fly by. Excellent tour for kids as well.

When I was in college, I did my internship at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. I had to write a thesis on Samuel Slater. He brought the blueprints in his head from England. If he hadn't been a red-head, he probably would have been arrested because it was illegal to leave the country with any information on Richard Arkwright's invention of the spinning wheel. Since Samuel looked like a farm boy with his ruddy complexion, he was easily overlooked. There is a world of fun and learning about the birth place of the Industrial Revolution. There is a quaint gift shop and there is a water wheel that will fascinate children and adults as well. Learning can be fun. . .

I lived in RI for 17 years and have visited many times, but for some reason, never went to Slater Mill. Our family wanted to do something educational on a recent visit so decided to visit Slater. I was expecting to find a self guided walk around some old buildings. Instead we found a live tour with two great guides. There are 3 buildings: 2 mills and one relocated residence. The mills have real working machinery so you really get a sense of the noise and the dust in the air (described, not actual), and the hard work of working in a mill. They even opened the river to start up the water mill and show us how the tools functioned under power. We were there about 2 hours, which was enough to learn a lot and get a good sense of early textiles and mills. It was worth every dollar.

What an awesome find!! On vacation with friends and stopped to see the mill. What we found was a nice park along the lovely Blackstone River and the bonus was the museum. It consists of an authentic 18th century house with furnishings and other items from that era. Then there is the machine shop with a water wheel that we actually got to see work. It was an interactive experience where we got to use some of the pieces of equipment. We were then taken to the mill where there were various machines that we got to see in action. What made this experience so unique were the guides - brothers Keith and Carl Johnson. They were a wealth of knowledge and fun too. We discovered that Keith is an author on the paranormal so we also found out that this site is considered to be haunted!! We would recommend this to anyone especially those who are Interested in the history of our great country.

We visited on the same day as a festival, so there were string quartets, jazz singers and rock bands playing along outside whilst we toured. It felt like stepping back a few hundred years when you went inside. The guides were great, very knowledgeable and engaging. Lots of old machinery on display, much of it functional. Very picturesque location too.

A very interesting tour that is a clear demonstration of how this country becme a free and highly advanced productive country. The tour is long (about 3 hours) but what you see and what you are told by your tour guide is well worth while. This is one of those few places to visit that is appropriate to both adults and reasonably young children (from about 6 and older). .

Painstaking restoration of a 1790's working mill, machine shop and house. In order for the fledgling United States to enter the world market, we had to produce exports in demand on the world stage.Great Britain, like many European countries, legislated that all technology was "owned and protected" by the government. A little known fact that emerged from the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was a power granted to Congress to recognize and protect technology (and works of letters and arts) as private property through copyright and a Patent Office.. Samuel Slater was a mill engineer who memorized the blueprints for a thread mill and emigrated from England to the United States. Slater's mill was the first water-driven mill to produce threads from cotton in the United States. The guided tour includes the Brown House, the Wilkinson Mill, and Slater's Mill. From the master gear driven by a water wheel to a blacksmith's shop, I was transported back into the 1790's, a trip well worth taking.

My husband and I visited for the history and educational experience. The guides were very informative and answered any questions we had. I loved the old house and how people lived in the 1700s My husband loved the working mill from the 1800s. I also found looking at how machines worked with the power of water interesting. Slater Mill and museum was a very excellent experience for us.