USA > Rhode Island > Picturesque Rhode Island : pen and pencil sketches of the scenery and history its cities, towns, and hamlets, and of men who have made them famous > Part 9
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PICTURESQUE RHODE ISLAND.
The " Wilkesbarre Pier " is one of the most prominent features of the town. The pier was designed to accommodate the immense coal business of the Worcester railway. The first cargo was landed upon it about eight years ago. It is very nearly one thousand feet long, and covers about five acres of land. The head of the pier is not " made land," as most people imagine it to be. A large number of piles, driven deep into the yielding mud, sustain a floor of stout planks, covered with a coating of earth two or three feet deep. Last year (in July, 1880) these piles were forced apart by the pressure of the great weight above them, and a very general collapse was the result. During the year 1880, 473 cargoes were landed upon this pier. From it more than 250.000 tons of coal were carried away in the railway cars. It appears somewhat strange at first sight to read that, while the number of tons of coal landed upon this great wharf increases each year, the number of vessels bringing cargoes steadily diminishes. The age of small vessels has gone by. Large steamers, and great barges towed by steam-tugs, have taken the place of the " fore-and-aft " schooners of the early days of the pier. The average tonnage of the schooners engaged in the business is now about 750 tons ; of barges rather more than 1,000 tons.
The great manufacturing establishment of the town is the Rum- ford Chemical Works. The corner-stone of the main structure was laid in 1854. George F. Wilson and Eben N. Horsford were the originators of the enterprise. Mr. Horsford was at that time the " Rumford Professor" of Chemistry in Harvard University, hence the name of the works. On "Seekonk Plains," once apparently a
Ocean Cottage.
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PAWTUCKET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND LINCOLN.
THEE
Bod wa
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Pawtucket Falls, 1881.
barren waste, but now abounding in well-cultivated fields, the factory is placed. The buildings cover about two acres of land. Legions of house-keepers throughout the country have learned to value the productions sent forth from them.
It is almost impossible to select from the tangled mass of histori- cal detail which clusters around the Pawtucket Falls, the portion which specially applies to the several towns that have been formed in their neighborhood. The attempt at separation has not therefore been made, and the rise and progress of the manufactures has been considered as a whole.
THE FIRST SETTLER within the limits of the present TOWN OF PAWTUCKET was Joseph Jenks. He was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1632, and came to America in 1645. His father, who bore the same Christian name, had settled in Lynn, Mass., some years before. In Lynn the son remained until his removal to Pawtucket, about 1655. The interval between the two dates was spent by him in working with his father in the manufacture of iron tools, etc. The elder Jenks is credited with being the " first founder
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who worked in brass and iron on the Western Continent. By his hands the first models were constructed, and the first cast- ings made, of many domestic implements and iron tools." From his father the younger Jenks acquired the skill of which he afterwards made good use in his new home.
A virgin forest covered the banks of the river at Pawtucket Falls. As yet no white man had made a clearing when Jo- seph Jenks established his home upon it. He built a forge in a deep ravine, on the west bank of the river, a short distance below the falls. Here he plied his trade, finding customers for The Universalist Church. the products of his skill in the neighboring village of Prov- idence, and in the settlements around him. As the working of iron, including the making of tools, is one of the most important and necessary occupations in a new country, Mr. Jenks' forge quickly became the nucleus of an industrial settlement. New settlers were continually coming into the neighborhood, clearings were made, and houses built, and the materials for a future New England town were gradually brought together.
Joseph Jenks had four sons, Joseph, Nathaniel, Ebenezer, and William. All followed their father's trade. The family was influential in political affairs as well as in 'business. The eldest son, Joseph, was governor of the Colony of Rhode Island from 1727 to I732.
About a score of years after Mr. Jenks came to Pawtucket, King Philip's War burst upon the land. The settlement was broken up ; the buildings were burned by the Indians, and the place was for a time entirely deserted. As soon as peace was restored the hamlet was rebuilt, and again the hum of industry was heard on the banks of the Pawtucket River, never again to be interrupted by war or bloodshed.
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PAWTUCKET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND LINCOLN.
One of the most disastrous engagements of the war took place on the banks of the river, between Pawtucket and Valley Falls. Wan- dering parties of the Indians were committing great havoc among the settlements, and Captain Pierce, of Scituate, with a force of sixty- three Englishmen and twenty friendly Indians, was ordered to follow the enemy and disperse them. He was on his march into the Nar-
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REID
ALBoawell Del
Pawtucket Falls, 1789.
ragansett Country, having heard that many of the enemy had collected at Pawtuxet, a few miles to the southward of Providence. "Being a man of great courage, and willing to engage the enemy on any ground, he was led into a fatal snare. On crossing the Pawtucket River he found himself encircled by an overwhelming number. He retreated to the side of the river to prevent being surrounded; but this only alternative failed ; for the enemy, crossing the river above, · came upon their backs with the same deadly effect as those in front. Thus they had to contend with triple numbers and a double disad- vantage. Means were found to dispatch a messenger to Providence for succor, but through some unaccountable default in him or them to whom it was delivered, none arrived until too late. The scene was horrid beyond description. Some say that all the English were slain, others that only one escaped, which was effected as follows: A friendly Indian pursued him with an uplifted tomahawk, in the face of the enemy, who, considering his fate certain, and that he was pur-
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sued by one of their own men, made no discovery of the stratagem, and both escaped. Another friendly Indian, seeing that the battle was lost, blackened his face with powder, and ran among the enemy, whom they took to be one of themselves, who also were painted black, then presently escaped into the woods. Another was pursued, who hid behind a rock, and his pursuer lay secreted near to shoot him when he ventured out. But he behind the rock put his hat or cap upon a stick, and raising it up in sight, the other fired upon it. He, dropping his stick, ran upon him before he could reload his gun and shot him dead. It appears that Canonchet, a Trinity Church. Narragansett chief, who afterwards fell into the hands of the brave Captain Danton, commanded in this battle."
In the records of the disputes which early arose between the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island as to their boundaries, Pawtucket Falls is frequently mentioned. From the Falls the line was " to be run north to the Massachusetts south line." Permission was granted by the General Assembly in 1761 for a lottery, to raise money for making a passage around Pawtucket Falls, " so that fish of almost every kind who choose fresh water at certain seasons of the year may pass with ease." This trench was built, but failed of its end, and was afterwards used by the owners of the mill-privileges for their business. In 1713 a bridge was built across the river at the Falls, and the cost divided between the two colonies. This bridge was pulled down in 1730, rebuilt in 1731-32, and in 1741, the expense being in every case shared equally between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Five bridges, three of iron and two of stone, now span the stream.
The abundant water-power was early made use of, and small manufacturing establishments of various kinds sprang up along the banks of the river. Not, however, until after the Revolution, did the manufactories increase to any considerable extent. Then the restric-
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PAWTUCKET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND LINCOLN.
KEDVEL
A View in Main Street.
tions which the British Government had imposed on the colonies were swept away, leaving a large and promising field open to new enterprises.
Oziel Wilkinson, with his family, removed, in 1783, from Smith- field, and settled in Pawtucket, being induced to do so by the ample water-power and convenient nearness of the mills and forges at the Falls. He and his sons, of whom there were five, were all black- smiths. They were good mechanics and gifted with the inventive faculty. Some of the largest anchors in the country were made by them. They are said to have been the first in the world to make cut- nails, and were also the first to cast cannon solid. The cannon were afterwards bored by water-power. Through the exertions of these men and of the Jenkses who had preceded them, the village of Paw- tucket, on both banks of the river, became the principal centre of the iron manufacture in this part of the country during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the first quarter of the present century. The
A View of Pawtucket from below Division Street Bridge
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PAWTUCKET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND LINCOLN.
MUSIC HALL
Music Hall.
famous Samuel Slater married Hannah, a daughter of Oziel Wilkin- son. The Wilkinsons were afterward, in connection with Slater, extensively engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods.
The following description of the village of Pawtucket, as it was in 1810, is taken from Dwight's Travels :
" In the northwestern corner of Rehoboth, there is a compact and neat settlement on the Pawtucket or Providence River. This, with another on the western bank, form what is called North Providence ; although this name, in strict propriety, belongs only to the latter. This village is well built, and wears a flourishing aspect. The river is a large mill-stream ; and just below the village becomes navigable for boats. Directly under the bridge commences a romantic fall, which, extending obliquely down the river, furnishes a number of excellent mill-sites. Of this advantage the inhabitants have availed themselves. There is probably no spot in New England, of the same extent, in which the same quantity or variety of manufacturing business is carried on. In the year 1796, there were here three anchor-forges, one tanning mill, three snuff-mills, one oil-mill, three
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fulling mills, one clothier's works, one cotton-factory, two machines for cutting nails, one furnace for casting hollow-ware, all moved by water; one machine for cutting screws, moved by a horse ; and several forges for smiths' work.
" The whole descent of the river is said to be fifty feet. The principal fall is about thirty. The mass of rocks by which it is pro- duced, is thrown together in the wildest confusion. When we passed this place the river was low. In 1807, while crossing the ferry just below in an oblique direction nearly a mile in extent, during the whole of which it was visible, I had a remarkably fine view of the cataract."
The following extract from an old Gazetteer of Rhode Island and Connecticut, published in Hartford in 1819, gives an idea of the place · at a later date : " The river here forms the boundary line between the two States. That part of the village which is in Rhode Island is principally built on four streets, and comprises eighty-three dwelling-houses, twelve mercantile stores, two churches, a post office, an incorporated bank, an academy, and two or three flourishing schools. Of the ten cotton-mills in the town (North Providence), three are at this place, and upon an extensive scale. There are six shops engaged in the manufacture of machinery, having the advan- tage of water-power, and various other mechanical establishments, affording extensive employment and supporting a dense population. Upon the Massachusetts side of the river there is a village of nearly equal size and consequence, for its manufacturing and other inter- ests."
The present town of Pawtucket has been in existence but a few years. The east side of the river originally formed a part of the old town of Rehoboth. Seekonk was separated from Rehoboth in 1812 ; it comprised all of Pawtucket now on the east side of the river. This portion was taken from Seekonk and formed into the township of Pawtucket by an act of incorporation from the Mas- sachusetts General Court, dated March 1, 1828. The first town- meeting after its incorporation was held on the seventeenth day of the same month. There were manufactories on both sides of the river, but those on the Rhode Island side predominated. On the Massachusetts side agriculture received more attention. As the two portions of the village were in different States, much inconvenience and local jealousy arose, operating against its business interests. These disadvantages were overcome to some extent by the cession
,
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of the town of Pawtucket to Rhode Island, in 1861. The act took effect in March, 1862. On the west side the village was originally in the town of Prov- idence, and was within the limits of North Providence when that town was incorporated in 1765. It continued an integral part of North Providence until 1874. At that time the latter town was dismembered, a part was given to Pawtucket, another part to Providence, and about one-third of its territory was left in the original town. By this arrange- ment the arbitrary boundaries which for some years had di- vided what should have been a united community were removed. The new act of incorporation was dated May 1, 1874. In 1865 The Congregational Church. the population of Pawtucket was 5,000, and its area 6.9 miles - an average of 724.6 to the square mile. In 1875, after the consolidation, the population was 18,464 ; area, 10.1, and the average population to the square mile, 1,828.1. The population, according to the United States census of 1880, was 19,030.
The celebrated "Sam Patch" began his career at Pawtucket. He was born at Marblehead, Mass., about 1796, and worked as a mule-spinner in Pawtucket in the early part of the present century. While here he attempted and successfully accomplished many hazardous feats, such as jumping from the bridges and from the roofs and windows of mills into the river. In fulfillment of a wager he jumped the Genesee Falls, at Rochester, N. Y., and afterwards performed the more difficult feat of jumping Niagara Falls. After many other prodigies of daring, he at last lost his life in again attempting to jump the Genesee Falls. The saying. "Some things can be done as well as others," is attributed to him. It indicates the sanguine temperament which prompted him to undertakings that seemed to be physical impossibilities. W. D. Howells says of him,
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in Their Wedding Journey: "It (Sam Patch ) is as good a name as Leander, to my thinking, and it was immortalized in support of a great idea, - the feasibility of all things."
To Pawtucket belongs the honor of being the first place in America where the manufacture of cotton goods was successfully accomplished. This industry, starting here from insignificant begin- nings, made rapid progress to perfection, caused the founding of many new towns and villages throughout the country, and has now assumed proportions of immense magnitude. The story of the strug- gles of the first projectors, the success which ultimately crowned their efforts, the progress of the industry established with such diffi- culty, and the changes in many directions following as a consequence, form a chapter in history more wonderful than any tale of battles or sieges.
Until a little more than a hundred years ago, all cloth, of what- ever material, was mainly the result of manual labor. The machines in use were of small value, being little better than frames to hold the material in position for convenience in working. The first improvement of note, as applied to the treatment of cotton, was made in England by James Hargreaves, in the year 1767. This invention was the spinning-jenny. By the method of spinning then practiced, only one thread could be spun at a time. Hargreaves' machine had eight spindles, and of course could spin as many threads at once. Shortly afterwards, Richard Arkwright invented roller-spinning, and was the first to associate all the preliminary pro- cessess of the cotton manufacture, together with that of spinning, under the same roof. He was the originator of the English fac- tory system. Through the agency of these two inventions the business increased largely. Many factories were built, and im- provements in machinery followed in rapid succession. The prin- ciples of the spinning-jenny of Hargreaves, and the " water-frame " of Arkwright, were combined in the spinning-mule invented by Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, in 1779, which gave a still further impetus to this industry. The yarn spun in the mills was made into cloth on hand-looms, which were to be found in many private houses. All these inventions were made within the limits of a narrow district in England, where for a time this industry was confined, and which has continued to this day the centre of the cotton manufacture in the world.
The British Government at that time prohibited the exportation
PAWTUCKET, NORTH PROVIDENCE, AND LINCOLN.
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The River, from Exchange Street Bridge.
of machinery. It also forbade any plans, drawings, or models of the new inventions to be carried away from the kingdom. Many attempts were made in this country to construct the various machines of the Arkwright patents, but, owing to imperfect drawings, the lack of models, and the absence of any person skilled in their construction and use, but little success was attained. " The first machines for carding, roving, and spinning, made in the United States, were the work of two mechanics from Scotland, Alexander and Robert Barr, employed by Mr. Orr, of East Bridgewater, Mass. The State made a grant in 1786 of £200 lawful money for the encouragement of the enterprise. The Beverly Company, in the same State, commenced operations in 1787, and, after expending £4,000, obtained in 1790 a grant of £1,000 from the Legislature, by the aid of which they succeeded in introducing the manufacture of cotton goods, but with very imperfect machinery. In 1788 a company was formed in Providence, R. I., for making ' home-spun cloths,' and they con- structed their machinery from the best drawings to be obtained of the English models and plans, which were afforded them by Mr. Orr and the Beverly Company. The carding and roving with these machines was effected in a very imperfect and slow manner, by hand-labor ; the spinning-frame, with thirty-two spindles, differing
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little from a common jenny, was worked at first by a crank, turned by hand. The machinery was sold to Moses Brown, of Prov- idence, who, together with Mr. Almy, had several hand-jennies employed in private houses in Providence, making yarn for the weft of mixed linen and cotton goods. Such operations could accom- plish little in competition with the Arkwright machinery, and all attempts to procure plans of this failed."
At this juncture Samuel Slater, who may with justice be called the father of the cotton industry in this country, appeared on the scene. Slater was born in the town of Belper, Derbyshire, England, June 9, 1768, the year after the invention of the spinning-jenny. He learned the business of manufacturing cotton with Jedediah Strutt, who, in connection with Sir Richard Arkwright, was then engaged in conducting a factory at a place called Milford. Here young Slater remained for more than eight years, learning thoroughly the processes of manufacturing, and also becoming an excellent machin- ist, skillful in the construction of cotton machinery. During the latter years of his apprenticeship his attention was called to the oppor- tunities for advancement offered in America to one familiar with the cotton manufacture. Soon after the term of his apprenticeship had expired, he observed in a Philadelphia paper notice of a reward offered by a society for a machine to make cotton rollers. He decided to go to the New World, and on the 13th of September, 1789, sailed from London for New York, where he arrived in November, after a passage of sixty-six days. He went to work for the New York Manufacturing Company soon after his arrival ; but their machinery was very imperfect and their available water-power unsatisfactory. While here he heard, from the captain of one of the Providence packets, of Moses Brown, of Providence, and his attempts to manufacture cotton. Slater wrote to this gentleman, offering his services, and said: "I flatter myself that I can give the greatest satisfaction in making machinery, making good yarn, either for stockings or twist, as any that is made in England, as I have had opportunity, and an oversight of Sir Richard Arkwright's works, and in Mr. Strutt's mill, upwards of eight years." A favorable answer was returned, and in January, 1790, he completed an arrangement with Almy & Brown to go to Pawtucket.
" On the eighteenth day of the same month, the venerable Moses Brown took him out to Pawtucket, where he commenced making the machinery, principally with his own hands, and on the twentieth of
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December, following, he started three cards, drawing and roving, and seventy-two spindles, which were worked by an old fulling-mill water-wheel in a clothier's 'building, in which they continued spin- ning about twenty months, at the expiration of which time they had several thousand pounds of yarn on hand, notwithstand- ing every exertion was used to weave it up and sell it.
" Early in the year 1793, · Almy, Brown, and Slater, built a small factory in that village (known and called to this day the ' Old Factory'), in which they set in motion July 12, the preparation and seventy-two spindles, and slowly added to that number, as the sales of the yarn ap- peared more promising, The Pumping-Station. which induced the said Slater to be concerned in erecting a new mill, and to increase the machinery in the old mill."
Mr. Slater had great difficulties to contend with in his first attempt to spin cotton in Pawtucket. The machinery his employers had been using he declared unsuitable, and proceeded to construct . machines on the English models. An important drawback was, that he had no plans or drawings, but had to trust entirely to his memory. Though at times almost discouraged by his apparent want of success, he nevertheless succeeded in constructing the machines. A partner- ship was formed by Slater with William Almy and Smith Brown, April 5, 1790. " In 1798 Mr. Slater entered into company with Oziel Wilkinson, Timothy Green, and William Wilkinson, the two latter, as well as himself, having married daughters of Oziel Wil- kinson. He built the second mill on the east side of Pawtucket River, the firm being Samuel Slater & Co., himself holding half the stock." Mr. Slater superintended both these establishments, receiv- ing $1.50 per day for each mill. The business progressed under his management, and a number of mills in which he was interested were built in neighboring villages, both in Rhode Island and Mas- sachusetts. Other parties, mostly men who had learned the business
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in the factories of Mr. Slater and his partners, built factories, and the business was gradually extended throughout New England.
The original factories of Slater and his partners, like those of Ark- wright in England, were engaged solely in the manufacture of yarn. The weaving was at first done on hand-looms in private houses. After the more general introduction of the power-loom (invented by the Rev. Edmund Cartwright, in 1785), it was performed in establishments erected for the purpose. The first mill in the world in which all the processes for the manufacture of cotton, from the raw material to the perfected cloth, were combined, was erected at Wal- tham, Mass., in 1813.
Mr. Slater was unostentatious in his habits, and was, as he him- self says, " a candid Englishman." His life outside of his business was uneventful. In his own sphere, however, he was a tireless worker and a consummate manager, as the extent of his business and his financial success testify. He was ever ready to help those of his countrymen who needed his assistance, and many were the emi- grants who were aided by his quiet benevolence. He and his part- ners established schools at their factories for the benefit of their operatives, and Mr. Slater is said to have established the first Sun- day School in this country. His school was conducted upon the well-known plan of Robert Raikes. In the later years of his life Mr. Slater became largely interested in both woolen mills and machine shops. The life of Samuel Slater is more worthy of honor · than that of many a statesman or warrior whose renown is world- wide. His triumphs were peaceful, but they produced changes greater than the downfall or upbuilding of an empire. He died at Pawtucket, April 21, 1835. Many descendants in the United States still bear his name.
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