Landscape of Industry: An Industrial History of the Blackstone Valley
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.25 (622 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1584657774 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 196 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-05-05 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
America’s first factory, Slater Mill, was constructed on the banks of the Blackstone River. In 1790, American craftsmen built the first machines that successfully used waterpower to spin cotton. Klyberg, and Seth Rockman. Cullon, Jennifer Desai, Gray Fitzsimons, Richard E. The unique history of the region unfolds within these pages, including the life and economy of the mills, the complex transportation networks, the role of slaves and the history of abolition in the valley, the struggle for workers’ rights, and the creation of the unique National Heritage Corridor itself.Contributors include: Joseph F. Greenwood, Albert T. Landscape of Industry is both a celebration of this history and a clear-eyed consideration of the social, cultural, and environmental consequences of the rise and ultimate decline of the river valley economy. The revolution in harnessing the power of water spread quickly through the valley and in other areas of New England, leading to the erection of new structures, changes to the landscape, and radically altered ways in which people lived and worked
"Water power creating industries" according to Oliver Nichelson. Well produced history of manufacturing rise in the area due to water power. Wish there could be a history of how pre-industrial farmers relied on water resources.. Robert Scott said Before the railroads there were. This subject interested me because the Blackstone Canal Bikeway is probably the best I have ever been on. It follows the old towpath or adjacent abandoned railroad right of way ( ironically since said Railroad killed the canal, and is now gone itself ). High quality book in terms of the paper and photos. A good read as well. How different than railroads this must have been, very quiet. Sadly, almost all evidence of the industry that was adjacent to the bikepath is gone, but the book does a good job of making on
Yet 200 years ago the Blackstone was a whirring engine of the American Industrial Revolution. To celebrate the region’s past, University Press of New England and the Worcester Historical Museum have produced Landscape of Industry: An Industrial History of the Blackstone Valley. Slater Mill in Pawtucket was the nation’s first successful water-powered cotton-spinning mill. The area was instrumental in the shift from an agricultural to a manufacturing economy. Old maps, prints, and photographs illustrate essays by historians and National Park Service rangers.”—Boston Globe. “The Blackstone River is sleepy as it twists and turns from Worcester to Pawtucket, R.I