Pawtucket Falls

Pawtucket Falls is a waterfall on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, about half a mile above the river’s meeting with the Pawtucket River. Its name comes from an Algonkian word meaning “at the falls in the river,” showing the place’s long connection to the watercourse. The falls became especially important in early American industry because they powered Samuel Slater’s cotton spinning mill, built in 1793. That mill is widely linked to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, giving the falls significance both as a natural feature and as part of the landscape that helped launch textile manufacturing in New England.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island · United States