The next time you're driving from New York to Boston on I-95, you should make a little detour in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to visit the Old Slater Mill national historic landmark. It’s the site of what is considered to be the first successful water-powered textile spinning mill in America. That feat was made possible by Samuel Slater, an immigrant to the US who came here at the age of 21 in 1789 from England — a country with which we had just fought a long, bitter war. He had the mill going only a few years after the signing of the US Constitution, and is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution."
The textile industry became a huge deal in 19th century America, kind of like the tech industry is today....
via The Verge