Early Industry
By: Karli H.
A view of Chicopee River from Put's Bridge in Ludlow
The Industrial Revolution began in the 1700's in England and was brought to America by Samuel Slater. Slater helped build the first textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793. The first mills found in New England were family mills, where families would work in the mills together. The mills were a new opportunity for women to get out of the house, prove to men that they could work outside of the house, and was a place where they could meet new women. Mills grew in New England because of the many rivers and streams, and especially in western Massachusetts because of the Connecticut and Chicopee Rivers. The mills were normally built close to rivers because they were powered by water. Many of Ludlow's mills were located at the Chicopee River. Ludlow grew as a town and its industry grew because of this river, which gave Ludlow the capability to create new goods and to sell them.
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