Pawtucket
a city in Providence co., R. I., on the Pawtucket river, at the head of navigation, and on the New York and New England, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads; 4 miles N. of Providence. The river here falls 50 feet, and this fact, with its proximity to the sea, led Samuel Slater in 1790 to select it as the site for the first cotton factory built in the United States. Here are water-works, public library, public and parochial schools, street railroad and electric light plants, National and savings banks, and several daily and weekly newspapers.
It has about 500 manufacturing establishments, among which the most im- PAYN portant are cotton, woolen, and hair cloth mills, machine shops, and foundries, print works, and extensive thread mills. Pop. (1910) 51,622; (1920) 64,- 248.