Resourceful RI
Limited natural resources encourages manufacture e. g. whale sperm into candles, silver coins into utensils
Early manufacturing
Limited natural resources encourages manufacture e. g. whale sperm into candles, silver coins into utensils
Rhode island develops reputation for excellence in domestic crafts including furniture and silver
Paving the way for industrialization
Jenckes family forges make them the iron masters of their day. Brown family Hope Furnace cast Revolution cannons.
Wilkinson & Sylvanus Brown establish a tradition of machining that paves the way for Slater and mill development
Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
Samuel Slater’s engineering and Moses Brown’s financing give birth to the American Industrial Revolution
Mill construction spreads like wild fire up and down RI river valleys
Mills create new industries — e.g., machine manufacturing and itinerant mechanics
Mills give rise to self-contained villages with housing, goods & services for employees working long hours at low pay
Providence emerges as a trade center for cotton and wool. Turnpikes and tow paths built along river corridors.
A new industry expands industrialization
Steam power enables mill development away from rushing water
RI becomes a center for steam engine manufacturing
The Corliss steam engine becomes an icon of the industrial age at 1876 Centennial
Shipping and railroad traffic expands to move massive quantities of coal from Pennsylvania
Water-wheel driven mills use steam power interchangeably
Components of RI’s industrial prominence
Early industrialization attracted talent to textile, jewelry, machine tools and engine manufacturing
Cluster of mechanics and designers emerge from apprentice systems and training institutions
RI inventors produce large number of patents, second only to CT
Well developed shipping and rail enhance flow of goods and resources
Proximity to NYC and Boston provides major markets
By late 19th century, Providence is a world leader in production od cotton, wool, base metals, precious metals and rubber. Corliss, Gorham, Brown and Sharpe, Nicholsen File and American Screw are dubbed the “Five Industrial Wonders of the World.”
RI’s history of design
Overcoming RI’s deficiency in natural resources
Art and Science converge in jewelry and other manufacturing
RI’s role as a regional center of advertising
RISD and other institutions make RI a center of design, an added value to production
National Register quality buildings; leader in historic preservation
Industrial decline
Competitive disadvantages cause a sharp decline in RI manufacturing from 1920s to 80s
Mills move south to locate closer to raw materials and father from union influence
High energy and environmental costs make New England manufacturing less competitive
New England railroad infrastructure loses significance with increase in air cargo
and multi-nationals and new technologies are born
Under the direction of Royal Little, Textron introduces “conglomerate” to the vocabulary of business
Fleet becomes Bank America, Allendale becomes FM Global — exemplifying RI change in business organizations and cultures in an age of multi-nationals
RI industries shift to service and technology