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Description

This commemorative silver medal was created for the 1890 Pawtucket Cotton Centenary, a week-long fair celebrating the 100th anniversary of Slater Mill and the Rhode Island cotton industry. Slater Mill, built in Pawtucket Falls, Rhode Island in 1793, was the first textile mill in the United States. The company moved to Webster, Massachusetts fairly early in its existence, but the original site in Pawtucket, “Old Slater Mill,” remains a national landmark. The obverse side of this medal depicts Pawtucket Falls itself, while the reverse side depicts the Old Slater Mill building. The mill is encircled by text reading “100th Anniversary of Cotton Spinning in the U.S.” This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.