America’s first textile mill could have been built along practically any river on the eastern seaboard. But in 1790 the forces of ingenuity, labor and mechanical know-how came together in Pawtucket, Rhode Island where the Blackstone River provided the power that kicked off America’s drive to industrialization.

Two centuries later, the hushed hum of microchips and T1 lines has replaced the whirl of bobbins and hiss of steam. The forces of inventiveness, hard work and technical know-how have once again united to forge a second American Industrial Revolution. And Pawtucket is once again a driving force behind this astonishing social and economic transformation.

The Blackstone River, the mill villages, and the agricultural landscape are all still here. And so are many of Pawtucket’s proud mills.