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Spinning Frame - Water Frame
In 1768, Richard Arkwright invented the spinning frame that could produce stronger threads for yarns. The first models were powered by waterwheels so the device came to be first known as the water frame. It was the first powered, automatic, and continuous textile machine and enabled the move away from small home manufacturing towards factory production. -
The Steamboat
John Fitch was granted his first United States patent for a steamboat on August 26, 1791. On August 7, 1807, Robert Fulton's Clermont went from New York City to Albany making history with a 150-mile trip taking 32 hours at an average speed of about 5 miles-per-hour. -
Textile Mill
Samuel Slater of Rhode Island visited several mills owned by Arkwright and associates, memorized the
essential features and returned to the US. In 1792, he opened a yarn spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode
Island, the first successful automated yarn spinning in the US. -
The Cotton Gin
In 1793 Eli Whitney built a device that removed the seeds of the "green-seed" cotton. Whitney's "gin" combed the seeds out of the cotton. The cotton gin was easy to mass produce, and quickly increased the profitability of cotton, which, in turn, increased the size and number of plantations and the need for enslaved laborers. -
The Railroad Locomotive
Peter Cooper built an American engine based on the ones developed in Great Britain. In 1830 Cooper's tiny but powerful locomotive, Tom Thumb, pulled the nation's first load of train passengers. Forty people traveled at the then incredible speed of 10 miles per hour along 13 miles of track between Baltimore and Ellicott City, Maryland. -
Sewing Machines
In 1834, Walter Hunt built America's first successful sewing machine. Hunt never patented and in 1846, the first American patent was issued to Elias Howe for "a process that used thread from two different sources." -
The Telegraph
Samuel Morse improved the invention of the telegraph, orignally invented by Joseph Henry. The first modern breakthrough in communications was the telegraph and Morse code. Suddenly, news and other information could be sent via telegraph keys over long distances nearly instantly.
