Pawtucket

Providence's neighbor to the immediate north is a slightly gruff, blue-collar factory town that's gradually seen some new blood move in as real-estate prices have risen in the capital. In Algonquian, "petuket" (similar to standard Rhode Island pronunciation of the city's name today, with the accent on the second syllable) means "waterfalls." A small village was established at the falls in 1670 by Joseph Jenks Jr., who considered the area a prime spot for an iron forge. When Samuel Slater arrived 120 years later, he was delighted to find a corps of skilled mechanics ready to assist him in his dream of building a textile mill and bringing America's first factory system into being. Although many of Pawtucket's older buildings were torn down as part of urban renewal projects in the 1970s, significant portions of the city's history have been preserved, and Slater Mill is a must for history buffs.