Samuel Slater was a Belper lad who was apprenticed to Jedidiah Strutt in his Milford cotton mills in 1782 but then in 1789 aged 21 went to the newly independent USA and told the Americans all he had learnt about the factory system from Strutt. He was called the “Father of the American Factory System” by President Andrew Jackson but “Slater The Traitor” by some in Belper.
In more recent times Milford residents Rosemary Timms and Griff Everett and others researched the story in detail and in 2005 Maypole Promotions (Milford) made a film called Samuel Slater – Hero or Traitor?
The film and subsequent book, of the same title, were the result of a research project funded by the Heritage Lottery (and others) and involved around 200 local people with a handful of professional filmmakers.
Chris Herriot who played Samuel Slater in the film
Radio Derby has recently made a programme about Slater for their ‘Secret Derbyshire’ series and to find out more the link is … HERE.
The Samuel Slater – Hero or Traitor? film was originally on DVD but is now available on Youtube
There is a limited number of books left in print and they are available from Scarthin Books in Cromford.
