Branch Village is a village located on Rhode Island Route 146A ("Great Road") near the intersection of St. Paul Street in North Smithfield. The village takes its name from the Branch River

Branch River (Rhode Island)

The Branch River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 16 km . There are six dams along the river's length. The river provided energy for many of the regions textile mills in the nineteenth century.-Course:...

 which runs through it.

In 1795 Elisha Bartlett of Glocester built a scythe

Scythe

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...

 and tool mill in Branch Village powered by the river. After his death in 1805, the mill was expanded to manufacture cotton. Branch Village is home to restaurants, supermarkets, a fire station with an adjoining fire lookout tower

Fire lookout tower

A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness...

, and other businesses.

External links and references