Historic mill villages of Woonsocket
Encyclopedia
The city of Woonsocket
in the U.S. state of Rhode Island
was established as a union of six mill village
s along the Blackstone River
. These villages are described in more detail below.
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
in the U.S. state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
was established as a union of six mill village
Industrial district
Industrial district was initially introduced as a term to describe an area where workers of a monolithic heavy industry live within walking-distance of their places of work...
s along the Blackstone River
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
. These villages are described in more detail below.
- Woonsocket Falls Village was founded in the 1820s, taking up much of the area around Market Square. Entrepreneurs built many factories in the area which were powered by Blackstone River water flowing to the factories from hand-dug trenches.
- Social Village was the site of the city's first textile mill. In 1810 Ariel, Abner and Nathan Ballou, Eber Barlett, Job and Luke Jenckes, Oliver Leland and Joseph Arnold started the Social Manufacturing Company manufacturing cotton thread in a small wooden mill on the Mill River near Social Street. Eventually, the Social Mill, Nourse Mill and American Wringer Company were built in the area.
- Jenckesville was founded 1822 by Job and Luke Jenckes when they sold their interest in the Social Manufacturing Company and constructed Woonsocket's first stone mill at 96 Mill Street.
- Hamlet Village was founded 1815 by General Edward Carrington, a creator of the Blackstone CanalBlackstone CanalThe Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.-History:...
. Carrington built a textile mill near Hamlet Avenue and Davidson Street.
- Globe Village was named after the Globe Mill located within it. Thomas Arnold, Thomas Paine and Marcel Shove started the Globe Manufacturing Company in 1827 which went bankrupt two years later, and was acquired by George Ballou in 1864 who built a new state-of-the-art textile mill in 1873. The Social Manufacturing Company bought Ballou's complex after his death, and the company operated the mill until "it was acquired by the Manville-Jenckes Company in the early 1900's. Manville-Jenckes operated the mill until 1927 when it was closed. The mill buildings were demolished in the 1940s but employee housing on Front and Lincoln Street still remains."http://www.woonsocket.org/village.htm Globe Park remains a popular recreation area.
- Bernon (originally Danville) was founded in 1827 by the Russell Manufacturing Company, which built a stone mill in the area. In 1832, Sullivan Dorr (father of Thomas Wilson DorrThomas Wilson DorrThomas Wilson Dorr , was American politician and reformer, best known for leading the Dorr Rebellion....
) and Crawford Allen of ProvidenceProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
bought the Russell Manufacturing Company and formed the Woonsocket Mill Company and renamed the village Bernon. In 1833, Dorr and Allen built the Bernon Worsted MillBernon Worsted MillThe Bernon Worsted Mill is an historic building at 828 Park Avenue in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.The textile mill was built in 1919 and was added to the National Historic Register in 2005. The mill was renovated into condominiums in 2005....
, a beautiful building. Eventually, the site became the property of the Blackstone Valley Gas and Electric.