Weybosset Mills Complex

Last updated
Weybosset Mills Complex
Weybosset Mills 1.jpg
USA Rhode Island location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Providence, Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°48′52″N71°26′31″W / 41.81444°N 71.44194°W / 41.81444; -71.44194 Coordinates: 41°48′52″N71°26′31″W / 41.81444°N 71.44194°W / 41.81444; -71.44194
Area 3.4 acres (1.4 ha)
Built 1836
NRHP reference # 07001381 [1]
Added to NRHP January 10, 2008

The Weybosset Mills Complex is a historic industrial site in the Olneyville section of Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of nine historic brick factory buildings, located on three city blocks west of Rhode Island Route 10 and north of United States Route 6, just northwest of their junction. The three blocks are bounded on the south by Magnolia Street, and on the east by railroad tracks paralleling Route 10. The southern two blocks end at Agnes and Oak Streets, while the northerly block is bounded on the west by Troy Street and the north by Dike Street. The oldest building in the complex is a three-story brick boiler house built c. 1836. Although the origins of this mill complex were as a cotton mill, the Weybosset Corporation purchased it in 1864, and transformed it into one of the nation's major producers of worsted wool products. [2]

Olneyville, Providence, Rhode Island human settlement in Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America

Olneyville is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island bordered by Atwells Avenue to the north, U.S. Route 6 to the south and Rhode Island Route 10 to the east. The Woonasquatucket River runs through the southern portion of the neighborhood. The area is roughly triangular.

Providence, Rhode Island Capital of Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.

Route 10 is a numbered state highway connector in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, traveling along the Huntington Expressway, the first freeway in the state. It connects Route 12 on the Cranston–Providence city line with Interstate 95, U.S. Route 6, and Memorial Boulevard in downtown Providence, passing just east of the Olneyville area of Providence. It provides an alternate route to I-95 south of downtown, and connects it with the US 6 freeway west from Olneyville towards I-295 and Connecticut.

Contents

The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 2008. [1]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island.

Related Research Articles

Mechanic Street Historic District

The Mechanic Street Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century mill and mill village in a 14-block area of the Pawcatuck section of Stonington, Connecticut. Extending along the Pawcatuck River and south of West Broad Street, the area includes a large brick mill complex on the banks of the river, and a neighborhood of well-preserved worker housing on the road grid to its west. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Westminster Arcade

The Westminster Arcade is a historic shopping center at 130 Westminster Street and 65 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island built in 1828. It is notable as the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States and has been lauded as a fine example of commercial Greek Revival architecture. It served as a shopping center for many years before falling into decline in the late 20th century. It has since been closed for renovation and rehabilitation several times, and most recently reopened its doors in October 2013 as a residential and commercial mixed-use building. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Beneficent Congregational Church church building in Rhode Island, United States of America

The Beneficent Congregational Church is a United Church of Christ congregation of Congregationalist heritage at 300 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The congregation was founded in 1743 during the "First Great Awakening".

Berkeley Mill Village

Berkeley Mill Village is a historic district encompassing the mill village of Berkeley in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The village is roughly bounded by Martin Street and Mendon Road on the north and east, railroad tracks to the west, and St. Joseph Cemetery to the south. The village, including a mill complex and mill employee housing, was built in 1872 by the Lonsdale Company. Most of the residential structures built are two-story brick duplexes, although Mendon Street is lined with a number of fine Queen Anne Victorian houses. A c. 1892 Stick-style church building, stands on Mendon Street at the northern end of the district.

Greystone Mill Historic District

The Greystone Mill Historic District encompasses an early 20th-century textile mill complex on Greystone Avenue in Johnston and North Providence, Rhode Island. The complex consists of three brick buildings on the North Providence side of the Woonasquatucket River, a dam spanning the river, and a water tank near the dam in Johnston. The main structure consists of a series of structures combined to form a rambling structure, built between 1904 and 1911 to designs by Frank Sheldon and Son, an architectural firm that was a leading designer of textile facilities at the time.

Valley Falls Mill

The Valley Falls Mill is a historic textile mill complex on Broad Street in Central Falls, Rhode Island. The complex consists of the primary mill building, a large Italianate brick four-story building erected in 1849, several outbuildings. a dam across the Blackstone River, and a portion of the original canal system which provided water power to the mill. The outbuildings include the gatehouse controlling waterflow into the canals, a small stuccoed office building now serving as a retail establishment, and a brick bathhouse built c. 1870 that stands just south of the mill race. The complex originally had a second mill building and power canal; that building was destroyed by fire, and its canal was filled in. The main mill building was developed as housing in the late 1970s, including a sympathetic replacement for the second mill building.

Richmond Paper Company Mill Complex

The Richmond Paper Company Mill Complex is an historic American paper mill at 310 Bourne Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of a collection of mainly brick buildings on 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land, bounded on the north by Bourne Avenue, the east by railroad tracks, the west by the Seekonk River, and on the south by land formerly owned by the Washburn Wire Company. The first seven of the surviving buildings were built between 1883 and 1887 by the Richmond Paper Company. The property was acquired at auction in 1894 by Eugene Phillips, who operated the American Electrical Works on the premises, adding further buildings between 1900 and 1930 and demolishing several buildings specific to paper processing. The property presently sees a variety of light industrial uses. The Richmond Paper Company is notable as the place where Arthur Dehon Little started his career.

Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex

The Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex is a historic factory complex in Providence, Rhode Island along the Woonasquatucket River. The 25-acre (10 ha) complex occupies most of a large city block bounded on the south by Promenade Street, the west by Bath and Calverly Streets, the north by West Park Street, and the east by Interstate 95. The complex was the longtime home of Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of precision equipment founded in 1833. The company was originally located in downtown Providence, but moved to this site in 1872, where it remained until 1964, when it moved to North Kingstown. Fourteen of the company's buildings survive.

Hay and Owen Buildings

The Hay and Owen Buildings are a pair of historic commercial buildings at 101 and 117-135 Dyer Street in Providence, Rhode Island.

Moshassuck Square

Moshassuck Square is an industrial historic district in Providence, Rhode Island, lining the banks of the Blackstone Canal just north of the Rhode Island State House. It consists of the few surviving buildings of the once-extensive American Screw Company complex, which was largely developed between the 1840s and 1870s, and was a major fixture in the Providence landscape prior to its destruction by fire in 1971. The buildings are in an area bounded by Charles Street on the west, Stevens and Hewes Streets on the north, North Main Street to the east, and Mill Street to the south. Prominent among them are the Stillman White Foundry and Fletcher Manufacturing Company office building, which stand on opposite sides of Mill Street near its crossing of the canal. At 127 Charles Street stands a three-story brick building built c. 1900 as a retail and residential building. The only surviving elements of the Screw Company complex are located at North Main and Hewes Streets, and now house the Providence Center.

Oriental Mills

The Oriental Mills are a historic textile mill complex at 10 Admiral Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The site consists of seven buildings, constructed between about 1860 and 1917, by a variety of textile manufacturers that operated on the site. The oldest building, from c. 1860, was built by the Oriental Mills Manufacturing Company soon after its founding. It is a large three-story brick structure, presenting eight bays to Admiral Street and thirty to Whipple Street. It has a well-defined Italianate roof line with brackets. Building 3, which lies southeast of Building 1 and fronts on Oriental Street, is from the same time period and exhibits similar styling. Originally used for the manufacture of cotton textiles, the complex was purchased in 1918 by the American Silk Spinning Company, which pioneered the blending of nylon fibers into its products here.

United States Rubber Company Mill Complex

The United States Rubber Company Mill Complex is a historic industrial facility in Providence, Rhode Island. It is a large complex of factory buildings covering about 23 acres (9.3 ha) on the north bank of the Woonasquatucket River. It is bounded on the west by Ericson Place, the north by Valley Street, and the east by Hemlock Street. The property includes 29 historic buildings, built between c. 1885 and c. 1960, as well as three bridges. The buildings are predominantly brick structures, ranging in height from one to five stories, and were built either by the Joseph Banigan Rubber Company, its successor the United States Rubber Company, or the American Locomotive Company, whose property east of the rubber works was acquired by the US Rubber Company in 1918. Only four buildings built by these companies are known to have been demolished before 1960. The plant closed in 1975, and has since been adapted to a variety of other uses.

Wanskuck Historic District

The Wanskuck Historic District is a historic district in the city of Providence, Rhode Island encompassing a mill village with more than two hundred years of history. As early as the mid-18th century, mills stood on the West River in northern Providence, a development which continued with the rise of industrialization in the 19th century. The mill village of Wanskuck is organized around three thoroughfares: Branch Street, Veazie Street, and Woodward Road, and is roughly bounded on the east by Louisquisset Pike and to the northwest by the city line with North Providence. The West River runs through the district, with its banks lined by two late-19th-century mill complexes. The village area includes a variety of examples of mill worker housing, from duplexes to rowhouses, as well as two church complexes and a community hall built in 1884 by the Wanskuck Company.

Westminster Street Historic District

Westminster Street Historic District is a commercial historic district consisting of six buildings along the north side of Westminster Street in Providence, Rhode Island, a short way west of Interstate 95. Three of the buildings are located just west of Dean Street, while the other three are just to its east. Five of the six buildings were constructed between 1870 and 1900, and the sixth in 1933. These five, the most prominent of which is the Burrows Block are uniformly built of brick and masonry, while the Chiapinelli Block, at the eastern end of the district, is an Art Deco office building with a concrete main facade and brick sidewalls.

Crompton Mill Historic District

The Crompton Mill Historic District is a historic district encompassing a mill complex at 20 Remington Street, 53 and 65 Manchester Street in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The mill complex consists of a collection of mainly brick buildings, bounded by the Pawtuxet River and Pulaski, Remington, and Manchester Streets in the village of Crompton. The mill complex formerly extended across the river, but the complex on the west bank was destroyed by fire in 1992. The oldest elements of the complex are the dam site and some of the raceways that provided water power to the mills. The present dam was built in 1908, replacing an 1882 structure. The raceways were built in 1807, around the time of the first mill buildings. The stone Mill No. 1, built 1807, is believed to be the oldest stone mill building in the state. Most of the complex's buildings were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Providence Manufacturing Company and its successors. The mill was used for textile processing until 1946, when the Crompton Corporation ended production.

United States Customshouse (Providence, Rhode Island)

The U.S. Customshouse is a historic custom house at 24 Weybosset Street in Providence, Rhode Island at the northeast corner at Weybosset and Custom House streets. The customhouse was built between 1855 and 1857 to a design by Ammi B. Young and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1992, the building was purchased by the State of Rhode Island and converted to office space for the State Courts System. After extensive renovation at a cost of $550.000, the building was opened by the state of Rhode Island as the John E. Fogarty Judicial Complex.

Jules Desurmont Worsted Company Mill

The Jules Desurmont Worsted Company Mill is a historic mill at 84 Fairmount Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The mill complex consists of three brick buildings, erected 1907-10 by Jules Desurmont, the owner of a textile firm in Tourcoing, a city in northern France, who had been drawn to Woonsocket by the promotional activities of Aram Pothier. The mill produced French worsted wool yarn until 1952, and was used for many years thereafter by smaller textile and industrial concerns.

Greystone Historic District

The Greystone Historic District is a historic district encompassing the early 20th-century mill village of Greystone in North Providence, Rhode Island. The district most significant elements is the Greystone Mill, a complex of brick industrial buildings on the North Providence side of the Woonasquatucket River, as well as the dam spanning the river and a water tank in Johnston. The village, entirely in North Providence, was developed between 1904 and 1912 by Joseph Benn and Company, the mill proprietors, to provide housing for its workers. The main focus of the village is on junction of Greystone Road and Oakleigh Avenue. The company built a variety of housing types, including duplexes and tenements, which line some of the side streets. There are four houses, dating as far back as 1822, that predate the primary industrial activity here. The most prominent feature of the village is the Greystone (Primitive) Methodist Church on Oakleigh Avenue.

Heaton and Cowing Mill

The Heaton and Cowing Mill is a historic industrial facility at 1115 Douglas Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island. The small mill complex consists of three connected building sections; the oldest is a c. 1832 rubble-walled two story mill building constructed by David Heaton and Martin Cowing on the banks of the West River. The partners used the facility to manufacture and dye cotton cloth. The building is the remnant of a much larger Geneva Worsted Company works that Heaton and Cowing built on the site in the 1860s and 1870s. The building was used, with a major brick addition c. 1930, for textile production until the 1950s, until its last textile owner, the Wanskuck Mill, shut down. It served a variety of light industrial businesses, and in 1982 a concrete block building was added to its rear. Most of its original waterworks infrastructure has either been filled in, or was destroyed by flooding in 2010.

Mechanical Fabric Company

The Mechanical Fabric Company is a historic factory complex on Cromwell and Sprague Streets in Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of six brick buildings, arranged in roughly parallel rows in a city block bounded by Cromwell, Sprague, and Dexter Streets, and Elmwood Avenue. They were built between 1891 and about 1925. The Mechanical Fabric Company was a major player in the city's rubber industry, and was particularly notable as the site of innovations in the development and manufacture of pneumatic bicycle tires.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Weybosset Mills Complex" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-11-02.