All Stories: 341
Stories
The Jewish Orphanage of Rhode Island
The Jewish Orphanage of Rhode Island (JORI) began as two separate organizations. The first chartered in 1908, headed by the South Providence Ladies’ Aid Society and Mr. Herman Paster, were granted a charter to “support and maintain orphan children…
Jewish Sites in Central Falls and Pawtucket
It was 1905, and five orthodox Jewish men from Pawtucket signed incorporation papers for a synagogue to be called The Congregation Ohawe Shalom. The only problem was that they had no money for a building, so they were forced to worship in a variety…
Sons of Jacob Synagogue
The founders of the Sons of Jacob, an Orthodox synagogue, had a vision: a soaring edifice in the North End of Providence that would be a symbol of their prosperity and place in the new world. Having fled the pogroms in Russia and Poland and unrest…
South Providence - A personal history
This area was almost totally Irish when I and my compatriots from Austria and Romania began our life in Providence in the early 1880’s on Robinson St. After 1900, Russian Jews fleeing pogroms came to South Providence. Most arrived with little in the…
Touro Cemetery
Jews can have religious services any place, but you need hallowed ground for a burial. Although the Newport cemetery was established in 1677, Touro Synagogue was consecrated in 1763. Touro is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Rhode Island, established…
If these walls could talk…
In the beginning, there was a Jewish congregation but no home. The small Orthodox community called themselves the Lovers of Peace, and they wandered – first worshipping in a loft over a store near Market Square and then on Main Street, and then…
Hope Mill
This site was famous during the revolution for an iron forge called Hope Furnace (across the street from the mill) which declined after 1800 to be replaced by the Hope cotton mill. The Hope Furnace was initiated by Governor Stephen Hopkins, and the…
Jackson Mill
Rhode Island Governor Charles Jackson built the first cotton mill here in 1825.
By the late 1880s the mill was owned by Christopher Lippitt and Company and produced sheeting. Fifty workers were employed and 120 broad looms were in operation.
By…
Arkwright Mill
From cotton and bookcloth to fuel cells, films and printing media these two 150 year old mills are state-of-the-art!
The Arkwright Company of Coventry, R.I. began in 1810 as a textile mill owned by James DeWolf. Two mill buildings were constructed,…
Harris Mill
Although the mill across the street is gone, what you see behind the Harris Mill Lofts sign is a classic example of the evolution of a mill over 150 years, starting small and adding on and on.
Between the street and the river a two-story spinning…
Phenix Mill
Like every other mill you are visiting, Phenix Mill was “paternalistic” providing necessities such as housing, utilities, fuel, churches, civic organizations and education. Shopping and professional services grew along with the village and Phenix…
Lippitt Mill
Built in 1809, Lippitt Mill is one of the most important mills in the state, and was one of the oldest American textile mills still in operation until, in 2011, when a bad main valve flooded the second floor with 300 gallons of water a minute,…
Anthony Mill
“A prettier mill you will not find.” Built in 1873 the Italianate Anthony Mill has the distinction of being one of the best mills – architecturally speaking – in the entire state. When it was built, it was the largest building in Rhode Island. At…
Quidnick Mill
This mill in the village first named Greeneville, then Taftville, and finally Quidnick after one of its reservoirs upstream, became the jewel of the Sprague textile empire, one of the most important firms in Rhode Island economic and industrial…
Crompton Mill
Crompton Mill, home of the “Velvet Mills,” the first U.S. company to manufacture velveteens and corduroys, by 1888 employed 600 and operated 40,000 spindles and 1,000 looms in buildings on the west and east side of the river. Sadly the west…
Centreville Mill
This Centreville Mill complex saw 18 new owners from 1794 to 2004 and an explosion and fire in 1871 but, at one time, it had 31,000 spindles and 700 broad looms! At various times it manufactured print book cloth, fancy cassimeres, and braid. Along…
Arctic Mill
Few historic Rhode Island textile companies have survived to the present; but Arctic Mill was home for a number of years to global NATCO Home the 12th largest home textiles supplier. It is still a family owned company which was founded four…
Royal Mill
The mills here at Riverpoint, where the North and South Branches meet, experienced more fires, floods, construction episodes, strikes and changes of ownership than just about anywhere. The textiles are long gone but now they house beautiful…
Valley Queen Mill
From “Kentucky Jeans” to “Fruit of the Loom” to the world’s most popular soaps and cosmetics, the “lower mill” at Riverpoint has seen a lot of fame!
The Greene Manufacturing Company built a small spinning mill here on the South Branch just above its…
Natick Mill (destroyed)
Unfortunately the Natick Mill burned down in 1941 but we include this site on the tour because by 1883 the four original buildings had been joined into a single entity and further extended until it stretched 1,350 feet with a uniform height of six…
Pontiac Mill
In between a fire, seven new owners, labor strikes, and financial failures, this original home of the iconic “Fruit of the Loom” brand was very successful, but shut down in 1970 and is now just a nice place to live. The mill produced uniforms for…
Pawtuxet River Watershed and Mills Tour
The “Pawtuxet,” named by the Native Americans as “the river of many falls,” had numerous cataracts due to the underlying hard crystalline rock of the area producing an average fall of 4.7 feet per mile and it never ran dry! It had everything needed…
Empowering Others Through Education
Recognizing that diversity is our strength, Mary Santos Barros (1923-2018) was a strong and tireless advocate for equal education for all, Cape Verdean advancement, and many other causes in New Bedford. She demonstrated how others can build an…
Standing Up for Worker's Rights
When 20,000 textile workers went on strike in the 1928 New Bedford Textile Workers Strike, 18-year-old factory worker Eulalia “Eula” Mendes (1910-2004) became a leader in her mill and community by encouraging Portuguese industrial migrant workers to…
Provider of Sweet Freedom
Confectioner and abolitionist Polly Johnson (1784-1871) specialized in sweets and provided safe lodging to freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad at her 21 Seventh Street home in New Bedford. She and her husband Nathan helped several formerly…
Organizing for Equality
Equality was the vision driving Elizabeth Carter Brooks’ (1867-1951) work as an educator, social activist, and architect. She wove these seemingly separate paths into a long life of advocacy for African Americans of New Bedford and beyond in a time…
Lifting as She Climbed
Jennie Horne’s (1920-1998) influential career in social services was fueled by her idealism, her love of people, and a desire to contribute to her community in New Bedford. During a time in which information on how people of color could access…
Firsts in Politics
With careers marked by a series of firsts in New Bedford politics, Rosalind Poll Brooker (1928-2016) and Rosemary Tierney (1932-2020) were trailblazers for women in law and politics. Rosalind, the first woman elected to the City Council, the first…
Providence Performing Arts Center
Imagine this: it’s late September 1928, and Providence is abuzz with activity. There are huge factories, some of the largest in their fields, employing thousands of people; trolley lines crisscross the whole city; boats are docked at piers in the…
Trinity Repertory Company
During the 1910s, entertainment venues were in a state of flux. They were originally created as spaces for live performances. With the advent of early film, many venue owners tried to switch entirely from live shows to movies – but found that they…