Rhode Island Mills and Mill Villages Photograph Collection

This collection is comprised of negatives, glossy photographic prints, and oversized photographic prints of mills and mill villages within Rhode Island. All of the photographs were taken by Joseph McCarthy as a Federal Works Agency project, a part of the WPA, in 1940 and given to the Providence Public Library as part of the Nickerson Architectural Collection that same year. A written reference work listing the prints and including an essay of the various architectural styles seen in the photographs was written by Samuel Green to accompany the collection and is held within the Rhode Island Collection.
This collection is part of Providence Public Library Digital Collections, hosted by Providence Public Library.

Items in this collection

Wyoming. Mill Houses c. 1810-20

Wyoming. Mill Houses c. 1810-20

Providence Public Library

Image shows houses built circa 1810-20 in the mill village of Wyoming in Richmond, Rhode Island. There is a person looking out a house doors.

Woonsocket. Woonsocket Company c. 1840

Image shows Woonsocket Company mill built in 1832 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. There's a sign over a doorway that reads "B.V.G.& E. CO Elect. Dist. Dept." There's a four-wheeled trailor and a van parked outside of the building.

Woonsocket. Woonsocket Company 1832

Woonsocket. Woonsocket Company 1832

Providence Public Library

Image shows Woonsocket Company mill built in 1832 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. There's a sign in the center of the facade that reads "Manchester Company".

Woonsocket. Social Village now connected with Nourse Village. 1870

Image shows housing built in 1870 in the connected mill villages of Social and Nourse in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. There are several people in the center left and the woman might be pregnant. There is also a man smoking at right behind a building. Two cars are in the photo.

Woonsocket. Mill Dwellings 1850s

Woonsocket. Mill Dwellings 1850s

Providence Public Library

Image shows housing built in the 1850s in the Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The view shows a dirt road forking off a paved road. The visible sides of the buildings may be their rears. There are several clotheslines of laundry strung from the buildings. A sign over a gate to the far right reads "Old Colony Adv. Co."

Woonsocket. Lippitt Woolen Mill 1871

Woonsocket. Lippitt Woolen Mill 1871

Providence Public Library

Image shows Lippitt Woolen Mill built in 1871 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The building is on a paved street and there is a car parked at the curb in front of the building. Three men wearing hats are standing along the building behind the car. A sign reading "Main St" is at the left corner of the building at the bottom of the second floor. Along the curb to the right are an emergency call box, a lamppost, and a woman. A car is seen coming up the street at the far right.

Woonsocket. Houses connected with Harris Woolen Mill c. 1860

Image shows housing connected with Harris Woolen Mill built circa 1860 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. There are four seemingly identical buildings in a row. Three men in the foreground are standing beside a parked car. There are two other vehicles in the background.

Woonsocket. Harris Woolen Mill 1864

Woonsocket. Harris Woolen Mill 1864

Providence Public Library

Image shows Harris Woolen Mill built in 1864 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Many windows are broken and part of the building looks to have been demolished.

Woonsocket. Hamlet Mill 1862

Woonsocket. Hamlet Mill 1862

Providence Public Library

Image shows Hamlet Mill built in 1862 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The roof and windows have been removed and the building has been gutted. At the top of the tower is a decorative shield with the year 1862 across it. Just below that, the words "Hamlet Textile Co" are painted.

Woonsocket. Groton Co. late 1850s

Woonsocket. Groton Co. late 1850s

Providence Public Library

Image shows the Groton Company mill built in the late 1850s in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Most of the windows have been removed and the building is in disrepair. Adhered to the mansard roof //and surrounding two top-floor window holes are advertisements for Russell Brothers Circus shows. A church steeple is seen in the background.

Woonsocket. Globe Co. 1873

Woonsocket. Globe Co. 1873

Providence Public Library

Image shows the Globe Company mill built in 1873 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The building has no roof and has been gutted. Other buildings are in the background. A small outside an exterior door reads "Employment Office".

Woonsocket. Globe Co. 1873

Woonsocket. Globe Co. 1873

Providence Public Library

Image shows the Globe Company mill built in 1873 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The building has no roof and has been gutted. Other buildings are in the background.

Woonsocket. Clinton Mill 1849. Addition to tower early 1880s

Image shows Clinton Mill built in 1849 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The tower was added to in the early 1880s. The top sections of the tower have ornate brickwork. A large vehicle is parked in front of the building. Other buildings are in the background to the left.

Woodville. Mill Buildings c. 1860

Woodville. Mill Buildings c. 1860

Providence Public Library

Image shows mill buildings built circa 1860 in the mill village of Woodville, which is in Hopkinton and Richmond, Rhode Island.

Wooden Mill c. 1840

Wooden Mill c. 1840

Providence Public Library

Image shows a wooden mill built circa 1840 in Rhode Island.

Whiterock. Mill Houses 1849

Whiterock. Mill Houses 1849

Providence Public Library

Image shows housing built in 1849 in the mill village of Whiterock in Westerly, Rhode Island. There are children on one front step. Large pieces of trees lay along the road.

White Rock Mill 1849-73

White Rock Mill 1849-73

Providence Public Library

Image shows White Rock Mill, 1849-1873, in the mill village of Whiterock in Westerly, Rhode Island. Under the windows at the top of the tower, the year 1849 is carved in relief. The wooden fence in the foreground is decoratively carved.

Washington. Mill Houses c. 1810-20

Washington. Mill Houses c. 1810-20

Providence Public Library

Image shows houses built circa 1810-20 in the mill village of Washington in Coventry, Rhode Island. There are two cars parked around the buildings. Behind the houses is a small building that may be an outhouse.

Washington. Coventry Co. 1873

Washington. Coventry Co. 1873

Providence Public Library

Image shows the Coventry Company mill built in 1873 in the mill village of Washington in Coventry, Rhode Island.

Washington. Coventry Co. 1873

Washington. Coventry Co. 1873

Providence Public Library

Image shows the Coventry Company mill built in 1873 in the mill village of Washington in Coventry, Rhode Island. In the foreground, there are fenced-in areas with structures that look like animal housing and possibly an outhouse.

Wakefield. Mill c. 1845

Wakefield. Mill c. 1845

Providence Public Library

Image shows mill built circa 1845 in the mill village of Wakefield in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. There are four cars parked in front of the building.