Stillwater Mill, Industrial heritage museum in Smithfield, Rhode Island
Stillwater Mill is a former woolen mill with multi-story brick buildings and large windows typical of 19th-century factories. The buildings retain original machinery and show how production operated in that era.
An initial mill was founded at this site in 1824, but the current Stillwater Mill was built in 1872 as a more modern woolen facility. This period marked the shift toward larger and more efficient factory operations in the region.
The mill shows how Rhode Island shifted from farmland to an industrial region and what role large factories played in that change. Visitors see today how such facilities shaped daily life and the landscape of the region.
The site encompasses several preserved buildings spread across a large property where visitors can explore different areas of the factory complex. The grounds are accessible on foot, and various building sections are open for tours or self-guided viewing.
Under the leadership of the Levy family, the mill gained a progressive reputation by introducing better conditions for workers, which was unusual for that time. These social improvements made the operation an interesting example of more humanely organized factories of that era.
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