Lippitt Mill
The Lippitt Mill is a three-story brick factory built in 1809 in West Warwick and ranks among the oldest textile mills still standing in Rhode Island. The structure features large windows and clerestories near the roof for natural light, gable roofs with cupolas, and was equipped with hoisting machines to move materials inside.
The mill was founded in 1809 by the Lippitt family, led by Revolutionary War soldier Christopher Lippitt and later joined by relatives Charles Lippitt and Benjamin Aborn. After financial hardship following the War of 1812, it survived by supplying yarn to Vermont prisons and changed ownership multiple times, including to the Knight family and Joseph Hayes, before closing in 2010.
The Lippitt Mill served as a central workplace for local families and later immigrant workers seeking jobs in textile production. The factory shaped community life and rhythms in West Warwick for generations.
The factory is located on Main Street in West Warwick and is easy to find, with substantial windows and open spaces that allow visitors to view the historic structure from outside. Today visitors can see the building and appreciate its solid early factory architecture, though interior tours may be limited.
During the War of 1812, the mill survived financial hardship by supplying yarn to prisons in Vermont, where inmates used it to make cloth. This unusual link between the factory and the prison system is rarely documented in textile history.
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