Valley Queen Mill - West Warwick RI - Water Mills on Waymarking.com

The Valley Queen Mill is a long, primarily a five story; L shaped stone structure with an almost flat gable roof. It is located on a steep narrow site between the South Branch of the Pawuxet River and Providence Street in River Point section of West Warwick. The long front of the mill is dominated by a very tall stone tower with a steep hipped roof. The earliest portions of the mill was built in 1834-1835 by the Greene Manufacturing Company for manufacture of cotton textiles, the structure was extensively alter and enlarged to its present fro in 1888-89 by BB and R Knight Inc., manufacturers of the famous "Fruit of the Loom" brand.

The early mill was constructed of locally quarried granite by Providence masons Stephen Norton and Thomas Peck. After purchasing the mill from the Greene Manufacturing Co. the BB and R Knight firm altered and enlarged the facility in 1888-89. DM Thompson directed the remodeling here and the Royal Mill just up the river.

On the north side of the mill, the new wheel house was built to accommodate a number of water powered turbines; however this wing was severely damaged by fire.

During the ownership by BB and R Knight Company, the mill accommodated almost all of the operations of cotton fabrics.

With the "Fruit of the Loom" trademark, this operation became the first textile manufacturer in the world to paste a printed label n every bolt of fabric it produced. Because of this advertising technique, the firm prospered and the Valley Queen Mill became part of the largest textile conglomerates in the world.

In 1931 the Valley Queen Mill was purchased from the Knight organization by Original Bradford Soap Works, Inc who continues to operate in the building til this day. Makers of industrial soaps originally, they have reinvented themselves many times, continues to make soaps for various industries.

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Current Status: Still In Use Current Use: Makes Soaps

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/13/2012 Roscoe45 visited it