Manville Dam - Manville, Rhode Island USA
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N 41° 58.265 W 071° 28.246
19T E 295277 N 4649519
This Rhode Island historical marker relates the history of the Manville Dam, which stretches 246 feet across the Blackstone River and has an average height of 18 feet.
Waymark Code: WM10F9K
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2019
Views: 1
This Rhode Island historical marker relates the history of the Manville Dam, which stretches 246 feet across the Blackstone River and has an average height of 18 feet.
MANVILLE DAM
Lincoln, RI
THE RIVER'S POWER
Industry began in Manville, in 1711, when Israel Wilkinson opened the Unity Furnace to turn the iron ore deposits of Cumberland into everything from nails to cannon. A century later, the iron forge was closed, but a textile mill - the Unity Manufacturing Company - opened for business. Owner Thomas Mann gave his name to the new village. The mill was located across the Blackstone River in Cumberland, but the majority of the village was on this side of the river.
By the 1840s there were two mills here employing about 230 workers. In 1854, Manville was purchased by the Chace brothers, who also owned mills at Valley Falls and Albion. The Chases added a third mill in 1863, and in 1872 built their biggest mill yet - 900 feet long and 100 feet wide which for some time was the largest textile mill under one roof in America.
After construction of the new mill, Manville's population grew. The mill employed nearly 1500 workers in the late 1870s and reached over 2000 in the early 1900s. The Chaces built dozens of worker's houses, including a group of distinctive brick row houses, while a number of small investors began to build triple-deckers on the hillside overlooking the river. Many of these new workers were immigrants from Quebec. Today, there remains a strong French Canadian community in Manville and other nearby villages.
The lower left caption reads: "In the background - Transverse view of Manville Company's Nol. 3 Mill, Manville, RI 1874." The background image to which this refers had become very faded at the time of this post. (See gallery.) Upon close inspection, the schematic drawing of a four story mill with a tower on each end and a central flywheel and turbine at the bottom can be made out.
Inset photos on the right side of the marker, clockwise from top left are:
- Manville Dam, circa 1885
- Triple-decker-housing
- The Manville Dam, one of the largest on the Blackstone River, was built in 1868 at a cost of $32,000. It stands 246 feet long and has an average height of 18 feet. It is composed of enormous blocks of hewn granite -- 10 to 14 feet long, and 2 foot square on the side. The increase in power provided by the dam allowed for the construction of the massive Manville Mill in 1872.