C.F. mill added to National Register
CENTRAL FALLS – Standing on the banks of the Blackstone River on Broad Street since 1875, the American Supply Company mill building has served as a recognizable structure that has welcomed visitors to the city for more than 140 years.
Recognized for its contributions to the history of industry and its impact on the community, The National Park Service on Thursday announced the addition of the edifice to the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Register is the federal government’s official list of properties across the country whose historical and architectural significance makes them worthy of preservation. Built in 1875, American Supply Company is a “significant example of a factory and supply house that supported the expanding textile industry in the late 19th century,” officials from the state’s Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission said.
The mill becomes the 13th place or property in Central Falls to be added to the National Register, joining the Central Falls Mill Historic District between Roosevelt Avenue and the Blackstone River; the South Central Falls Historic District; Jenks Park and Cogswell Tower; the Valley Falls Mill Complex Office and Bathhouse; the Central Street School; Samuel B. Conant House; Benjamin F. Greene House; St. Matthew’s Church; Holy Trinity Church Complex; Central Falls Congregational Church; David G. Fales House; and Conant Thread Company Mills.
According to preservation and heritage officials, a listing on the National Register provides benefits including special consideration during the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects and makes properties eligible for federal and Rhode Island tax benefits for historic rehabilitation projects. Owners of private property listed on the National Register are free to maintain, manage, or dispose of their property as they choose.
As the state office for historic preservation, the Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission is responsible for reviewing and submitting Rhode Island nominations to the National Register.
Built in 1875 by Myron Fish and Company, the 2 ½ story mill building is sited on a one-acre lot on the banks of the Blackstone River. The steam-powered 40-foot-by80-foot factory saw immediate expansion and by 1880, there were multiple divisions of the operation, manufacturing loom reeds, loom harnesses, heddles, and leather belting.
American Supply Company closed 86 years later and the mill sat vacant until Central Braid and Rug Company relocated there two years later, in 1963, remaining in business until 1991. The structure then served as the home of a small but popular ice cream shop – Scoop at the Falls – until closing in 2008. Since then, the building has remained vacant, boarded up and with overgrown vegetation reaching up to the
building’s roof.
However, the building and the adjacent boat launch and Madeira Avenue landing have been targeted for redevelopment since the 1990s. A celebratory groundbreaking was held at the Broad Street site in June, signaling the next step in the continued redevelopment of the landing into a commercial destination.
The Central Falls City Council in April unanimously approved a ground leasing agreement between the city and The Tai-O Group for the existing building and parking lot at the landing. The goal is to begin work on converting the 40,956 square foot parcel containing the vacant three-story mill into a vibrant commercial center with public access to the Blackstone River.
Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission Acting Executive Director Jeffrey Emidy said that in the Ocean State, “we typically associate large, brick textile factory complexes with our industrial heritage. Smaller factories like the American Supply Company building played a pivotal role in producing the machinery that was required for those textile plants to function.”