Old mill named ‘historic place’ as non-profit eyes it for development
NORTH SMITHFIELD – An early 20th-century mill that served for many years as the design headquarters for the consumer plastics giant Tupperware has been added to the National Register of Historic Places as a Woonsocket-based nonprofit eyes the site for a mixed-use redevelopment project.
The Andrews Mill sits on a 32-acre parcel alongside the Branch River on Great Road. The parcel was purchased for $300,000 by NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, which is planning to rehabil- itate the site, according to Edward “Ned” Connors of Edwards Connors & Associates.
Connors is a consultant who did the research that resulted in the National Park Service adding the Andrews Mill to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Rhode Island Historical and Preservation Commission, which made the announcement.
The long-vacant site might not be much to look at now, but Connors said upgrades that were supposed to give the building a more modern look conceal the artful detail of the
original landmark. The site is distinguished by “beautiful masonry” and window trim that appears to be made from pink Westerly granite, he said.
“They’re already working to save and restore all the architectural features of this beautiful building,” said Connors.
Built in 1918, the Andrews Mill Company Plant was originally a textile factory that drew power from the nearby Branch River, according to Connors. Workers rode the “nickel trolley” from Woonsocket – so named because it was as far as one could travel on the line from the city proper for five cents before riders were charged more.
RIHPHC Director J. Paul Loether said the Andrews Mill is historically significant not only as an example of early 20th century industrial architecture, but because it was one of a handful of Rhode Island worsted manufacturing plants erected by French and Belgian investors during the period.
Situated just north of St. Paul Street, the Andrews Mill Company Plant includes several structures that the firm used for manufacturing from 1918-1925. They include the
Main Mill, the Boiler House and a freestanding Machine Shop/Gatehouse at the edge of the river. Other structures on the site include a concrete headrace – part of the mill’s waterpower system – a steel water tower and a stone masonry pump house.
A subsidiary of a French firm, the Andrews Mill Company was established in 1902 and located its first U.S. plant for manufacturing woolens and worsteds in Philadelphia. In 1918, the Andrews Mill Company announced the purchase of a 60-acre parcel in North Smithfield. The C.I. Bigney Construction Company of Providence was hired to demolish the remains of the former Pitts Mill and erect a new plant with a combined weave shed, finishing plant and office, as well as the boiler house and gatehouse.
By 1920 the plant employed a workforce of approximately 200 in the manufacture of worsted apparel. Just three years later, however, the firm was shuttered amid a perfect storm of unfavorable economic factors, including overly-rosy forecasts about heightened demand for products during World War I, a post-war recession, a broader erosion of the textile industry throughout New England and a global shortage of raw wool, according to RIHPHC.
Alas, another French company, F.B. Motte, bought the company a month later and continued to operate it until 1925.
Tupperware – the company that made its bones selling plastic containers designed to keep foods fresh – is better known for a larger mill straddling the Blackstone line – now High Rocks Condominiums. The Andrew Mill site is about two miles away and long served as the headquarters of Tupperware’s industrial design operations. Workers there fashioned everything from forks to salad bowls using the same computers Ford was using to make Mustangs.
Now dubbed Tupperware Brands, the company has evolved into a diversified consumer and personal care products company, headquartered in Orlando, Fla.
Deputy Tax Assessor Michelle Mariani said NeighborWorks bought the property from a company doing business as 765 Great Road LLC. The transaction closed in March, according to the assessor’s database.
Details of NeighborWorks’ plan for the site weren’t immediately available, but a listing on the National Register could be critical for the project in assembling a financing package that includes government tax credits.