Royal Mill Complex - Site History

Site History

The complex is located along the banks of the South Branch of the Pawtuxet River in the village of River Point.

The site was originally occupied by three mills of the Greene Manufacturing Company. In 1885, the site was purchased by B.B.& R. Knight Co., one of the largest textile companies in Rhode Island at the time, who marketed their cloth under the Fruit of the Loom label.

In 1890, the three old mills were razed and the Royal Mill was constructed from local granite and featured two asymmetrical ornate towers. The new mill would become one of the largest in the company's empire of 22 mills throughout the region.

In 1919, the Royal Mill was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt a year later in the current configuration, with twin stone towers. In 1921, the Royal Mill was the scene of a huge textile worker strike that lasted 33 weeks. The impact of the strike as well as increased competition from Southern mills led to many mill closures throughout New England during the 1920s. The Royal Mill survived until 1935, when the once mighty B.B.& R. Knight Co. went bankrupt.

Between 1936 and 1946 the site was occupied by Saybrooke Manufacturing Co., which produced wool cloth. After this time, and until 2004 the mill was used by a variety of small companies.

The mill was abandoned and taken over by the town of West Warwick, Rhode Island in 1993, and there was serious consideration for demolishing the structure.