Valley Falls Company
Encyclopedia
Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace was the founder of several New England textile manufacturing companies in the early 19th century, including the Valley Falls Company, the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the largest companies in the world.-Early life:Chace was born on August 24, 1769 in...
, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island
Valley Falls, Rhode Island
Valley Falls is a village and census-designated place in the town of Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. Valley Falls is located in the southern part of Cumberland, Rhode Island and borders the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island,the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and...
, an historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi...
, within the modern-day towns of Cumberland
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...
. The Valley Falls Company is the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
, currently one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace was the founder of several New England textile manufacturing companies in the early 19th century, including the Valley Falls Company, the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the largest companies in the world.-Early life:Chace was born on August 24, 1769 in...
began his career as a carpenter working for pioneer industrialist Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
. Later, he would become influential in organizing several new mills, including one at Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
in 1813.
The first textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing is a major industry. It is based in the conversion of three types of fibre into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. These are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth...
company at Valley Falls was established in 1818. By 1839, Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace was the founder of several New England textile manufacturing companies in the early 19th century, including the Valley Falls Company, the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the largest companies in the world.-Early life:Chace was born on August 24, 1769 in...
was a very successful figure in the rapidly developing textile industry. He acquired and reorganized the Valley Falls mills, and eventually added two larger mills, one on each side of the river. His sons Samuel and Harvey would also be involved with expanding the company during this time. The north side of the Village of Valley Falls grew to be the center of town government for the Town of Cumberland which it was located in. The town hall is located there today.
The southern part of the village of Valley Falls, originally part of Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 21,105 at the 2010 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence....
would eventually become part of the City of Central Falls
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...
in 1895.
The Valley Falls Company would eventually acquire the Albion Mills, Tar-Kiln Factory in Burrillville, Manville Mills in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and Moodus Cotton Factory in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. In 1929, the Valley Falls Company, and others would combine with the Berkshire Manufacturing Company of Adams, Massachusetts
Adams, Massachusetts
Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,485 at the 2010 census.-History:...
to become Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates was founded in 1889 as Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts. By 1917 the company was capitalized at $2,500,000 and contained over 260,000 ring and mule spindles and 6,500 looms for the production of cotton textiles , making it one of the...
. The Valley Falls mills were closed in 1930, and operations were moved elsewhere.
The mills on the Cumberland side were demolished in 1934 to avoid property taxes. The site remained vacant until 1991 when the Town of Cumberland
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and the Blackstone Valley
Blackstone Valley
The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution...
National Heritage Corridor transformed the site into a historic park. Walkways, ramps and bridges meander along the steep slope and through the former mill site. Some of its foundations are still visible, as is the northern power canal trench.
The 1855 brick mill on the southern, Central Falls
Central Falls, Rhode Island
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 19,376 at the 2010 census. With an area of only , it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the thirty-second most densely populated incorporated place in the United...
still remains, having been converted into senior housing in 1979. It ranks as one of the earliest mill conversion
Mill conversion
Mill Conversion is a term used to describe the process whereby a usually historic mill or industrial factory building is restored or rehabilitated into another use, such as residential housing, retail shops, office, or a mix of these non-industrial elements...
projects in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Although the older mill closer to the river has been significantly altered and a large addition was built east of the main mill, it is still possible to observe the original power trench which flows through the mills, as well as the original brick mill tower. The gate house that directed water into the trench still stands by the dam. A similar structure once stood in the park on the Cumberland side of the falls, but is no longer standing. Parts of its foundation are still visible, as is the norther power canal.