These are the notes from a walk I led as part of Jane’s Walk Providence on May 3rd, 2026. I hope to expand these into a full website at some point. Watch westrivergreenway.org for updates.

History

Mills

  • Heaton & Cowing Mill (1832)
  • Wanskuck Mill (1862) (Art In Ruins)
  • Steere Mill (1884)
  • Geneva Mill (1893)

Timeline

  • Wanskuck Company founded 1862
  • Original mill built 1860s
  • 1883 - First mill in Rhode Island to be lit by electricity
  • 1884 - Steere Mill built west of Veazie Street
  • 1893 - Geneva Mill built north of Douglas
  • Other buildings built by the Wanskuck Company:
    • Wanskuck Hall (1881) - built as a cultural center, now offices
    • Wanskuck Library (1910) - still in use
  • Mill closed 1950s, redeveloped 2019
    • Listed in National Register Historic Places

Housing

  • Workers: Side-by-side tenements close to the mills
  • Executives: Ornate houses on Woodward Road
  • Owner: Estate is now Wanskuck Park

People

  • Jesse Metcalf
    • Cotton buyer in the south before the Civil War
    • When cotton became scarce, he became a textile manufacturer
  • Helen Rowe Metcalf
    • Spouse of Jesse
    • Founder of Rhode Island School of Design
  • George H. Corliss
    • Patented a sewing machine
    • Developed Corliss steam engine 1849
      • Major efficiency improvements

Links

Environment/Nature

Watershed

Ponds

  • Geneva Pond
    • Between Douglas Avenue and the Shaw’s Plaza
    • Above Geneva Mill
    • Mislabeled as “Whipples Pond” on Google Maps
    • Dam failed April of 2010 (source: WJAR)
  • Whipple’s Pond
    • The real Whipple’s Pond was on the other side of Douglas, behind Caxton, Carder, and Burton Streets, just downstream of the Geneva Mill
    • Google Maps mislabels it as “Wanskuck Pond”
  • Wanskuck Pond

Feral Spaces

  • Former mill ponds (now all privately-owned land)
    • Geneva Pond
    • Whipple’s Pond
    • Wanskuck Pond
  • On the hill above Branch Avenue Plaza
  • Between RI School for the Deaf and Route 146
  • In the wetland east of Route 146 behind Esek Hopkins Middle School

Paper Streets

plat map

  • Shiloh Street (Hyacinth St to Grand Broadway)
  • Lancashire Street (Cornwall Street to Glasgow St) - no longer a paper street as of 2025!
  • Glasgow St (Messina St to Virginia Ln)
  • Anchor St (Glasgow St to Yorkshire St)

Parks

  • Corliss Park
    • Purchased by George H. Corliss 1875
    • Donated by (???) to state
    • State (sold/gave?) to city
    • Partly used for housing, partly for RI School for the Deaf
  • Wanskuck Park
    • estate of Rhode Island School of Design founder Helen Rowe Metcalf (1830-95)
    • and her husband, Jesse Metcalf (1827-99)
    • who in 1862 established the Wanskuck Company textile manufacturing enterprise
    • donated in 1948 by the widow of former U.S. Senator and Rhode Island Foundation founder, Jesse Metcalf (1860-1942)
    • Louisa Sharpe Metcalf (1866-1959) stipulated as part of the gift that the ancestral house be torn down
  • Prete-Metcalf Fields
  • Iola French Park
  • Hopkins Park

Environmental Issues

Hazards

Climate Change

  • Branch Ave Plaza flooding

Recreation/Transportation

Transit

  • Streetcars (now buses) on Branch (discontinued 1958; now RIPTA 58 bus)
  • Interurban on Charles/Louisquisset Pike (ceased 1930)

Railroads

Canals

  • Moshassuck River was the base of the Blackstone Canal (hence “Canal Street” north of downtown)

Highways

  • Route 146 construction (1950s)
  • Interstate 95 (1960s)
    • Built along Louisquisset Pike and interurban ROW

Neighborhood Connections

  • The neighborhoods in the northwest corner of the city are separated from the rest of the city
    • First by rivers (Moshassuck, Woonasquatucket)
    • Then by railroads
    • Now by highways
  • 5 crossings north of the State House
    1. Smithfield Ave
    2. Branch Ave
    3. Charles/Ashburton Sts
    4. Orms St
    5. Smith Street
  • Four of these crossings have highway ramps/interchanges
  • None are safe
  • The Woony Greenway under the mall makes 6, but it’s not ADA accessible

Crash Data

  • Police-reported crashes involving ped/bike/scooter/other between 2010-2025 (15yrs):
    • Wanskuck Mill area (Abrams St to RI-146): 17
    • Wanskuck overall: 125
    • Charles: 130
    • Elmhurst: 105
    • Mount Pleasant: 110
    • Smith Hill: 198
    • Total: 668
  • Source: Providence Streets Coalition crash map

Greenway

  • The opportunity for transportation and recreation that the city’s Great Streets Plan outlined, which would create a paved walking/cycling path from Wanskuck Mill to the main Post Office on Charles Street:https://www.providenceri.gov/planning/great-streets/
  • Safe routes to school
    • E-Cubed Academy
    • Veazie Street Elementary School
    • RI School for the Deaf
    • San Miguel School
    • A-Venture Academy
    • Esek Hopkins Middle School
    • Providence College
    • Times2 STEM Academy
    • Harry Kizirian Elementary

Other References