In 1827, Dan Daniels and Jonathan Russell purchased land on the then-Smithfield side of the river and established the Russell Manufacturing Company. They built Mill #1 - a 3-story rubble stone mill and named the surrounding area Danville, after Daniels. Sadly, the company went bankrupt due to the Depression of 1829.
In 1832, two prominent Providence industrialist, Sullivan Dorr and Crawford Allen, bought out the Russell Manufacturing Company, formed the Woonsocket Company, and renamed the village Bernon. The village was named in honor of Gabriel Bernon, a French Huguenot who settled in Rhode Island with Roger Williams and from whom one of the mill's owners was descended.
In 1833, Dorr and Allen built Mill #2, in the newly fashionable Greek revival style. The mill was 4 stories tall with a gable roof. The gable ends were treated as pediments. Mill #3 was added to the complex in 1835.
Housing for workers was built on Front Street and Greene Street. The Bernon Company Farm on Bernon Hill was responsible for the care of the company's work horses. St. James Episcopal Church was also established.
<i>Image courtesy of the Library of Congress</i>
