Stillwater Mill Ruins
15 November 2014 -- 319/365
Smithfield, Rhode Island
The tiny hamlet of Stillwater came into being in 1924 when a small cotton mill was built along the Stillwater River by Israel and Welcome Arnold. The hamlet contained the mill, five houses, a school and a store. A new woolen mill replaced the original in 1866, however it only survived 6-years before succumbing to a devastating fire. That was immediately replaced by the mill you see in today's photo, built in 1872 to manufacture woolen cloth. The Providence and Springfield Railroad began service to the hamlet in 1873, and in 1901 the mill became part of the Centerdale Woolen Mills family. In 1937 it became part of the Lister Worsted Mills. The history of the hamlet does not detail the destruction of the mill, however the text implies it did not survive beyond the 1940s.
The old railroad bed that serviced this area is now part of the Smithfield Scenic Trail system. The section that wanders past the Stillwater Mill connects Capron Road with Route 104 and is a popular walking trail for local residents. The water level was too high today for me to access the mill itself, but I plan to return when I can wander around the complex for some photos.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, and boost white. A levels adjustment and a sepia photo filter were added in PSE.
