In 1802, the first wooden dam and a gristmill were built on the river at the site of the village, which was then known as Nichols Bridge. A few years later, a cotton mill was established, with production buildings mostly located in Richmond and some employee housing located across the river in Charlestown. Rowland G. Hazard bought the mill in 1843 and renamed it the Carolina Mills Company in honor of his wife Caroline Newbold Hazard of South Kingstown. The village around the mill was also given the same name. The Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission described 19th-century Carolina as a "center for the surrounding area, including a school, a church, a post office, a bank, several stores, a blacksmith shop, and halls for meetings, lectures, and 'entertainments'." The local post office was named "Carolina Mills" from 1850 until 1879, when it was renamed "Carolina."
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
