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History · Valley Falls

Valley Falls’ post office opened in 1846, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: old-book passages.

1846first post office
4on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Valley Falls began

When was Valley Falls founded?

1846

The Valley Falls post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 12,094180 years
Founding year: the first Valley Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Valley Falls’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Valley Falls are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Valley Falls.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Valley Falls’ homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Valley Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Valley Falls’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 listings protect 126 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
126
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Valley Falls, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Valley Falls yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Valley Falls is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cumberland, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 12,094 at the 2020 census. Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace in Valley Falls as a cotton-manufacturing company, called the Valley Falls Company. Valley Falls is also the home of the Ann & Hope Mill.

Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,547 to 12,094 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Valley Falls in 1891

Passages that mention Valley Falls, cut from the printed page as they were published.

lage of Central Falls to the town of Pawtucket, but they did not succeed. In the autumn of 1874 the question of dividing the town was revived in a new shape, and appeared in the form of petitions to set off a portion of the villages of Valley Falls, Lonsdale, Ashton and Albion to the town of Cumber…
History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 425Read the page →
Read the text

lage of Central Falls to the town of Pawtucket, but they did not succeed. In the autumn of 1874 the question of dividing the town was revived in a new shape, and appeared in the form of petitions to set off a portion of the villages of Valley Falls, Lonsdale, Ashton and Albion to the town of Cumberland, of which notice was given to the town council on October 31st, 1874, that it would be presented at the ensuing January session of the legislature; and also two petitions to set off a portion of the town of Lincoln to the town of North Provi-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In the year 1873 there were a number of internal improvements in the town. The town house was built; a new iron bridge was built at Valley Falls, and a substantial bridge was built, under the superintendence of George Kilburn, Esq., at Berkeley, to take the place of the tumble-down structure that h…
History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 424Read the page →
Read the text

In the year 1873 there were a number of internal improvements in the town. The town house was built; a new iron bridge was built at Valley Falls, and a substantial bridge was built, under the superintendence of George Kilburn, Esq., at Berkeley, to take the place of the tumble-down structure that had been there for years, and a large sum was expended for repairs on the bridge at Ashton. The total amount expended for Lincoln's share of these two new bridges (onehalf the expense being borne by the town of Cumberland) was $10,-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Valley Falls, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Valley Falls Branch tracks at Valley Falls, September 20182018Valley Falls Branch tracks at Valley Falls, September…Providence and Worcester engine house at Valley Falls, September 20182018Providence and Worcester engine house at Valley Falls…East Providence Branch at Valley Falls, September 20182018East Providence Branch at Valley Falls, September 2018Blackstone Valley Prep High School2018Blackstone Valley Prep High SchoolBlackstone Valley Prep High School vertical2018Blackstone Valley Prep High School verticalElizabeth Buffum Chace2012Elizabeth Buffum Chace
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cumberland16 historic placesA−Lincoln18 historic placesACentral Falls13 historic placesA+

Questions about Valley Falls’ history

What year was Valley Falls founded?

The Valley Falls post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.