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A−History
History · Woonsocket

Woonsocket dates to 1867, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #26 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it

43 places in town are on the National Register, among them ten historic districts with 405 buildings between them. Below: 28 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1870.

1867founded
43on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
28old photos & papers
38famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woonsocket’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woonsocket began

When was Woonsocket founded?

1867

Woonsocket dates its founding to 1867 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 11,527 in 18702020 census: 43,240159 years

How historic is Woonsocket?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Woonsocket’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woonsocket is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #26 of 38 in Rhode Island. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woonsocket’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194041.0% of homes (±3.5) · typical RI town 20.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register43 listings, 452 historic buildings, 104 per 10,000 residents · typical RI town 94.7 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 32%

Rhode Island towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Rhode Island town has 94.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Woonsocket’s 104 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Rhode Island towns have fewer) while its 452 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). Two sources give 1867.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Woonsocket’s past

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

A historic districtThe North End Historic District takes in 224 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register43 places on the National Register.A town in old photos28 old photos, postcards and papers, 1855–1978.On the map since 18895 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1979. Watch Woonsocket change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

43 listings protect 452 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
43
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
452
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Woonsocket Company Mill Complex
Woonsocket Company Mill ComplexWoonsocket City HallStadium BuildingHarris WarehouseCato Hill Historic DistrictU.S. Post OfficeL'Eglise du Precieux Sang1761 Milestone, built 1761Alphonse Gaulin Jr. House, built 1885Frank Wilbur HouseGrove Street Elementary SchoolHanora MillsJenckes MansionJohn Arnold HouseLinton BlockLogee HouseNorth End Historic DistrictPothier HouseSmithfield Friends Meeting House, Parsonage & CemeterySouth Main Street Historic DistrictSt. Andrews Episcopal ChapelSt. Ann's Church Complex, built 1913Woonsocket Civil War MonumentWoonsocket District CourthouseHenry Darling HouseSt. Charles Borromeo Church ComplexWoonsocket Rubber Company Mill, built 1857Glenark MillsHonan's Block and 112-114 Main StreetAllen Street Historic DistrictIsland Place Historic DistrictMain Street Historic DistrictBlackstone CanalHope Street SchoolBernon Worsted MillPhilmont Worsted Company MillJules Desurmont Worsted Company MillFrench Worsted Company Mill Historic District, built 1906Lafayette Worsted Company Administrative Headquarters Historic DistrictWoonsocket Senior High and Junior High Schools, built 1914L'Union Saint Jean-Baptist d' Amerique, built 1926Smith-Ballou HouseFirst Universalist ChurchFederal Street Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsStructuresObjects

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne7
Greek Revival6
Late Victorian4
Italianate3
Federal3
Victorian3
Woonsocket Company Mill ComplexGreek Revival
Woonsocket City HallItalianate
Stadium BuildingAdamesque
Harris WarehouseBuilding
Cato Hill Historic DistrictFederal
U.S. Post OfficeBeaux Arts
L'Eglise du Precieux SangBuilding
1761 MilestoneBuilt 1761
All 44 listings
Alphonse Gaulin Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1982Frank Wilbur HouseBuilding · listed 1982Grove Street Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 1982Hanora MillsBuilding · listed 1982Jenckes MansionBuilding · listed 1982John Arnold HouseBuilding · listed 1982Linton BlockBuilding · listed 1982Logee HouseBuilding · listed 1982North End Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982Pothier HouseBuilding · listed 1982Smithfield Friends Meeting House, Parsonage & CemeteryBuilding · listed 1982South Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982St. Andrews Episcopal ChapelBuilding · listed 1982St. Ann's Church ComplexBuilding · listed 1982Woonsocket Civil War MonumentStructure · listed 1982Woonsocket District CourthouseBuilding · listed 1982Henry Darling HouseBuilding · listed 1982St. Charles Borromeo Church ComplexBuilding · listed 1983Woonsocket Rubber Company MillBuilding · listed 1989Glenark MillsBuilding · listed 1989Honan's Block and 112-114 Main StreetBuilding · listed 1989Allen Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990Island Place Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991Blackstone CanalStructure · listed 1991Hope Street SchoolBuilding · listed 2000Bernon Worsted MillBuilding · listed 2005Philmont Worsted Company MillBuilding · listed 2006Jules Desurmont Worsted Company MillBuilding · listed 2007French Worsted Company Mill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008Lafayette Worsted Company Administrative Headquarters Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2017Woonsocket Senior High and Junior High SchoolsBuilding · listed 2017L'Union Saint Jean-Baptist d' AmeriqueBuilding · listed 2018Smith-Ballou HouseBuilding · listed 2003First Universalist ChurchBuilding · listed 2020Federal Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2024

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

By decade

Woonsocket, decade by decade

7 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1890s6 items
Post Office Square, Central Part of1855Post Office Square, Central Part ofF. S. Weeks, Jr., Wholesale and Retail Furnishing Warehouse at Woonsocketc. 1860F. S. Weeks, Jr., Wholesale and Retail Furnishing War…Downtown Woonsocket Rhode Island engraving1886Downtown Woonsocket Rhode Island engravingWoonsocket from the East1886Woonsocket from the EastHistoric view of Court Street and Depot Square. Photoengraving from Artwork of Rhode Island (Chicago- W.H. Parish Publi…1896Historic view of Court Street and Depot Square. Photo…Historic view of bridge deck from courthouse. Photoengraving from Artwork of Rhode Island (Chicago- W.H. Parish Publish…1896Historic view of bridge deck from courthouse. Photoen…
1910s–1940s20 items
(For Child Welfare Exhibit 1912-1913.) Housing conditions1912(For Child Welfare Exhibit 1912-1913.) Housing condit…Houses1940HousesHouses1940HousesGeneral view of Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940General view of Woonsocket, Rhode IslandOld textile mills1940Old textile millsOutside of a newspaper office1940Outside of a newspaper officeAn old mill and bridge. Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940An old mill and bridge. Woonsocket, Rhode IslandOld mills on the river. Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940Old mills on the river. Woonsocket, Rhode IslandHouses along the river1940Houses along the riverMen outside of a bank1940Men outside of a bankGeneral view entering the business section of Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940General view entering the business section of Woonsoc…Textile mills seen from a bridge1940Textile mills seen from a bridgeTenement houses in the working class section of Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940Tenement houses in the working class section of Woons…Tenement houses in the working class section of Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940Tenement houses in the working class section of Woons…Street leading into the main business center of Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940Street leading into the main business center of Woons…Christmas trees for sale at a gas station. Woonsocket, Rhode Island1940Christmas trees for sale at a gas station. Woonsocket…Children getting out of school at three-thirty1940Children getting out of school at three-thirtyUntitled photo, possibly related to: Outside of a newspaper office1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Outside of a new…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Men outside of a bank1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Men outside of a…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Men outside of a bank1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Men outside of a…
1970s2 items
Blizzardof78MapleSt1978Blizzardof78MapleStBlizzardof78R(Backyard1978Blizzardof78R(Backyard
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Downtown2005DowntownDowntown Woonsocket Historic District2005Downtown Woonsocket Historic District
The story

How Woonsocket came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woonsocket.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of European settlers in northern Rhode Island during the 17th century, today's Woonsocket region was inhabited by three Native American tribes: the Nipmuc (Cowesett), Wampanoag, and Narragansett. In 1661, the English theologian Roger Williams purchased the area from the "Coweset and Nipmucks", and in a letter referred to modern day Woonsocket as Niswosakit.

Other possible derivations of the name include several Nipmuc geographic names from nearby Massachusetts. These include Woonksechocksett, from Worcester County meaning "fox country", and Wannashowatuckqut, also from Worcester County, meaning "at the fork of the river". Another theory proposes that the city was named after Woonsocket Hill in neighboring North Smithfield.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Woonsocket in 1891

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

At the June town meeting, 1870, it was voted that "a committee consisting of five persons be appointed to confer with the committee from the town of Woonsocket in the matter of setting off and annexing to said town of Woonsocket a portion of the town of Smithfield." A vote was taken on this subject…
History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 208Read the page →
Read the text

At the June town meeting, 1870, it was voted that "a committee consisting of five persons be appointed to confer with the committee from the town of Woonsocket in the matter of setting off and annexing to said town of Woonsocket a portion of the town of Smithfield." A vote was taken on this subject, there being 42 in favor, and 193 opposed. January 21st, 1871, the question of dividing the town of Smithfield into three towns was voted for, there being 111 in favor and 33 opposed.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
reverted to the former owners of the land. It is said that by the above sale the holders of canal stock realized their only dividend, about one dollar per share. ^ Through the town of Woonsocket the course of this almost-forgotten thoroughfare was, when not in the channel of the stream, mainly on t…
History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 283Read the page →
Read the text

reverted to the former owners of the land. It is said that by the above sale the holders of canal stock realized their only dividend, about one dollar per share. ^ Through the town of Woonsocket the course of this almost-forgotten thoroughfare was, when not in the channel of the stream, mainly on the north side of the river. It thus passed out of the stream, after leaving the Massachusetts line, at Buffum's bridge, thence by trench to a point above the Doctor Ballou bridge, where it again entered the

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.

Timeline

Woonsocket, 1761 to 1977

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761Built1761 Milestone is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1827Post officeThe Woonsocket Falls post office opens
  5. 1855In the archivePost Office Square, Central Part of
  6. 1857BuiltWoonsocket Rubber Company Mill is built
  7. 1860In the archiveF. S. Weeks, Jr., Wholesale and Retail Furnishing Warehouse at Woonsocket
  8. 1867
    FoundingWoonsocket is established
  9. 1874Post officeThe Woonsocket Falls post office closes
  10. 1874Post officeThe Woonsocket post office opens
  11. 1885BuiltAlphonse Gaulin Jr. House is built
  12. 1886In the archiveDowntown Woonsocket Rhode Island engraving
  13. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1896In the archiveHistoric view of Court Street and Depot Square. Photoengraving from Artwork of Rhode Isla…
  15. 20th century
  16. 1903Born hereJ. Howard McGrath is born here
  17. 1912In the archive(For Child Welfare Exhibit 1912-1913.) Housing conditions
  18. 1913BuiltSt. Ann's Church Complex is built
  19. 1940In the archiveHouses
  20. 1948Born hereDuke Robillard is born here
  21. 1977Born hereBryan Berard is born here
On the map

Woonsocket on the map, 1889 to 1979

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woonsocket. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Woonsocket on the 1889 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1893 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1944 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1969 USGS mapWoonsocket on the 1979 USGS map1889Blackstone sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Woonsocket.

Every building

Woonsocket, building by building, 1892–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Woonsocket fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 15
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Post Office Square, Central Part of
Retake this viewPost Office Square, Central Part of, 1855

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Woonsocket’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Woonsocket, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 50,211

Between 11,527 and 50,211 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Woonsocket’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

38 famous people were born in Woonsocket

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Bryan BerardAmerican ice hockey defenceman · b. 1977
J. Howard McGrathAmerican politician · b. 1903
Brian BoucherAmerican ice hockey goaltender · b. 1977
Duke RobillardAmerican blues musician · b. 1948
Gabby HartnettAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1900
N
Nap LajoieAmerican baseball player and manager · b. 1874
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Woonsocket’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Woonsocket Falls, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Woonsocket Falls
1827–1874
Woonsocket
1874–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GlobeHamletSocial
Gone or out of use
Friends Meeting HousechurchGlenark MillslocaleHamlet MilllocaleHarris Institute LibrarybuildingJenckesville MilllocaleJenkes MilllocaleJenkes MilllocaleMammoth Milllocale
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woonsocket
Arnold - VoseB'Nai IsraelCookJillson Burial LotOak HillSaint John the Baptist Romanian Orthodox

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Woonsocket’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPost Office Square, Central Part of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North Smithfield9 historic placesACumberland16 historic placesA−Cumberland Hill2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Woonsocket’s history

What year was Woonsocket founded?

In 1867, according to Wikidata. Woonsocket’s post office opened in 1827, and the census of 1870 counted 11,527 people here.

How does Woonsocket rank for history?

Woonsocket is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #26 of 38 in Rhode Island. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Woonsocket?

43 listings: 31 buildings, 10 historic districts with 405 contributing buildings, 2 structures, and 1 object. 452 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Woonsocket?

41% of Woonsocket’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 20% for a Rhode Island town; the median home was built in 1952.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (20), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (44), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.