Forestdale is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

North Smithfield North Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, settled as a farming community in 1666 and incorporated into its present form in 1871. North Smithfield includes the historic villages of Forestdale, Primrose, Waterfo ...

Providence County Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state capi ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, one-half mile from

Slatersville, Rhode Island Slatersville is a village on the Branch River in the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the Slatersville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic dist ...

. The historic district runs east and west along Main Street and north on Maple Avenue. School Street is the primary road through the village, and the

one-room schoolhouse One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

for which the street is named still stands. The Branch River runs through the valley adjacent to the School Street. The Village Haven Restaurant and local

VFW The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as United States Armed Forces, military service members fought in wars, Military campaign, campaigns, ...

chapter are also located in the village.*Walter Nebiker, ''The History of North Smithfield'' (Somersworth, NH: New England History Press, 1976).

History

The village was originally owned by the Forestdale Manufacturing Company, a

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

, later purchased by John Slater & Co. The Mansfield & Lamb

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...

-shop manufactured scythes and later tools in Forestdale starting in 1824, and during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

manufactured swords and sabres for Union Forces. The mills used water power from the Branch River to power their equipment.

References

External links

Forestdale History
{{authority control Historic districts in Providence County, Rhode Island Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island North Smithfield, Rhode Island Providence metropolitan area Villages in Providence County, Rhode Island Villages in Rhode Island

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links