Harris (formerly known as Harrisville) is a village near the town of
Coventry, Rhode Island on the north branch of the
Pawtuxet River near West Warwick.
The village was once part of the Burton and Potter farms. Around 1813 Caleb Atwood built a
textile mill in the village, known as the Dumplin Mould, and later the building became the Lamphear Machine Shop in the 1840s. The village was named for
Elisha Harris
Elisha Harris (September 8, 1791 – February 1, 1861) of Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island, was Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, 1846–47 serving under Governor Byron Diman and the 20th Governor of Rhode Island 1847–49.
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who arrived in 1822 and formed the Harris Cotton Manufacturing Company, which eventually constructed several mill buildings in the area. The company continued under Harris' son-in-law after his death. In 1900 the Arkwright-Interlaken Manufacturing Company purchased the Harris Mill and kept it operational until 1954. Many of the mill buildings and worker housing survive today.
[Andrew D. Boisvert, "Coventry Roots: Harris" ''Coventry Patch'', May 31, 2011 http://coventry.patch.com/articles/coventry-roots-harris]
See also
*
1922 New England Textile Strike
The New England Textile Strike was a strike led by members of the United Textile Workers of America (UTW) principally in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Throughout the duration of the strike, an estimated 68,000-8 ...
Notable residents
*Governor
Elisha Harris
Elisha Harris (September 8, 1791 – February 1, 1861) of Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island, was Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, 1846–47 serving under Governor Byron Diman and the 20th Governor of Rhode Island 1847–49.
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(1847-1849)
*Governor
Henry Howard (1873-1875), son-in-law of Elisha Harris
References
Villages in Kent County, Rhode Island
Coventry, Rhode Island
Census-designated places in Kent County, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
Villages in Rhode Island
Census-designated places in Rhode Island
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