The Nicholson File Company Mill Complex is a historic industrial manufacturing complex at 1-45 Acorn Street in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. It consists of 24 buildings occupying of land, of which 20 are historically significant. The oldest of the buildings were built in 1865 to designs by William Nicholson, and the complex was regularly expanded over the decades through the early 20th century. The Nicholson File Company was a major producer of machine-made

file File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to ''remove'' fine amounts of material from a workpiece **Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gent ...

s, started by William Nicholson in 1859. The company manufactured precision tools used in the manufacture of armaments 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 ...

for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, and closed the plant in 1959. It has been used by a variety of light industrial concerns since then. The complex was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2005.

References

Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Industrial buildings completed in 1864 Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island 1864 establishments in Rhode Island {{ProvidenceRI-struct-stub

See also

References