Globe Mill
Power and progress on the river's edge
Originally established in 1827 by Thomas Arnold, Thomas Paine, and Marcel Shove, the Globe Manufacturing Company sought to harness the power of the Blackstone River at its Falls. Though the initial venture faltered by 1829, the site remained a center of textile activity for decades to come. In 1864, industrialist George C. Ballou acquired the property, and in 1873 he oversaw the construction of a grand five-story stone mill. Equipped with three large water wheels and a Corliss steam engine, the mill produced roughly 1,000 horsepower, housing 41,000 spindles and nearly 1,000 looms. At its height, the Globe Mill employed some 500 workers, shaping not only the local economy but the character of the surrounding Globe Village.
The Globe Mill’s history mirrors the broader trajectory of New England’s textile industry. After Ballou’s passing, the property changed hands to the Social Manufacturing Company and later to the Manville-Jenckes Company, which operated the plant until its closure in 1927, amidst growing competition from southern mills. By the 1940s, the mill buildings themselves had been demolished, yet the legacy of the mill persists in the worker housing and tenements that still line Front and Lincoln Streets.
