The milling enterprise in Woonsocket, Rhode Island owes much to Edward Harris, who in 1831 launched his first woolen mill in the village that would become Woonsocket. Over the next decade Harris expanded rapidly: by the 1840s he had built successive mills, including what were called “Mill Number 2” (ca. 1840–1842) and “Mill Number 4” (ca. 1846) both on or near Main Street. These mills produced “fancy cassimeres” — all‑wool fabrics of a high standard. 

Harris’s manufacturing operations were powered by the local water sources at the Woonsocket Falls and by steam, aligning with the industrial surge of the Blackstone Valley. As Woonsocket evolved into a major textile center in the mid‑19th century, the Harris Woolen Company’s mills were central in making the city a significant center for woolen textile manufacture rather than cotton.

In the 1860s, Harris undertook his largest industrial investment – the “Privilege Mill” complex located at the foot of the hill along the Mill River. This facility included one of the finest mill buildings of its day and approximately eighty worker tenements, built by the company to house mill workers.

Edward Harris also became well‑known as a civic leader and philanthropist. Through the fortunes of his company, he funded new streets in Woonsocket, donated land for the city’s first high school and the site of Oak Hill Cemetery, and erected the building known as the Harris Institute (future City Hall) which housed a free library and lecture hall.