Current EventS

Now the home to the Providence Picture Frame Company and some law offices.

History

(from the RIHPHC 1981 report) The Allen Printworks, more than any othe rprinting establishment in Providence, was a vital force in the textile and cloth-printing industry. Founded in 1830 b y Phillip Allen – an engineer, inventor, governor and state senator – the Phillip Allen and Sons Company originally printed cloth by hand with carved blocks, bu t as early as 1835 Allen introduced printing machines to his establishment which greatly increased the speed of calico production. By 1846 Phillip Allen and Sons had five printing machines and employed 250 workers who turned out 130,000 yards of calico cloth a week. By 1849 the printworks had one main mill and six ancillary structures surrounding it.

When the panic of 1857 swept the country, however, Phillip Allen and Sons was one of the many firms forced to declare bankruptcy. The printworks, which had tripled in size since 1849, were bought by Phillip Allen's brother Crawford and were reorganized as the Woonsocket Company. Crawford Allen, who had been involved in the printworks and cotton industry in Valley Falls and in Pawtucket, managed the business aspect of the operation, while Zachariah Allen, the middle and most famous Allen brother, managed the plant itself. Zachariah Allen was well known for his contributions to steam-engine and textile-machine technology.

In 1870 Crawford Allen retired from active management, and in 1871 the company was reorganized under the control of Allen's lawyers as the Allen printworks. Zachariah also retired, and the newly organized printworks failed, however, in 1879 the works were reorganized and put back into operation by the company's main stockholders.

One of the main buildings left from this complex is the main mill, a three-story brick structure with a five-story central tower and a jerkinhead-gable roof. The northern part of the mill was rebuilt in 1874 after a fire and incorporated part of an earlier stone mill. The section south of the tower was built in 1871. To the east of the mian mill is a small two-story, stone and brick structure with a trapdoor monitor roof. This building is the oldest on the site and may be the original stone structure built by Phillip Allen in 1830.

Anecdotes

Dave Biggs One of my Great, Great Grandfathers worked for the Providence Picture Frame Company for 40 years. He arrived in Providence from Derbyshire, England in 1864 and lived out his life there with wife and children. His name was William Arthur Camp 1834 - 1911. His sons, who became plumbers in Providence, built two family homes around 1900 on Dora Street in the city. One of them remains in our family and is occupied by a decendant. I don’t khow how long the Providence Picture Frame Company has been in the building you have documented here, but I know the company was founded in the early 1800’s and has only had three owners in all that time.

Add your Anecdotes

The information about each building grows as visitors let us know about their experiences. Did you or a member of your family work here? Did you grow up near it as a child? Let us know. All entries will be moderated and may be posted in an edited form. We will use your name unless you tell us otherwise. We will not make your email public.