Mill Timeline
- 1821: First dam and textile mill built on the Pawtuxet river location
- 1855: B.B. & R. Knight Co. founded
- 1861: Green Manufacturing builds new four story dam
- 1885: B.B. & R. Knight Co. purchases property
- 1890: Royal Mill originally built
- 1903: Knight Co. largest cotton manufacturer in the world
- 1913: Peak cotton production for B.B. & R. Knight; 7,000 workers, 22 mills (Royal Mill 3rd largest)
- 1919: Fire collapses tower into mill
- 1920: Royal Mill rebuilt and modernized
- 1921: B.B. & R. Knight move “Fruit of the Loom” cotton production to Royal Mill
- 1922: Devastating New England textile workers strike; 33 weeks
- 1935: B.B. & R. Knight Co. bankrupt, Royal Mill closed
- 1936: Royal Mill purchased by Saybrooke Manufacturing Co, wool fabrics produced for about ten years
- < 1990’s: Royal Mill called home by numerous and various manufacturing tenants, most not lasting long
- 1993: Property closed and vacated
- 2004: Property purchased by Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse
- 2008: Construction remodeling finished on 250 brand new Rhode Island apartments + 50,000 sq. ft. of retail space
