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Then....
The Champlin and Downes Company built the mill site in 1863. The mill site covered six acres of land along the Woonsaquatucket River. The site was then bought and run by the American Woolen Company in 1899 under the name of Riverside Mills. The company was formed by William Wood and originally made woolen coffin coverings and then ultimately worsted wool. Riverside Mills was still in operation till the 1930s when it was liquidated by its current owner.

Now...
In 1989 the mill site was converted to a 450,000 sq ft small business complex that housed paint stores, jewelry stores, a theater, storage, auto shop and artists lofts. However, the complex burned down in 1989. In 1990 the site was completely leveled because the site was found to contain a significant amount of hazardous materials and was deemed a brownfield site. However, only one of the buildings from the original mill complex remains, and is currently boarded up.

In 2001 the mill site became part of the Brownfield Pilot Showcase Project under the Woonsaquatucket River Greenway Project. Over 250 members of the Olneyville community were surveyed as to possible uses for the historic mill site. Currently the EPA and RIDEM are cleaning up underground storage tanks. They ultimately want to restore the site to an 8 acre park for environmental education, recreation, and open space.

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