Cowing & Heaton Mills a.k.a. The Geneva Mills Click to enlarge. Little is known of the early history of the West River. Our use of the Native American name Wanskuck (meaning low lands) for the neighborhood around the river and the discovery of pre-European artifacts in the area suggest an early Native American presence. The recorded history of the West River begins much later when European Americans started to recognize the river's value as a power source for industry. The first industrial venture on the West River dates back to the early 1800s, when a small cotton mill was built off of Branch Avenue on Wanskuck Pond. Gradually, a village developed around this site. Click to enlarge. Built by Martin Cowing and Robert Heaton in or around 1850, the Cowing and Heaton Mill, just inside the city line, is the oldest surviving building of the complex known in the late 19th century as the Geneva Mills. The other buildings of the complex are on the North Providence side of the city line. Cowing & Heaton, both involved in various aspects of the textile industry, formed the Cowing and Heaton Mill Company which seemed to function as a landlord to, and perhaps partial investor in, different textile businesses that leased the mill and machinery for a certain period of time. The various companies referred to this lease as the Cowing and Heaton Privilege. The original mill, started as early as the 1830s by Martin Cowing, was used as a cotton-dyeing-and-bleaching establishment until the late 1850s. Among those to use the mills for these purposes were Ellsworth & Cushing and John L. Ross. Hale & Burroughs began operating the mill in 1860 to produce woolen goods. It was apparently at this time that the mills became known as the Geneva Mills. An 1861 fire destroyed most of the complex which was subsequently rebuilt Click to enlarge. Owners in the 1860s and 1870s were F. B. and E. A. Smith and the Owen Brothers (who were later proprietors of the Atlantic Mills; see 120 Manton Avenue). In 1880 the Cowing & Heaton Privilege was transferred to the Geneva Worsted Company, owned by Sack and Ullman. In 1896 the Geneva Mills were bought by the Wanskuck Company. In 1862 the Wanskuck Company was formed in response to high demand for Civil War army uniforms, blankets, and civilian clothes. The company bought the mill on Wanskuck Pond and developed a substantial factory complex for the production of woolen goods. After the war, the company started to produce worsted cloth for men's suits. By 1898 they expanded their enterprise to include two additional mills along the West River: Geneva Mill off of Douglas Avenue and Steere Mill off of Wild Street. To accommodate these mills, the river was channeled into a complex interconnected water system and dammed in two places to create Geneva Pond and Whipple's Pond. Although the West River has long since lost its position as the centerpiece of a string of thriving industrial villages, many relics of this heyday remain intact. Geneva Mill, Steere Mill, and Wanskuck Mill still stand. Much of the three mills' interconnected water system also still exists, although two of the mill ponds have become marshes and the third, Geneva Pond. Additional History - Geneva Mills over the past 30 years has been home to RN Koch, a jewelry manufacturer which employed over 300 employees, and Symmetry Products Group, Foam Technology which until recently, had 150 employees manufacturing foam products and architectural and decorative products for the residential and commercial construction industry. Symmetry Products moved to Lincoln, Rhode Island and the Owner Steven A. Lancia, lives in the building with his daughter Sofia in a large 14,000 sq foot loft built in the back of the building. This building is ENVIRONMENTALLY CLEAN. RI Historical Society