Carolina Mills Collection (Mss. Gr. 104)

The records of the Carolina Mills, Carolina, Rhode Island were recovered from the abandoned mills after a fire and deposited in the Special Collections Department of the University of Rhode Island Library in 1982 by the University Archivist. The collection is incomplete and in poor condition. Only a scattering of records remain, leaving traces of the mills' history from early owners Tinkham, Metcalf and Company to the last occupant, Paul Broomfield.

Most of the records date from the time that the Carolina Company actively ran the mill (1872-1926). Records were probably lost as owners changed, and as vandals and fires attacked the abandoned mills. Fire and mold growth damaged most of the remaining records.

After processing, the records were organized into two series as follows: Series 1, Subject Files; and Series 2, Invoices and Receipts.

Series one, Subject Files, 1869-1956, documents the business and financial activities of the owners of the Carolina Mills and includes annual reports, bank statements, check registers, correspondence, order books and worker time sheets.

Series two, Invoices and Receipts, 1869-1926, contains records of purchases and sales made by the Carolina Mills' owners.