Historical Preservation

The rich history and unique character of our space is integral to our identity.

On the first floor of our building we’ve created a mini museum to honor those who came before us.

Sewing machines found during demolition, scrolls found in the attic dating back to 1915, and curated historical documents sourced by Alison tell the story of Hezekiah Conant and his groundbreaking work in thread manufacturing during the American Industrial Revolution.

This space is open to the public Monday - Friday.

Gallery wall with framed historical documents and black-and-white photographs in a museum or gallery setting.
Old, damaged Coca-Cola advertisement poster with a portrait of a woman, peeling and torn, mounted on a brick wall.

"The Conant Thread / Coats & Clark Mill Complex New Office Building functioned as clerical space for the internationally known Conant Thread Company.  The Pawtucket plant was the largest textile mill complex in the Blackstone Valley & Pawtucket’s largest employer for many decades. The original 2-story, red brick building was constructed between 1880 and 1882. It is L-shaped in plan with a hipped roof and was designed in the Italianate style.  A 2-story red brick addition abuts the northern end of the original building.  It became listed on the National Register in 1983." 

- Source:  National Park Service

Rhody Awards Community Impact Award- 390 Pine St. | Conant Thread New Office

Courtesy: Preserve Rhode Island

2025 Preservation Reward with Pawtucket Central Falls Development by the Heritage Alliance of Pawtucket

Text describing the Rhody Awards Community Impact Award event at 390 Pine St, Conant Thread's new office. Includes details about an outreach program for adults with intellectual disabilities, its services to students from various institutions, and the reimagined mill building with a yoga studio, food bank, arts center, and apartments.

Museum Mural

Alison commissioned Rhode Island artist, Helio Pacheco⁠, to tell our mill’s story.

⁠Once a bustling hub, 390 Pine Street played a pivotal role in shaping Pawtucket’s identity. This mural showcases the mill’s founder, customers, workers and place in our city. Many of the mills painted here have since been destroyed in the fire of 2020, all the more reason to preserve what’s left.

A Very Special Visit—

Hezekiah Conant’s great great grandson and great great great granddaughter came to visit Shri and even bought art from our neighbors at Flying Shuttles too!

Before the Renovation

 Historical Archives

390 Pine Street was known as the "New Office / Administration Building"
​​for the Conant Thread / Coats & Clark Mill Complex in Pawtucket, RI

Vintage informational sign about J & P Coats, listing their products such as six cord spool cotton in white, black, and color for hand and machine use, with an illustration of a spool of thread and a gold seal indicating 50 years.
Old stock certificate for Hope Webbing Company, issued in 1889, showing the number 27 and 12 shares, with ornate borders and text certifying ownership of twelve shares
A vintage advertisement featuring children with umbrellas in the rain. The ad promotes J. & P. Coats' colored thread and shows a girl with a coil of thread as her skirt, with a boy standing nearby.
A vintage style advertisement or notice from J. & P. Coats, promoting their new season's colors and machine sewing, with decorative elements and stylized text.
A nighttime scene of the Blackstone River, with reflections of the moon and city lights on the water, seen from Exchange Street Bridge.
Vintage advertisement for J.P. Coats Six Cord Spool Cotton for hand and machine sewing, featuring a spool of thread with a 50-year anniversary badge.
Colorized historic photo of a large industrial factory complex with multiple buildings, chimneys, and smokestacks, surrounded by greenery and pathways, under a clear sky, with the text indicating it was made by J. & P. Coats Mfg. Co., Ltd., Pawtucket
Cover of a crochet book titled 'J. & P. Coats Crochet Book of Gown Yokes and Boudoir Caps' with a woman in profile holding a basket.
Vintage J. & P. Coats Thread display box with a gold medal illustration and old-fashioned design elements.
Collection of historic black-and-white photographs showing various buildings, factories, and an outdoor scene, labeled with company and location names.
A vintage children's drawing book cover and two sketch pages, one with a farm scene including a goose, ducks, a dog, and a tree, the other blank grid page.
A historic illustration of Conant's Thread Mill in Pawtucket, R.I., showing brick buildings with smokestacks, a lush green field, and a road with a horse-drawn carriage in the foreground.
An old illustration of a city or town showing a large factory complex with smokestacks, surrounding residential neighborhoods, roads, and some wooded areas.
Historical text about the Pawtucket past and present, detailing the evolution of the J. & P. Coats Company, its mills, history, and impact on the textile industry.
Page from a document featuring a black and white photograph of Hezekiah Conant, an older man with a beard and mustache, wearing a suit with a bow tie. Text on the page indicates it is part of a National Park Service certification application for the
Black and white historic photograph of a large industrial building with multiple stories, towers, and smokestacks, viewed from a dirt road with bushes and trees in the foreground.
Black and white historical photograph of a large industrial building complex with multiple towers and smokestacks, surrounded by open land and sparse trees.
An old engraving of the Conant Thread mill complex from 1890, with the new office building circled in red on the right side of the image.
Black and white historical illustrations of the Conant Thread mill complex, with the later new office building circled in red in each image, from 1901 and circa 1930.
A historical map of the thread mill complex on the left and a black-and-white photo of workers with umbrellas at the thread mill in Central Falls on the right.
A collage of vintage sewing and children's drawing book advertisements and illustrations, including promotional cards from J. & P. Coats and a framed drawing of ducks and a dog in a yard.
Text excerpt from a historical document about the Pawtucket-Central Falls mill complex in Rhode Island, describing the history, architecture, and significance of the mills and associated buildings from 1870s to early 20th century.
Text excerpt describing Hezekiah Conant's contributions, including building 40 acres of land, investing over $4 million, paying good wages, and transforming factory towns into communities with homes, schools, and churches.
Historical photograph of Conant's Thread Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, showing a large industrial building with multiple chimneys, with the top image being a colored illustration of the mill and the bottom image a black-and-white photograph of the
A paragraph of text about The Hope Webbing Company and its history, including details about the purchase of a parcel, founder Hezekiah Conant, and the company's significance in textile manufacturing.
Black-and-white photograph of a man with a beard and mustache, wearing a suit and bow tie, next to a quote about Hezekiah Conant, founder of the largest industrial establishment in Pawtucket and Rhode Island.
Historical patent document from the United States Patent Office, patented in 1870, for sewing thread spool ornaments with an illustration of a spool and a textual description, mentioning Hezekiah Conant.
A historic brick building on a street corner next to a sidewalk, with a photograph and a site plan of the Conant Thread Coats & Clark Mill Complex in Rhode Island.

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