Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Woonsocket

WOONSOCKET, a town of Providence county,, , on the Blackstone river, 16 miles from and 37 from. The surrounding country, which is fertile, is devoted to market-gardening and dairying. There are 64 miles of streets. The population (11,527 in 1870) was 16,050 in 1880, being nearly half of foreign birth, a fact explained by its extensive manufactures. The principal industries are the manufacture of cotton and woollen goods; of the latter Woonsocket produces more than any other city in the United States, while in the former industry it is excelled by few. Its importance as a manufacturing town is due to the magnificent water-power within its limits.