, built in 1894 Before the arrival of European settlers in northern Rhode Island during the 17th century, today's Woonsocket region was inhabited by three
Native American tribes: the
Nipmuc (Cowesett),
Wampanoag, and
Narragansett. In 1661, the English theologian
Roger Williams purchased the area from the "Coweset and Nipmucks", and in a letter referred to modern day Woonsocket as
Niswosakit. Other possible derivations of the name include several Nipmuc geographic names from nearby
Massachusetts. These include
Woonksechocksett, from
Worcester County meaning "fox country", and
Wannashowatuckqut, also from Worcester County, meaning "at the fork of the river". Another theory proposes that the city was named after
Woonsocket Hill in neighboring
North Smithfield. Woonsocket Falls Village was founded in the 1820s. Its fortunes expanded as the
Industrial Revolution developed in nearby
Pawtucket. With the
Blackstone River providing ample water power, the region became a prime location for
textile mills. In 1831
Edward Harris built his first textile mill in Woonsocket. The town of Woonsocket was not established until 1867, when three villages in the town of
Cumberland, namely Woonsocket Falls, Social and Jenckesville, officially became the town of Woonsocket. In 1871,
three additional industrial villages from Smithfield—Hamlet, Bernon, and Globe—were added to the town, establishing its present boundaries. Woonsocket was incorporated as city in 1888. The growth of industries and associated jobs attracted numerous immigrants, predominantly
Québecois and
French-Canadians from other provinces. When the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Holyoke organized a national cultural and
benefit society in 1899, the
Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amérique, Woonsocket, with its proximity to several industrial areas having large French-Canadian populations, was chosen for the organization's headquarters. By 1913, a survey by the
American Association of Foreign Language Newspapers found the city had to have the sixth-largest population of French or French-Canadian foreign nationals in the country. In the decades that followed this population grew, and by time the local textile industry were shuttered during the
Great Depression, ethnic French Canadians comprised 75 percent of the population. French-language newspapers were published; radio programs, movies, and most public conversations were conducted in French. As recently as 1980, 70% of Woonsocket's population was of French-Canadian descent. The
New England French language their ancestors spoke gradually vanished from public discourse. Throughout the 20th century the city's fortunes ebbed and flowed with national trends. During the Great Depression the textile economy of Woonsocket came to an effective standstill; however, it was revived during
World War II. The city became a major center of fabric manufacturing for the war effort, including production of military uniforms. In the postwar years, the Woonsocket economy diversified as manufacturing declined, and other commercial sectors, such as retail, technology and financial services took hold. File:Woonsocket from the East.jpg|Woonsocket from the East, 1886 engraving File:North Smithfield2.jpg|Woonsocket Medical Corporation, founded in 1839 by Dr. Seth Arnold File:Post Office Square, Central Part of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.jpg|Woonsocket in 1855 File:Downtown Woonsocket Rhode Island engraving.jpg|Woonsocket, 1886 engraving ==Geography==