Chocolate Mill Overlook

If you ever visit the bank of the Blackstone River in Central Falls, RI, you’ll find a tiny park created by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council called the Chocolate Mill Overlook.

The Overlook celebrates the William Wheat Chocolate Mill, one of the first water-powered chocolate mills in the country. Operating from the 1780s to the 1820s, this mill earned Central Falls the nickname “Chocolateville.”

Chocolate milling was an essential part of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S., and the William Wheat Chocolate Mill was a major producer of chocolate for both local consumption and export. Interestingly, the mill operated during a period of sustained warfare, and the chocolate was even rationed to soldiers and sailors.

The William Wheat Chocolate Mill actually predates Slater Mill in Pawtucket, the first water-powered cotton mill in North America, by about 10 years. While the mill was devastated by a storm in 1804 and eventually destroyed in the decades following, you can still see remnants of its history today.

At the park, you can view the mill’s original foundation and the intact Sylvanus Brown dam, which was built to serve the mill and was the first organized hydro-engineering in the region. There’s also a canoe and kayak landing that offers paddlers a unique vantage point of the historic site.

The park also includes:

• Interpretive signs telling the story of early colonial chocolate manufacturing

• A view of the historic Roosevelt Avenue Bridge with wonderfully lit archways

• Access to the on-road portion of the Blackstone River Bikeway

• Rhode Island's champion cottonwood trees

• A cherry tree nursery

• A bike repair station and parking