In East Greenwich, a short drive away from the classic downtown of Main Street, tucked behind the town's tiny Parks Department building, is a hidden treasure -- a 125 acre nature preserve with streams and ponds and hiking trails that draw you deeper and deeper into the woodlands.

The largest portion of the park is built on the grounds of the old Tillinghast factory. In 1813, the factory, also called the "Mount Hope factory", was founded at the conjunction of Mawney Brook and Frenchtown Brook by Thomast Tillinghast Jr and General Christopher Rhodes. There they manufactured cotton thread. The mill passed through a succession of owners and eventually fell into disuse. In the 1970's, the land was acquired by the Town of East Greenwich and turned into Frenchtown Park.

The mill site is an outstanding example of the small rural textile mills an associated villages that developed in Rhode Island during the early 1800's. The site contains the ruins of the 19th century textile mill, its mill pond, dam headrace, spillways, and steam boiler building, along with the remains of at least four dwellings, several outbildings, a well, a privy, and bridge abutments. The inhabitants of the old mill village once grew flowers around their houses, with patches of lillies of the valey, day lillies, and periwinkle surviving near the house foundations attest to this day.

There are two other large parcels in the park. The Laural Wood parcel, almost 10 acres in size, were donated to the East Greenwich Land Trust in order to facilitate the approval of a nearby residential development. It forms a bridge between the old Tillinghast factory parcel and the Fry Family Nature Preserve. The East Greenwich Boy Scout troops blazed the 1/2 mile "Cotton Mill Trail" through the Laural Wood Parcel, making what would have been several small trails into one large system of trails.

The Marion and Dorthy Fry donated another 46 acres of woodland to make the Fry Family Nature Preserve. The Fry Woods Trail provides opportunities for envornmental education, bird watching, and wildflower identification in this area.

The final piece of the park is not technically part of the park. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stitt donated a conservation easement to the East Greenwich Land Trust to provide a link to the Laural Wood parcel to the south and th Fry Family Nature Preserve to the north.

Enjoy a hike in Frenchtown park, exploring the trails and nature. Trails are open every day of the year, sunrise to sunset. The hiking is easy, with just a few steep inclines near Tillinghast Pond. To find Frenchtown Park, take I-95 to Exit 8 or 8A and head south on Route 2 (South County Trail). Three miles from I-95, turn right on Frenchtown Road. Half a mile on the right is a poorly marked entrance to Frenchtown Park behind the EG parks building. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your camera.

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