The Willimantic Linen Company was founded in 1854 by Austin Dunham (1805-1877) and Lawson Ives (1804-1867). The company acquired the old Jillson cotton mill in Willimantic with the intention of producing linen, but soon switched exclusively to cotton manufacturing. In 1857, the company erected its first mill building north of the Willimantic River, at the current address of 480 Main Street. Later known as Mill No. 1, it was constructed of locally quarried gneiss by builder was Nathaniel Olin. That same year the company erected an accompanying dam and a stone arch bridge, known as the Windham Road Bridge, on the east side of the mill. Built by Lyman Jordan and Nathaniel Olin, the bridge is now Windham Garden on the Bridge, part of Windham Mills State Heritage Park. The mill building was expanded with an addition on the west side in 1878. The company would expand over the years into a mill complex of many buildings, which were eventually taken under over by the American Thread Company in 1898. Textile production came to an end in 1985. The former Mill No. 1 was converted c. 2003 to become ArtSpace, a housing facility with a community art gallery. The building’s dormer windows were removed at that time.
