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Links:
Bike
Blackstone
Paddling Club
State Parks &
Recreation
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The American Industrial
Revolution began in the Blackstone Valley where its river, utilized for
transportation as well as water power, was a driving force behind the rapid
growth of industrialization in a formerly agrarian based economy. Sam
Slater came from England and changed the course of our Nation's history as he
replicated England's coveted Arkwright system in Pawtucket in 1793. Yet, this
region and greater Worcester County and northern Rhode Island have stories from
even earlier times and throughout history that significanlty shaped America. The Blackstone River Valley
National
Heritage Corridor was designated in 1986 by Congress to recognize the
Blackstone Valley's national's significance in early American history and
also to revitalize its
resources, including America's Heritage hardest working river, the Blackstone.
The Blackstone River drops over 400
feet from Worcester south to Pawtucket - creating a wonderful experience along
oft unparalleled landscapes of industrial, urban, suburban and very rural
communities.
The Blackstone Valley towns are
each unique, yet they share many common threads filled with strong
character and traditional New England values of hard work, thriftiness and
innovation. The paternalistically shaped mill villages can still be seen, as can
the rural farmlands even with the enormous, new growth the Valley has absorbed
in the last few decades. The Valley ranges from Rhode Island's vibrant
city of
Providence
at the southern end to
24 communities
north to
Worcester, mostly shaped around
the traditional N.E. Congregational Church
common.
Worcester, the second largest city in Massachusetts is at the northern point of
the Blackstone River. The Blackstone canal are planned for an
aesthetic re-opening along the corridor attracting many visitors after years of
neglect.
In 1999, the United States Congress
named the
National Heritage Corridor in
honor of the late United States Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island, who had
co-sponsored legislation creating this region in 1986.
SPECIAL PLACES:
Kelly House
/
Purgatory /
Waters Farm / Manchaug / Willard
Clock / Asa Waters /
Hassanamessit /
Upton Chamber /
Chestnut Mtg House /
Quaker Mtg House /
St.
Ann's Arts & Cultural Center /
Firsts /
Dorr Rebellion /
Dragonboat Races
/ Pascoag
Riverwalk /
Footsteps in History /
But the Valley's history,
attractions and recreational fun go much deeper than the American Industrial
revolution. Its ancestors helped shaped the Nation. Enjoy some of
these unique, yet authentic stories and characters of the past:
Shays Rebellion -
Lydia Taft -
Indian
Burial Ground - Ironstone School -
Roger Williams
Chestnut Meeting House -
King Philip's War -
Mumma
Dudley -
Nipmucs
Vaillancourt Folk Art -
Upton's Hidden Treasure -
John Hazeltine
Bud Gurney & Dorothea Waters -
Stanley Woolen
Mill -
Al Consigli
A Short Blackstone Canal History
-
Winter's Gift -
Colonial Gardens
Elizabeth Buffum Chace -
Maple
Sugaring & Sugar House -
Dairy Farms
The Ghost of Tarkiln -
Gun Making
in the Valley -
Not Just About Casinos
NATURE Articles:
Gray Fox
Lost
Grandeur
Hibernation
Birding
ACEC
Land Trusts
Check back
Browse our site and enjoy by
clicking on the subjects to the left or above.
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