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A typical summer view in the Blackstone Valley near Uxbridge, Massachusetts

The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.^[1]

Blackstone River

Blackstone Canal

The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island (and Narragansett Bay) through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals between 1828 and 1848.

The canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

the first factory in America, Slater Mill was founded in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1790

The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 24 cities and towns (400,000 acres (1,620 km²) in total) near the river's course in Worcester County, Massachusetts and Providence County, Rhode Island. It is named for the late US Senator from Rhode Island John Chafee.

The National Corridor was designated by an Act of Congress on November 10, 1986 to preserve and interpret for present and future generations the unique and significant value of the Blackstone Valley. It includes cities, towns, villages and almost one million people. The Federal government does not own or manage any of the land or resources in the corridor as it does in the more traditional national parks. Instead the National Park Service, two state governments, dozens of local municipalities, businesses, nonprofit historical and environmental organizations, educational institutions, many private citizens, and a unifying commission all work together in partnerships to protect the Valley's special identity and prepare for its future.

The Blackstone River Bikeway is a planned 48-mile (77 km) paved rail trail defining the course of the East Coast Greenway through the National Corridor. As of mid-2009, approximately 10 miles (16 km) of the Bikeway has been completed in Rhode Island, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in Massachusetts.

On October 12, 2006 the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006 was signed by the President, enacting it as Public Law Number 109-338. This legislation extends the Corridor Commission for five years until October 12, 2011.

Visitor centers

River Bend Farm Visitors Center, Blackstone River and Canal State Park, Uxbridge, Massachusetts

• Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, Pawtucket, Rhode Island (operated by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council)
• Museum of Work and Culture, Woonsocket, Rhode Island (operated by the Rhode Island Historical Society)
• River Bend Farm Visitor Center at Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park, Uxbridge, Massachusetts (operated by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation)
• Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester, Massachusetts (operated by the Massachusetts Audubon Society)

Corridor cities and towns

Note: In some cases, only a portion of the city or town is included in the Corridor.

See also

• Greater Worcester Land Trust and list of other conservation organizations operating in the Blackstone River Valley

External links

• Official NPS site
• Legislative History of National Corridor
• Blackstone Valley Institute (planning resources)
• Blackstone River Valley Corridor Keepers (preservation group)
• Highway of Commerce: The Blackstone Canal, Worcester Historical Museum, 2005
• Historic American Building Survey
• Documents
  • 1998 Map (PDF file)
  • An Historical Assessment of Anadromous Fish in the Blackstone River by Buckley and Nixon, U. Rhode Island, 2001
  • Blackstone River Watershed: Five Year Watershed Action Plan, Blackstone River Watershed Team, 2000

References

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Boston (capital) Topics Administrative divisions · Congressional districts · Culture · Demographics · Economy · Education · Elections · Geography · Government · History · Images · People · Politics · Sports · State symbols · Transportation · Villages · Visitor Attractions · Windmills Regions The Berkshires · Blackstone Valley · Cape Ann · Cape Cod · Central Massachusetts · Greater Boston · The Islands · Merrimack Valley · MetroWest · Montachusett-North County · North Shore · Pioneer Valley · Quabbin Valley · Southeastern Massachusetts · South Coast · South County · South Shore · Western Massachusetts Counties Barnstable · Berkshire · Bristol · Dukes · Essex · Franklin · Hampden · Hampshire · Middlesex · Nantucket · Norfolk · Plymouth · Suffolk · Worcester Cities (See all municipalities) Agawam · Amesbury · Attleboro · Barnstable · Beverly · Boston · Braintree · Brockton · Cambridge · Chelsea · Chicopee · Easthampton · Everett · Fall River · Fitchburg · Franklin · Gardner · Gloucester · Greenfield · Haverhill · Holyoke · Lawrence · Leominster · Lowell · Lynn · Malden · Marlborough · Medford · Melrose · Methuen · New Bedford · Newburyport · Newton · North Adams · Northampton · Palmer · Peabody · Pittsfield · Quincy · Randolph · Revere · Salem · Somerville · Southbridge · Springfield · Taunton · Waltham · Watertown · Westfield · West Springfield · Weymouth · Winthrop · Woburn · Worcester Note: Municipalities not listed above have a town meeting form of government. Municipalities listed above in italics have a city form of government, but have retained the name prefix "Town of " as part of their official names.

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Providence (capital) Topics Culture | Geography | Government | History | Images | Narragansett Indian Tribe | People | Visitor attractions | State symbols Regions Counties: Bristol | Kent | Newport | Providence | Washington | Geographic: Blackstone Valley | Block Island Cities Central Falls | Cranston | East Providence | Newport | Pawtucket | Providence | Warwick | Woonsocket Towns Barrington | Bristol | Burrillville | Charlestown | Coventry | Cumberland | East Greenwich | Exeter | Foster | Glocester | Hopkinton | Jamestown | Johnston | Lincoln | Little Compton | Middletown | Narragansett | New Shoreham (Block Island) | North Kingstown | North Providence | North Smithfield | Portsmouth | Richmond | Scituate | Smithfield | South Kingstown | Tiverton | Warren | Westerly | West Greenwich | West Warwick

From Wikitravel

Blackstone Valley is a region of Central Massachusetts extending from Worcester southeast toward Providence, Rhode Island. Wikitravel extends the area to include some other towns of Greater Worcester.

• Blackstone
• Douglas
• Grafton
• Holden
• Hopedale
• Leicester
• Mendon
• Millbury
• Millville
• Northbridge
• Paxton
• Shrewsbury
• Sutton
• Upton
• Uxbridge
• West Boylston
• Worcester

• Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, [1].

Get in

By Air

The nearby city of Providence, RI has a large international airport and Worcester,MA has a smaller national airport.

By Car

Route 146 is the main highway running north and south between Worcester and Providence.

• It intersects with I-95 and I-295 in Rhode Island and with I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) in Massachusetts.

Get around

The main method of transportation in this region is by car. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) offers bus service to certain parts of Blackstone Valley. Check the schedule for specific bus routes [2].

See

Historic Sites and Museums, including

• Slater Mill Historic Site, 67 Roosevelt Avenue Pawtucket, RI [3]. A museum that houses the first operating cotton mill in the country.
• Brown & Hopkins Country Store, 1179 Putnam Pike Chepachet, RI [4]. The oldest country store still in operation in the U.S.
• Smith-Appleby House, 220 Stillwater Road Smithfield, RI [5]. One of the few 17th century houses still standing in RI.
• Daggett House, 16 Second Street Pawtucket, RI. Oldest standing house in Pawtucket,RI.

Blackstone River, which runs throughout the region. Tour it on the Explorer[6],the only riverboat in RI, or on the Samuel Slater Canal Boat[7], which can be used for river tours or an overnight bed and breakfast.

Sports

• Pawtucket Red Sox[8]. Boston’s Triple AAA farm team that plays at McCoy Stadium.
• Worcester Sharks[9]. AHL team that plays out of the DCU Center in downtown Worcester.
• Providence Bruins[10]. AHL team that plays out of the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence. Primary development team for the NHL’s Boston Bruins.

Theater Local theater organizations offer various theatrical and musical productions, which are sometimes shown over dinner. Some local communities also have annual concerts. Check out the following theaters:

• The Sandra Feinstein GAMM Theater, Pawtucket, RI. [11].
• Community Players, Pawtucket, RI.
• Mill River Dinner Theater, Central Falls, RI.
• The King’s Feast, Pawtucket, RI. [12]
• Stadium Theater, Woonsocket ,RI. [13]
• The Blackstone River Theater, Cumberland, RI. [14].

• Canal Days on the Blackstone River. Explore some of the remaining stone sections of the canal, walk the towpaths, examine a granite lock and learn about the men who built them.
• Explore Four Centuries of History in the Blackstone Valley. Begin the day in the Slater Park riding a centuries old carousel and end at a butterly garden in Chase Park. In between you will be learning all about the history of this region.

• The Blackstone Valley Bicycle Path which will run 48 miles from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI. The path currently starts in Lincoln, RI and follows the Towpath along the Blackstone Canal, through Woonsocket to the MA state border. Hop on the path anywhere in between or schedule a bicycle tour.
• A Blackstone Valley Tour Package costs $350, which is based on double occupancy, and includes 2 nights’ accommodations and requires a reservation. Bike, helmets and water are available for participants. Half day, one day and multi day packages available at varying prices.

Eat

There are many different restaurants and diners in this region that offer many different types of food. Famous for family-style, all you can eat chicken dinners. Other restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, including Cape Verdean, Chinese, Colombian, Dominican, French, Guatemalan, Indian, Italian, Lebanese, Mediterranean, Mexican, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. There are bakeries that offer Italian and Italian/American, Italian/French, Portuguese and Spanish inspired goods. Also, a variety of Asian, Cape Verdean, Dominican, Indian, International, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish markets are present in this region.