Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor |
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Slatersville at Sunset. A view of the "Middle Dam" along the Branch River in Slatersville, RI, taken at Centennial Park. The entrance to the park is at the rear of the North Smithfield Public Library parking lot. The North Smithfield Heritage Association is offering a walking tour of Slatersville on Saturday, July 9, including a visit to Centennial Park. Photo by Bill Burroughs.
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In This Edition - March 2, 2022
- Take Action - Become a Bikeway Champion!
- National Invasive Species Week February 28 to March 4
- Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce Home & Community Expo - March 12
- Blackstone Heritage Corridor Bikeway Ambassadors
- Celebrate Trails Day April 23
- Hikes With the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Trail Ambassadors
- Parked at Home Virtual Series with Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
- Thursdays: March 10, March 17, March 24, March 31, April 7, April 14
- Roger Williams's Letters: March 23 and April 20
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Take Action – Become a Bikeway Champion! |
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Help is urgently needed to move the long-sought Blackstone River Bikeway/Greenway project toward the finish line in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island to make this dream a reality!
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It's National Invasive Species Awareness Week! |
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National Invasive Species Awareness Week
February 28 to March 4, 2022
In Massachusetts, legislation has been introduced in both the State House (H.999 by Representative David Rogers) and State Senate (S.563 by Senator Patricia Jehlen) to establish a State Invasive Species Coordinator, Advisory Council, Committee and Trust Fund, along with other provisions to address invasive species in the Commonwealth. Learn more about those bills here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H999, https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S563.
One invasive species of particular concern in Blackstone Valley’s waterways is the Water Chestnut. There have been many volunteer efforts over the years to manually pull the invasive weed from infested waters. The Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone will be leading a Water Chestnut pull in June in the coves of Valley Falls, RI. Stay tuned for more information.
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Come Visit Us at the Expo! |
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Learn about programs we are lining up for this year and how you can get involved, either as a volunteer with our Volunteers-In-Parks program or a community partner.
In partnership with ValleyCAST, we will have a SAORI loom in our booth. Come weave with us!
Print the ticket pictured above for free admission or bring a non-perishable food item to benefit Peace of Bread Community Kitchen. Admission is $3 per person otherwise.
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Love Cycling? Become a Bikeway Ambassador! |
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Join Us on the Blackstone River Bikeway/Greenway! |
10 a.m. to Noon
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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Let's Hit the Hiking Trails! |
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Who is ready for some group hikes? We are actively planning guided hikes throughout the Blackstone River Valley this year. We hope you'll join us! |
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Monthly Hikes at Hunt's Mills
East Providence, RI
Sundays: March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13
All walks depart at 1:30 p.m.
No pre-registration is required for Hunt's Mills hikes.
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Hike at the Monastery
Cumberland, RI
Saturday, April 2
9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
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Save the dates for more hikes with BHC Trail Ambassador Ernie Germani!
Friday, November 25: Wolf Hill, Smithfield, RI
We are also planning hikes in the Massachusetts Corridor communities!
Stay connected to learn more!
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Second Saturday Hikes With the North Smithfield Heritage Association |
Join the North Smithfield Heritage Association for its History and Nature Walks series on the second Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, March 12
Woonsocket Reservoir #3:
Highlights include the NS38 Oliver Smith Lot, Amasa Sweet Quarry, Great Wall, William Mowry Homestead, and Obed Paine Homestead.
Meet at the North Smithfield High School Tennis courts on Grange Road off Route 104/Farnum Pike.
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Spring is near! Join Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park rangers for guided walks to enjoy some beautiful places in the Blackstone Valley!
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Wednesday, March 30
National Take a Walk in the Park Day: Hopedale Parklands
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meet at the Little Red Shop Museum
12 Hopedale Street
Hopedale, MA
Join us to celebrate National Take a Walk in the Park Day! We will be taking a leisurely stroll along the carriage trails at the Hopedale Parklands. Enjoy picturesque views of Hopedale Pond on wide and flat trails and learn some Hopedale history along the way.
Leading the walk will be Ranger Allison from Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
Free, limited parking is available.
Please pre-register at:
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Wednesday, April 6
National Walking Day: Walk with a Ranger
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meet at Blackstone River State Park
1075 Lower River Road
Lincoln, RI
Join us to celebrate National Walking Day with a leisurely stroll in Blackstone River State Park. Leading the walk will be Ranger Mark from Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
Learn about canal construction and how black powder was used to carve new landscapes. Explore the evolution of a nearby mill village. Highlights include the Captain Wilbur Kelly House Transportation Museum, the Blackstone River, the Blackstone Canal, Canoe Rock, and the Ashton Mill.
Free, limited parking is available.
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News from Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park |
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Six Sites, Six Connections, Endless Stories
Do you plan on spending part of your winter and spring parked at home? Explore America's national parks with us!
Join us as we travel through the sites that make up Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, connecting with national park staff from important sites along the way. Over the course of six virtual chats, we look forward to sharing unexpected connections and tips for finding your park.
All programs are free and hosted online at 7:00 PM EST.
March 10 - COMMUNITY
Our first discussion in the “Parked at Home” series is all about communities: how they are made, what makes them thrive, and what happens when they fall apart. For this talk, we will be joined by a staff member from Pullman National Monument.
Thousands of miles separate Pullman, Illinois, and Slatersville, Rhode Island. Though their exact origin stories differ, both these historic sites began as planned industrial communities. What can we learn from their respective founders? How do these parks preserve stories of workers in the United States? Tune in and get an insiders’ view into parks that serve as bookends in America’s industrial story.
March 17 - CONSTRUCTION
During this talk, we’ll be connecting with folks out in Ohio to talk about canals. Who built the infrastructure that made America’s age of industry? How do pathways along historic canalways allow us to connect with the past and recharge for the future?
March 24 - FAMILY
You may not think that the folks who were “first in flight” have much in common with a family from Whitinsville, Massachusetts. During the 19th century, the Whitins built a manufacturing dynasty in Northbridge. Much like the Whitin family, the Wright brothers used their spirit of innovation to change not just their personal fortune but national history, too.
March 31 - EQUALITY
During this virtual discussion, we will travel from a small town in Massachusetts to the nation’s capital. What is our goal? To learn about people who have fought for a more just society, on a local level, as well as the long fight for expanded suffrage.
In the 1840s, activists in Hopedale, MA, formed a community based on principles of equality. Nearly eighty years later, the 19th Amendment was ratified, expanding some women’s access to voting rights in the United States. What can Hopedale and Belmont-Paul teach us about battles for equality in the United States? How can you dive deeper and continue exploring this history without leaving home? We look forward to hearing your thoughts, comments, and questions!
April 7 - SPACE
Join us as we soar beyond earth’s atmosphere to discuss space. From beta cloth to the Kennedy Space Center, National Parks have both historic and modern connections with our human fascination with space travel.
April 14 - COTTON
Slater Mill is the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill in America. Where did the cotton come from? Slave labor was essential to many of Rhode Island’s businesses and much of its early industry. During this talk, we’ll learn more about cotton cultivation and the system of plantation slavery with staff from Kingsley Plantation, part of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Florida. Together, we’ll look at the global system of enslaved labor and capitalism from the vantage points of two very different historical sites.
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Self-Guided Tours on the NPS Mobile App |
Do you plan on visiting Slater Mill or Slatersville? If so, check out Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park's new self-guided tours.
These audio tours are available on the NPS Mobile App. The Mobile App can be downloaded for Apple or Google phones. Once on the app, choose Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, then select self-guided tours.
More self-guided tours will soon be available for the Blackstone River State Park and Ashton, Whitinsville, and Hopedale.
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Find Recordings from the Work/Life Winter Series on YouTube! |
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Roger Williams National Memorial Hosts
Roger Williams's Letters Virtual Series
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Wednesdays: March 23 and April 20
6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
on Zoom
A lot can be gleaned from seeing an original manuscript. A manuscript is the author's hand putting pen to paper. Thoughts, to hand, to paper, and down to us through the ages. It is very different from the printed word. You can see the intensity, style, emotions as the words are being written.
April 18, 2019.
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ZAP Steering Committee Cleans Up Canal Street |
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Members of the steering committee for ZAP the Blackstone's 50th Anniversary gathered together on February 21 to clean up a section of Canal Street along the Blackstone Canal in North Smithfield, RI, and Blackstone, MA. Volunteers pulled over 1,000 pounds of litter. MEGA Disposal sponsored the event by waiving disposal fees at its transfer station on Canal Street in North Smithfield.
Special thanks to volunteers from the Blackstone River Watershed Association, Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful, Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, and Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.
Save the dates of Saturday, August 27 for a watershed-wide clean-up and green-up event and Saturday, September 10 for a 50th-anniversary celebration of ZAP.
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Show Your Love for the Blackstone River Watershed All Year Long!
Here are some special dates to celebrate this month!
March 14:
March 22:
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Thank you to MEGA Disposal for supporting the ZAP 50 cleanup event along Canal Street in North Smithfield, RI, and Blackstone, MA, on February 21 by waiving disposal fees.
MEGA agreed to take up to 50 bags, five tires, and two mattresses. Volunteers collected over 1,000 pounds of litter.
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Become a GearHead Junior Ranger |
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"Explore, Discover, Protect, and GO!"
The Junior Ranger motto is recited by children around the country, each taking an oath of their own to protect parks, continue to learn about parks, and share their own ranger story with friends and family. Here in the Blackstone River Valley, Junior Rangers are called GearHeads. What's a GearHead, you might ask?
GearHead (n.): a kid, powered by the gears in their brain, who explores nature, discovers history, protects the environment, and goes on adventures throughout the Blackstone River Valley.
Click through the GearHeads website and claim your Junior Ranger status today! Submit a completed activity, and we'll send you a Junior Ranger badge!
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On March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard successfully launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. He set up in a field belonging to his Aunt Effie in Auburn, MA, adjacent to a cabbage patch. The rocket flew 41 feet high and landed 184 feet away in just 2.5 seconds.
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Do you know the name of Goddard's rocket? |
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Calling All Scouts - Earn a Scout Ranger Certificate or Badge! |
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Click here to learn about the Boy Scout Ranger program. |
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Click here to learn about the Girl Scout Ranger program. |
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Be a Scout Ranger in the Blackstone River Valley!
Scouts and Park Rangers have a lot in common! We are all inspired to act as good stewards of public lands and to learn more about our communities.
Participants in the Scout Ranger program can earn a certificate or a patch.
As a Scout Ranger you will:
- Learn about the mission of the National Park Service.
- Help protect the nation’s natural, cultural, and historic resources.
- Explore and learn about your national parks.
- Achieve unique recognition from the National Park Service.
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Navigate & Explore the Blackstone River Valley
With Our Interactive Map!
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670 Linwood Avenue, Whitinsville, MA 01588
(508) 234-4242
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