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Share your photos and personal stories about the Blackstone Valley! We want to feature your photos and personal stories in a future issue of Corridor Currents! Have you taken a cool photo in the Blackstone Valley? Or, do you have a story to share related to the Valley? If so, .

Blackstone Valley Stories

The Starting LineThe Greenway Challenge – More Than Just an Adventure Race! (11/13)
The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor’s Greenway Challenge has become one of New England’s premier adventure races. Each year, Greenway Challenge participants run, paddle and bike on a newly designed course, through one of the most beautiful and historic regions of New England, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. “It’s an adventure because we design it featuring ‘hidden’ sites in Blackstone Valley,” says Barbara Dixon, event coordinator for the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and one of the event’s founders. “It is up to you and your teammates to practice to get familiar with the course (prior to race day) to determine your strategy.”

explaining canal structure

Exploring Partnerships ~ Connecting Young People to the Blackstone Valley Corridor (11/13)
A new program was added to the Broad Meadow Book Nature Day Camp experience in 2013 – Explore the Blackstone. Mass Audubon, working with the Blackstone Corridor and the National Park Service (NPS), used the summer camp as a vehicle to enable campers to experience more of what the Blackstone Valley has to offer.

Wagon TourThe Blackstone Canal District Horse and Wagon Tours (9/13)
“Free the Blackstone! Woo! Woo!” (as in WOO TOWN, Worcester’s new moniker). That’s the sound you may have heard if you were in Worcester on a Thursday evening this summer. Residents and visitors alike enjoyed The Blackstone Canal District Horse and Wagon Tours, operated by local high school students and volunteers. “This is awesome!” is a comment heard over and over again from those lucky enough to have experienced a Wagon Tour. Our tour guides brought us on a journey through Worcester’s Canal District, as they narrated the farm to factory story of the Industrial Revolution and the immigrants that made it happen. The tour came complete with historical characters, portrayed by the students. During the tour, students become instrumental figures from the past, enacting scripts that each student researched and wrote.

The Blackstone Valley Becomes an Outdoor Classroom for a Group of Students at Bancroft School (8/13)
From historic sites and museums to scenic rolling farmlands, from vibrant cities to quaint small towns, from a world-class bike path to great waterways for paddling, the Blackstone River Valley has something to offer everyone. “I think of the Blackstone River Valley as an extension of my classroom,” says Abigail Church, a grade 6-history teacher and Middle School Academic Support Coordinator at Bancroft School in Worcester, MA. “I created a history curriculum featuring the Blackstone Valley. Using our backyard as a resource, students get out into the community to learn more about the history, culture and ecology of the region.”

Ticket to Ride (7/13)
One of a teacher’s many challenges is to provide an educational experience that actually gets students excited about learning. This grant program enabled students to travel to the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park to experience life as it was when the Blackstone River was a vibrant, integral part of the Industrial Revolution. 

Celebrating Pawtucket History (7/13)
When looking at the collection, the word ephemera comes to mind – all things about Pawtucket. The collection is a treasure trove of historical riches that includes photographs, (penny) post cards, architectural plans, city directories, biographies, histories of churches and other religious institutions, retail stores, wholesale businesses, places, monuments and schools.

 

We strongly believe that the resources and stories of the Blackstone Valley are so important that Congress should establish a National Park here.

Join the Campaign →