Key Projects
Ongoing Projects
Blackstone River Bikeway. With more than 22 miles of on- and off-road bikeway completed, and nearly 10 miles in design, the Blackstone River Bikeway project offers transportation and recreation opportunities. In Rhode Island, nearly half of the Bikeway is complete, including more than 10 miles of off-road multi-use path, and as many miles of bike path along existing road networks. Rhode Island engineers and designers are working on links in Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket. In Massachusetts, almost 4 miles of off-road Greenway will go into construction in summer 2014 in Blackstone, Millville and Uxbridge, and a link in Worcester continues to move through the design process. When it's complete, the 50- mile Blackstone River Bikeway will connect New England's 2nd and 3rd largest cities (Worcester, MA and Providence, RI).
Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center. Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center will serve as a gateway to the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, and, also to the City of Worcester. The Visitor Center will provide a connecting point to recreational, historical, cultural and geographic attractions in the Blackstone River Valley and Central Massachusetts. This will be an interpretive and cultural center for the region. Read more about the Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center.
2010
In May 2010, the Corridor launched its new on-line learning program, Blackstone Valley 101. The program allows anyone with a computer to discover the sites and stories that make the Blackstone Valley an integral part of America’s heritage. More than 250 people have completed the program, including residents of all 24 cities and towns in the Blackstone Valley and from 18 other US states. To access Blackstone Valley 101, go to www.nps.gov/blac/supportyour park/bv101.htm.
Leadership for the Future. The Corridor Commission created a not-for-profit corporation called Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Inc. The purpose of the new organization is to assume the role of the Commission once the Commission’s federal authorization has expired. Its primary objectives will be to support heritage partnerships throughout the Blackstone Valley and to pursue federal funding for partnership projects that serve the Corridor mission.
2009
Landscape of Industry: An Industrial History of the Blackstone Valley, the first book published on this topic, hit the shelves in late 2009. The richly-illustrated, award-winning volume was funded by the Corridor Commission and collaboratively produced by the Worcester Historical Museum and the National Park Service.
2008
Redefining the corridor. Staff and Commissioners worked closely with the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Regional Office on the Blackstone River Valley Special Resource Study. The study explored the potential for a permanent NPS presence in the Blackstone Corridor with a particular focus on those sites and landscape features that relate to the region’s industrial development.
Landscape Preservation 101. The Corridor Commission, in partnership with the Quinebaug- Shetucket Heritage Corridor and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (MA DCR), offered a series of preservation planning workshops, which encouraged communities to act now to preserve special places in the Blackstone Corridor for future generations. Participants learned about local preservation bylaws and smart growth strategies, and received tips on how to pass the Community Preservation Act, rehabilitate mill buildings, and protect and support farms.
Footsteps in History. The 3rd annual Footsteps in History event took place during Columbus Day weekend, with more than 100 historic sites and programs throughout the Corridor welcoming more than 15,000 visitors. The program, a partnership between the Commission, the MA and RI State Historic Preservation Offices, regional tourism agencies and Chambers of Commerce, was supported by a $120,000 Preserve America grant.
Ranger Walkabouts. A total of twelve Thursday Night Walkabouts were offered in 2008, including a new addition, campfire stories presented at the site of the Worcester Blackstone Visitor Center. Other programs included tours of Hopedale, MA, Valley Falls, RI and the Hunt House in East Providence, RI. The Walkabout series is an opportunity for visitors and residents of the Blackstone Valley to get an in-depth tour of some of the wonderful sites within the Blackstone Corridor. By participating in multiple Walkabout programs, visitors can not only learn about many different places in the Valley, but also begin to see how those sites are all inter-connected by the Corridor’s major historical themes. Read more about the 2014 Ranger Walkabout series.
GRANT AWARDS
The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Inc. (Blackstone Heritage Corridor) provides funding to organizations in support of projects in the Blackstone Corridor that both enhance our community and further our mission.
Grants Awarded by the Blackstone Heritage Corridor in the Spring of 2014
In 2013, organizations participating in the three-session interpretive workshop, Weaving the Story of the Valley, were eligible to apply for one of three matching grants awarded by the Blackstone Heritage Corridor. During the workshops, organizations learned how their sites could make thematic connections to the proposed new National Park and other partners across the Valley.
Project: Bio-Engineering on the Blackstone to Encourage Environmental Stewardship
Organization: Blackstone River Coalition, Worcester, MA
Overview: During the rapid industrial growth during the Industrial Resolution, the damming of rivers and the lack of environmental awareness has left many negative impacts. The concept of bio-engineering is to use natural components to rehabilitate the environment, and not pumps, tanks and chemicals. The Living Machine in Fisherville, MA is an opportunity to demonstrate these techniques. This grant will allow the development and delivery of three public tours to celebrate this site and the concept of bio-engineering from low-tech rain gardens, to high tech greenhouses.
Project: Lecture Series
Organization: Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Pawtucket, RI
Overview: The organization and its partners will develop a lecture series about ancestor stories of people who lived in the Blackstone Valley. This grant will support the lecture series by providing financial support for promotional materials, advertising and speaker honorariums.
Project: Worcester’s Blackstone Canal Horse and Wagon Tours Training Program
Organization: Worcester Canal District Horse and Wagon Tours, Worcester, MA
Overview: The grant will enable Worcester’s Blackstone Canal Horse and Wagon Tours to create a new training program that connects student interpreters and guides viscerally with organizations throughout the Blackstone Valley. The program will utilize the resources and expertise of identified partners during a twelve-week after-school program. This will enable our students to understand each of the twelve themes in depth and build a strong, supportive cohort through the common experience of challenge, adventure and exploration, thereby enabling informed and enthusiastic public tours and supporting significant leadership growth.
Here is a sampling of partnership projects funded in 2010.
Project: Cleanup of Blackstone River and Tributaries, $3000
Organization: Blackstone River Watershed Association
Goal: To improve the health of the Blackstone River system by sponsoring three annual cleanup activities
Project: Completion of Whitin Mill Heritage Museum, $20,000
Organization: ValleyCAST!
Goal: To provide the final outfit of the museum space, located in the 1826 Paul Whitin Mill at Alternatives’ Whitin Mill Complex
Project: Going Green with Storm Water in the Watershed, $17,500
Organization: Blackstone River Coalition
Goal: To conduct an intensive storm water outreach program, working closely with departments of public works and town engineers in Blackstone Valley watershed communities and with homeowners and business owners in 5 targeted communities
Project: Art, Landscapes and Ecology on the Blackstone (mill floor exhibit at The Museum of Work and Culture), $20,000
Organization: RiverzEdge Arts Project
Goal: To enhance the relationship of the city and the Blackstone River through art, design and ecologically restorative processes through green design innovation projects
Project: Great Road Historic District Visitor Enhancement Project, $20,000
Organization: Friends of Hearthside, Inc.
Goal: To develop signs, expanded parking, and a new walkway to enhance the accessibility, linkages and interpretation of the historic sites in the Great Road Historic District