Douglas / Sutton / Northbridge
Douglas
Douglas center cemetary, photo by Paul Hutchinson
Forests have played an essential role in the town of Douglas, since its creation. The forests here were harvested to provide everything from firewood and planking to axe handles for the Douglas Axe Company. Today, those same forests attract people to Douglas as a place for recreation and reflection.
Self-guided tour for Douglas, MA: Douglas Walking Tour Brochure (PDF)
Douglas State Forest
Bordering both Connecticut and Rhode Island, Douglas State Forest contains 4,620 acres of recreational opportunities and scenic lands, including Wallum Lake. Douglas State Forest also includes a rare example of Atlantic White Ceder swampland. A 5-acre portion of this swamp is designated as a Massachusetts Wildland. It is accessible to the public via a boardwalk trail.
E.L. Jenckes Store Museum
Built in 1833, the Jenckes Store is a classic example of a small town general store. Now operated as a museum by the Douglas Historical Society, the store is stocked today as it would have been a century ago. This classic general store was built by Ebenezer Balcomb c1833. In 1884, Edward N. Jenckes bought it, making several additions.
Read more about E.L. Jenckes Store Museum:
East Douglas
East Douglas is a charming village that evolved from a farming community into an industrial village. Along with textile mills, East Douglas was also home to the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company, which took advantage of the town’s natural resources of wood and waterpower. The village of East Douglas has many interesting shops and restaurants along Main Street.
Read more about East Douglas: www.edv.ie
Sutton
Sutton is proud of its agricultural heritage, producing corn, fruits and dairy products for towns throughout the region. The town center is a classic example of a crossroads farming community. But even Sutton was touched on its fringes by the industrial revolution, as attested to by the mill villages of Manchaug and Wilkinsonville.
Self-guided tour for Sutton, MA: Sutton Walking Tour Brochure (PDF)
The General Rufus Putnam Hall
This building, adjacent to the Town Hall, was constructed in 1823 by the Olive Branch of the Master Masons. In later years, it was used as a school, a meeting place for the DAR and the town library. Since 1984, Rufus Putnam Hall has been home to the Sutton Historical Society.
Manchaug Village
Manchaug is a wonderfully preserved mill village, along the banks of the Mumford River. The mills here for many years were owned by B.B. and R. Knight, makers of Fruit of the Loom. The attractive stone mills have been revitalized and are being reused for a number of small businesses.
Read more about Manchaug Village:
Purgatory Chasm
A unique natural landmark, Purgatory Chasm runs for a quarter of a mile between granite walls, rising as high as 70 feet. Popular with picnickers and rock-climbers alike, the Chasm is believed to have its origin in the sudden release of dammed-up glacial meltwater near the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 14,000 years ago. Trails lead to a variety of rock formations.
Read more about Purgatory Chasm:
Waters Farm
Waters Farm is a living history farm museum that celebrates 19th century rural life. The farmhouse and its contents, used for over 200 years by the same family, are intact. Located on 130 acres of fields and woods are the farmhouse, blacksmith shop and shingle mill.
Northbridge
Harnessing water as a source of power was the key to industrialization in the Blackstone River Valley. A prime example of this is Northbridge, with its chain of mills along the Blackstone, and the wonderful series of dams and holding ponds that turned the small Mumford River into the driving engine of the massive Whitin Machine Works.
Self-guided tours of Northbridge, MA:
Lookout Rock
Lookout Rock provides one of the most spectacular views in the Blackstone Valley. Standing atop the rock, you have a view of the Blackstone River snaking its way through Northbridge and Uxbridge and through Rice City Pond.
Read more about Lookout Rock: www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/greenway/pdfs/central.pdf (PDF)
Plummer’s Landing
Plummer’s Landing is the northern end of the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. In 1837, Israel Plummer built a general store and warehouse here next to a canal lock. Today, Plummer’s landing serves as a trail head and canoe access site.
Read more about Plummer's Landing: Northbridge Paddling Tour (PDF)
Whitin Mill
The intent of the Whitin Mill community is to create a cultural destination for the region, to develop a focal point of activities for tourists, to grant access to cultural opportunities for residents of surrounding rural towns, to assist in the rejuvenation of the local economy, and to encourage job formation.
Read more about Whitin Mill: www.alternativesnet.org/whitin-mill-overview
Whitinsville
Whitinsville was the home of the Whitin Machine Works, an internationally renowned maker of textile machinery. “The Shop” specialized in making machines for picking, carding and spinning cotton and wool. Touring Whitinsville today, you can still see much of the original village, including the worker housing, churches and the community center.
Read more about Whitinsville:
- www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/trails/blackstone.pdf (Trail Map - PDF)
- Northbridge Paddling Tour (PDF)