The Wilkinson and Slater Mills along the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, RI.

The NPS Takes a Fresh Look at the Blackstone River Valley
In October 2006, Congress passed legislation to reauthorize the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission for an additional five years. While the Blackstone River Valley was designated a National Heritage Corridor in perpetuity by Congress, the federal management presence will only exist as long as the federally created Corridor Commission continues to operate.

The reauthorization legislation also required the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a Special Resource Study (SRS) to explore the potential for a permanent National Park Service (NPS) presence in the Blackstone Valley. A possible result of the study could be Congressional action creating a new unit of the National Park System in the Blackstone Valley. The SRS, which is being managed by staff from the NPS’ Northeast Regional Office, will focus on sites and landscape features that contribute to the understanding of the Blackstone Valley as the birthplace of the American industrial revolution.

Special Resource Study Public Meeting
Saturday, February 16.
The National Park Service and the Heritage Corridor Commission invite you to a scholars' forum and community discussion: "New Perspectives on the Blackstone Valley's Industrial Heritage."

Saturday February 16 from 3:00-5:00 pm at Alternatives Unlimited, in the recently renovated Whitin Red Brick Mill.
50 Douglas Road
Whitinsville MA.

Directions: From Route 146, take the Lackey Dam Road Exit. Follow signs east to Whitinsville for about 2.5 miles. Lackey Dam Road becomes Douglas Road. Alternatives is on left, just before Northbridge Town Hall and the center of Whitinsville.

To learn about the study process itself, please to see the current informational bulletin.

To view the National Park Service's Planning, Environment and Public Comment page devoted to this study click here.