The Blackstone River from Lookout Rock

Five More Years!
The Commission extends a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to its Congressional delegation, the CorridorKeepers, and the many folks around the Valley who worked so hard to make this happen. It is your dedication to preserving the Blackstone Valley’s character that truly makes our collective home a wonderful place to live and work.

On October 12th, President Bush signed Public Law 109-338 reauthorizing the Commission for an additional five years. Over the coming months, the Commission will be focusing on developing a work plan for the next five years, and working with National Park Service planners as they conduct a Special Resource Study to determine the suitability of National Park designation for resources within the Corridor. Through these public processes, we will work together to build a solid foundation that preserves our heritage for future generations.

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Welcome to the new Heritage Corridor Commission News!
The Commission News has been produced since 2002 as a means of updating the Corridor Commission on projects related to the Heritage Corridor. This also has become an excellent tool in documenting the progress of Corridor on its planning initiatives.

Since its inception, Commission News has served the needs of documenting progress on Heritage Corridor initiatives. The Heritage Corridor News format is an attractive, convenient and easy way to find out what is happening with the Heritage Corridor. The new electronic format:

• Increases distribution
• Allows for upcoming news inserts and submissions
• Allows links to maps, more extensive articles, web sites and email addresses for more information
• Allows flexibility (selection of topical material of interest to the specific user)
• Incorporates the new Calendar of Events
• Allows for an easy increase in the number of issues within a year.

The Corridor received a list of partners through the CorridorKeepers. Should you wish to subscribe or to unsubscribe to this publication please follow the instructions provided by Constant Contact. For additional comments or to submit information for consideration, please contact Halford Welch, Director of Special Projects, at the Corridor Commission offices 401.762.0250 or e-mail us.

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Footsteps In History
Over 100 sites participated in the 2006 Footsteps In History program hosted over the Columbus Day Weekend. Footsteps is a collaboration of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce, Rhode Island Historic Preservation & Heritage Commission, Massachusetts Historical Commission and receives a grant from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Preserve America Program.

Footsteps was created as a meeting place for history and tourism in the Blackstone River Valley. The event grew out of the need to bring these communities together to further the development of a heritage tourism industry for the Valley. Many Valley sites do not have the ability to open throughout the year. Footsteps offers the one venue where sites may open for Columbus Day Weekend and benefit from cooperative promotion.  

Next year’s Footsteps program is envisioned to be a larger, more year-round collaboration of Valley programs and events and planning will begin shortly. Hats off to the individual sites that participated in this year’s event and many thanks to the new Footsteps coordinator, Lorraine Provencher for all of her efforts. For more results of this year’s program (or to sign up for next year’s program), please visit www.footstepsinhistory.com.

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Executive Director Larry Gall and Commission Chair Louise Redding, on left, thanking Sheriff Guy Glodis, second from right, for his efforts to maintain the Bikeway.

Blackstone River Valley Greenway Challenge 2006
The 66-mile Greenway Challenge was the largest and the longest ever! September 30^th offered a beautiful day and the route offered plenty of excitement for runners, cyclists and paddlers and everyone had a terrific time. The Greenway Challenge Steering Committee thanks everyone for their enthusiasm and support and urges everyone to start training now for next year’s Challenge to be held on September 29, 2007. Rhode Islanders should watch for the upcoming cable channel piece RI Adventure Chicks featuring the Greenway Challenge and you can find all of the results from this year’s challenge at www.greenwaychallenge.org/

An offshoot of this year's Greenway Challenge is an exciting new partnership to help maintain the Blackstone River Bikeway in Worcester and Millbury.  Worcester County Sheriff Guy Glodis has agreed to provide workers from his Community Service Program to perform regular maintenance on this two and a half mile segement of the Bikeway.

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Artist's vision of recreated Blackstone Canal in Worcester

Official Shares Lessons on Canal Development in Richmond, VA
The Blackstone Canal's 178th anniversary was a fitting milestone for the Heritage Corridor Commission and the Worcester Historical Museum to host guest speaker James McCarthy, Jr., former Executive Director of the Richmond Riverfront Corporation in Richmond, VA., to share an overview and valuable lessons learned of the expansive James River redevelopment initiative that included the reconstruction of two canals in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

McCarthy’s lecture, held on October 19th at the Worcester Historical Museum, described how riverfront partners formulated a Riverfront Master Plan, advanced infrastructure improvements (including the reconstruction of two canals), guided real estate development, managed property, developed and implemented an interpretive plan for the area, and implemented a maintenance plan. He attributed the success of the riverfront area to a mixed use approach to development as well as the emphasis on historic interpretation and design continuity in the canal district. Today, the redevelopment efforts along the James River, Kanawha and Haxall Canals and Brown’s Island have contributed to a thriving Downtown Richmond, with low office vacancy rates and new office and residential development which has increased Richmond’s riverfront district tax base from $230 million to $550 million annually since the canals were constructed in 1998. To find out more, visit http://www.richmondriverfront.com/

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