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Slater Mill Exhibit
Things in Common
Preservation Awards

Slater Mill Apprentice Alcove Exhibit Opens
Slater Mill Historic Site marked the completion of the Apprentice Alcove on August 30, with a press conference attended by Senator Lincoln Chafee, Corridor Staff, and Slater Mill Staff and Board Members. The Apprentice Alcove located in the Wilkinson Mill, is an experiential learning tool that allows visitors to create and wind a bobbin, and is run by people power (hand cranks). It is especially geared towards children who can drill holes in bobbins, do finish sanding with a barrel sander, and wind with thread. 

The Alcove complements the permanent exhibit in the Wilkinson Mill by reducing the scale of the machinery while still retaining the processes that are demonstrated through the historic equipment. This allows participants to viscerally experience and therefore begin to understand more difficult concepts such as power creation and transfer. This area is a vital part of the Mill’s immersion program for upper elementary and middle school youth and helps explain complex mathematical and scientific concepts such as inverse ratios and energy storage. Funding for the project came from a variety of sources including the museum, the Heritage Corridor, the Carter Family Trust, and Ocean State Charities.

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“Things In Common” Second Visitor Services and Networking Series
On July 27, Tourism partners, Town Officials and Historical Site Representatives from the Blackstone Valley municipalities in Massachusetts gathered in Grafton, MA for “Things in Common”, a day long session on how their organization or community can partner to promote tourism and events. Grafton Town Administrator Natalie Lashmit and Executive Director Larry Gall extended greetings to the attendees at Grafton Common.

Key guest speakers also included Representative George Peterson, 9th Worcester District, who spoke about Legislative help for the Tourism Industry; Gary Vaillancourt, Vaillancourt Folk Art, led a discussion on Building a Community Event; and Jeannie Hebert, from the Central Mass Convention & Visitors Bureau gave an energized talk on “guerilla marketing” For more information contact Barbara Dixon, e-mail us or (401) 762-0250.

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Two Blackstone Valley Projects Recognized with Historic Preservation Awards
The Massachusetts Historical Commission has recognized Hassanamesit Woods in Grafton and the Bull Mansion/G.A.R. Hall (now home to TiNovo Restaurant) in Worcester with Historic Preservation Awards. Hassanamesit Woods was honored in the categories of archaeology, landscape preservation and education. The 200-acre site, associated with the largest of John Eliot’s 17th-century praying Indian villages, was threatened by development and acquired by the Town of Grafton in 2004. The historical significance of the site and its value as open space has attracted a wide range of supporters.In 2003, the Commission funded a reconnaissance-level archaeological survey of the site which helped build support for its protection, and an intensive archaeological survey in 2005. Both surveys were completed by the FiskeCenter for Archaeological Research at UMass Boston. Currently, the Commission is helping to fund a Preservation Master Plan for this significant historic landscape, which will guide its future treatment and interpretation.

TiNovo Restaurant is being honored for its adaptive reuse of the Bull Mansion on Pearl Street in downtown Worcester. Built as a private residence in 1876, the mansion was designed by Calvert Vaux in the High Victorian Gothic style and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was purchased by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1912, later transferred to the City of Worcester and fell into disuse in recent years. Included on Preservation Worcester’s “Most Endangered” list in 2005, the building has been transformed into an upscale downtown restaurant by owner Mitch Terriano. 

For more information on the Preservation Awards, contact the Massachusetts Historical Commission at 617-727-8470. For more information on the Hassanamesit Woods Preservation Master Plan, contact Joanna Doherty at 401-762 0250 or e-mail us.

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