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Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
October 2007 Newsletter 3
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New Berkeley-Martin Street Bridges Opened and Blackstone River Bikeway Reopened
Just in time for the Labor Day weekend, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) welcomed Federal, State and local officials to the Blackstone Valley to celebrate the completion of the new Berkeley Bridge and Martin Street Canal Bridge and the reopening of the Blackstone River Bikeway in Lincoln/Cumberland. A special ceremony marked the occasion on Tuesday, August 28, 2007, on the bikeway below the Martin Street Bridge in Lincoln.
The bridges which carry Martin Street over the Blackstone River and the Blackstone Canal date back to 1900. Through a contract with Aetna Bridge, the bridges were replaced and the bikeway was reconfigured. The new bikeway now travels below the bridges and provides a much safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians.
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| Commisioner W. Michael Sullivan and Chair Edward Sanderson present Robert Sutton with a Corridor Star Award |
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Star Awards
At the Commission meeting held on September 20, 2007, Corridor Star Awards were presented to John O’Brien, retired principal biologist with Rhode Islands’ Department of Environmental Protection; Robert Sutton, retired Chief of Planning for the same agency; and to the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club. To see the full stories about these award winners and their accomplishments, please click here.
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| The Champion Watermelon Seed (aka sunflower seed) Spitters and Ranger Suzanne (at left) at Spring Lake. |
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Fun time had by all at the annual Volunteer in Park & Paddle Club Picnic
Kudos to Ranger Suzanne Buchanan for her work as the Volunteer in Parks (VIP) coordinator and to the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club for a terrific end-of-summer celebration at Spring Lake in Burrillville. Over 80 volunteers attended the celebration. The weather was perfect, the food plentiful and the camaraderie priceless! Paddle on, folks paddle on.
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| Participants at the wrap up meeting at Purgatory Chasm Visitors Center. |
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Heritage Landscape Inventory Complete
Ten Blackstone Valley communities in Massachusetts participated in the Heritage Landscape Inventory project, a partnership between the Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and Quinebaug–Shetucket Heritage Corridor, Inc. Hundreds of special places were identified by Valley residents at a series of community meetings, and over 50 particularly significant and/or vulnerable landscapes were surveyed. Over 30 citizens from participating communities came together at a final project meeting on September 25 to hear about regional and cross-community issues and to discuss next steps. In addition, each community received a reconnaissance report which includes recommendations about how to protect its high priority landscapes.
The Commission, DCR and Quinebaug–Shetucket Heritage Corridor, Inc. are working to develop a training program based on the project recommendations and needs of the communities. A workshop on the National Register of Historic Places, held in Grafton on September 18, kicked off this education initiative. Stay tuned for more opportunities to learn about ways to protect the places that give the Valley its distinctive character.
For more information, contact Joanna Doherty, Community Planner at the Commission, at 401-762-0250 or e-mail us.
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Did You Know?
After opening America's first successful textile mill, Samuel Slater also helped establish America's first mill village. Slatersville, in North Smithfield, RI, began operations in 1807. His brother John Slater, who lived in the white house seen here, ran the village for almost 40 years.
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Last Updated: October 04, 2007 at 10:39 EST |
