The Blackstone River was once considered dead. Polluted. Forgotten. Left behind like the mills that lined its banks.
But that’s not the story anymore.
From Providence all the way up through Pawtucket, Central Falls, Cumberland, and Woonsocket … something is happening along these banks. Mills that once powered the Industrial Revolution are being reborn, as housing, breweries. antique centers, community spaces.
Places like Island Place in Woonsocket, once industrial, now a stunning riverfront walkway. The Ashton Mill, now homes. Berkeley Mill, now a brewery. Valley Falls Heritage Park, where the history of this river literally lives in the landscape. And over in Lincoln and Cumberland, the Peterson/Puritan site, once a racetrack, then a dump, now a brownfield being brought back to life.
Just across the river from Festival Pier in Pawtucket, where dragon boat races draw crowds every summer, a brand new 10,000-seat soccer stadium now stands. Rhode Island FC has arrived, and they planted their flag right here on the Blackstone (technically the Seekonk River/Pawtucket River).
The Blackstone River State Park, once overgrown, now trails, a tow path, and wildlife you won’t believe. Blue herons, kayakers, boat tours.
It didn’t happen overnight. Back in the 1970s, Project ZAP kicked off a movement to take back this valley, and volunteers such as those from the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone never stopped.
Some buildings are still waiting. Some foundations are all that’s left. But that’s the thing about the Blackstone Valley, the story’s never finished.
We’re still writing it.
