Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park

Created by an act of Congress in 1986, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a special kind of park designed to preserve the industrial history of the Blackstone River Valley. View down stream from the Bernon Street bridge A sleepy farming and milling area in colonial days, the Blackstone River Valley was transformed into one of the nineteenth century's great industrial areas. With a 430 foot drop in elevation from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI, the river was an excellent place to locate business in the days before steam turned machinery. Water powered textile mills proliferated up and down the river. Mills grew into villages and those villages eventually grew into the cities and towns we know today. The Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor includes sites in 24 cities and towns along the 26 mile run of the Blackstone River from Worcester to Providence. Unlike traditional national parks, the federal government does not own or manage the sites which make up the corridor. Instead, they work with local groups to coordinate the preservation and interpretation of these sites. Different areas along the river highlight different aspects of the valley's industrial history.