John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley

The Blackstone River runs from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI. Today, the Blackstone River Valley is a special type of National Park - a living landscape containing thousands of natural, cultural and historic treasures. America’s first textile mill could have been built along practically any river on the eastern seaboard, but in 1790 the forces of capital, ingenuity, mechanical know-how and skilled labor came together at Pawtucket, Rhode Island where the Blackstone River provided the power that kicked off America’s drive to industrialization. The river, the canal, the mill villages, the agricultural landscape and many of the mills are still here – part of the living landscape of the Blackstone River Valley.