News Release
Subscribe
 |
What is RSS
|
Happy summer! Here's our most recent newsletter - find out what's new for summer and fall at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park and Roger Williams National Memorial!
What's New at Blackstone River Valley NHP?
Celebrate Founders Day and Go Fishing!
Learn to fish with us this summer at Blackstone River State Park! The park will be hosting a special fishing day near Kelly House on Sunday, August 25, 2024.
Catch some fish, learn about the river, and earn a Junior Angler badge. All fishing material and bait are provided. You do not need any prior experience to participate. Activities available from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
Address: 1075 Lower River Rd., Lincoln, RI.
Labor Day Festivities
Special Tours
During Labor Day weekend, rangers at Slater Mill will provide free specialty tours of Slater Mill in honor of Rhode Island's rich labor history. Tours will be held at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., Thursday-Sunday. Please note: these tours are free, however, tickets are required. Tickets can be acquired at Old Slater Mill's front desk starting at 10:00 AM the day of the tour. The Visitor Center will be open 10 AM - 4 PM (closed on Labor Day).
Live Music
The park will also host the River Bend East Songwriters Festival, which continues to highlight the best regional songwriting talent found throughout New England. Bring chairs and blankets to relax and enjoy; no registration is required.
Thursday, August 29: Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame musician Mark Cutler will lead a free songwriting workshop at Slater Mill on Thursday, August 29, at 6:30 PM. Participants will write a song with Mark that will debut at the festival during his set on Saturday, August 31. All are invited to perform. People of all ages and abilities invited.
Friday, August 30: Live music outside of Slater Mill will begin at 6:30 PM. Chris Monti will welcome visitors with an opening set of West African infused folk music. The popular Americana band, Jeff Byrd and Dirty Finch, will headline. David Lawlor, Run of the Mill, will provide an artful background video highlighting local mills and labor history. J. Michael Graham will also debut a short music video collaboration with Lawlor.
Saturday, August 31: River Bend East will continue with a showcase of the region's best singer-songwriters from 12-4 PM.
12:00 PM - Mark Cutler: https://www.markcutlermusic.com/
1:00 PM - Allison Rose: https://allisonrosemusic.com/
1:45 PM – Tribute to Mary Lee Partington by Caroline Vitale & Bob Drouin
2:00 PM - J. Michael Graham: https://www.jmgrahammusic.com/
3:00 PM - Christian and Annie from High Planes: https://www.facebook.com/HighPlanesRI/
Lawlor
Old Slater Mill Summer/Fall Schedule
June 6, 2024 - December 14, 2024
Visitor Information Station: Open Thursdays - Sundays, 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Watch an 8-minute video, learn more about the Park, or earn your Junior Ranger badge.
Guided Tours: 10:30 A.M., 12:30 P.M., and 2:30 P.M. (Thursdays - Sundays)
Join a Ranger for a tour of Old Slater Mill. These 30 - 45 minute programs talk about the legacy of the Industrial Revolution in America's first cotton-spinning mill. Tours leave from the patio in front of Old Slater Mill. The mill is accessible but does have uneven floors.
Special accommodations can be made by contacting 401-725-8638.
Fall Field Trips at Slater Mill
Attention teachers: do you want to book a field trip? Reach out to us today! We are welcoming field trips for elementary and secondary school students at Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark in Pawtucket, RI. Each visit includes a tour of Old Slater Mill as well as optional group activities. The current capacity for a group field trip is 60 people at a time for up to 90 minutes. There is no fee, but reservations are required.
Starting in September, the park will offer field trips on Wednesdays (9:30 AM to 1:30 PM). Reservations can be made by emailing Allison Horrocks (Allison_Horrocks@nps.gov) or calling 401-318-4883.
Hendrickson / Flickr
Ranger Walkabouts in the Blackstone Valley
Join a Park Ranger and explore the Blackstone River Valley! There are several walkabouts left in this year’s season. These programs begin at 6:30 PM and are 60-minutes long.
August 15: At Home in Hopedale
Location: 12 Hopedale St., Hopedale, MA
How do employers retain talented workers? In some company towns, housing served as an incentive and anchor. Explore the historic homes of Hopedale, MA, and chart the rise and fall of the Draper Company, which was once the largest producer of power looms in the United States.
August 22: Lonsdale Marsh – A Rehabilitation Story
Location: 121 John St., Lincoln, RI
During the 19th century, some workers moved from farms into factories. Others relocated to company towns to run factory farms. Learn about the evolution of Lonsdale, a place that has been home to both farmers and factory workers. See how the land in this mill village has undergone tremendous environmental changes and healed from some of the destructive forces of industry.
August 29: Labor Day Weekend Preview
Location: 67 Roosevelt Ave., Pawtucket, RI
Kick off your Labor Day Weekend at Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI! Tour a historic mill building (1793) to see how an industrial revolution began on the banks of the Blackstone River.
Please wear comfortable footwear and bring water. Most tours are outside and often include walking on uneven surfaces on varying types of terrain with no access to bathroom facilities. Bug spray and sunscreen are also highly suggested.
NPS Photo
Thank You Interns!
This summer, our team welcomed five new members: Ahanu Phillips (Nipmuc Heritage Intern), Bond Hurley (Arizona State University), Caroline Gracia (Latino Heritage Internship Program), Gianna Varela (Fish and Feathers Program), and Sarah Heavren (Scientists-in-Parks Program).
This amazing cadre of interns worked on projects as diverse as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) scanning of our historic sites, fishing programs, birding walks, outreach coordination, art in parks events, and welcoming 400+ Pawtucket youth (grades 2 – 5) to Old Slater Mill in the month of July. Each brought their own unique experience and skill to our workplace. We are a better work group because of them!
Join us in thanking Ahanu, Bond, Caroline, Gianna, and Sarah for their amazing work this summer, and we all wish them the best of luck in the next step in their journeys.
NPS / Horrocks
The Empowerment Factory Comes to Slater Mill
This July, more than 400 young people visited their local national park through a collaboration with the Empowerment Factory. This non-profit is dedicated to giving young people skills to lead happier, healthier, and more empowered lives.
Park staff and interns coordinated Slater Mill tours, fiber arts activities, nature walks, and outdoor games for the youth visitors.
These programs were made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation.
Virtual Tours of Slater Mill, Wilkinson Mill, and Sylvanus Brown House
Looking for another way to visit the park? Rangers partnered with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to create Matterport Walkthroughs and video tours. Special thanks to Catherine Cooper, PhD, whose visit to Slater Mill two summers ago led to the inception of this project.
Kelly House: https://youtu.be/D67qqnQJl-g
Slater Mill: https://youtu.be/ldMTECGLVYg
Wilkinson Mill: https://youtu.be/PuRHAsh1gJY
Wilkinson: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=S7ZLyZv8Yk3
Slater: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=MKJRDaFnzf7
Sylvanus Brown: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=x9heNjDt9RQ
Kelly: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=M1WsbKfKwpc
NPS Photo
What's Happening at Roger Williams National Memorial?
Yoga at ROWI
We have had amazing turnouts for Saturday Yoga at Roger Williams National Memorial. David is a kind and supportive instructor for this practice. We have typically seen over 30 people show up for this free community wellness event. Join us every Saturday at 9:00 am, through the end of September.
Sunflowers on North Main Street
Next time you’re driving up North Main Street, take a look at our sunflower garden just outside the visitor center. This year, we’ve planted a variety of different colors and sizes.
Sunflowers are native to North America and their seeds have been found in 3000-year-old archeological sites. Not only do they provide food for people, but they are popular with pollinators and the seeds are a favorite of gold finches.
Witch Trials on Trial
Rangers Sparkle and Andy have been on tour of the Community Libraries of Providence. Sparkle’s programs have included talks about Roger’s Providence, and the popular kids activity, Travels with Roger. Andy’s program, Exiles and Witch Trials, focuses on dialogue and tolerance in today’s fast-paced world by exploring intolerance of different beliefs during the times of Roger Williams.
Would you like to host a ranger talk? Our books are currently open for fall of 2024. Contact Andrew_Schnetzer@nps.gov for more information.
Lawlor
Roger Williams National Memorial Fellowship Reflections
This summer, Roger Williams National Memorial hosted two youth fellowships. The fellowship program has grown over the past two years, and we’re looking forward to meeting new face next summer.
Both fellows were tremendous additions to our team. They have worked at the front desk, assisted in multilingual outreach events, researched accessible exhibits, completed audio descriptions, and created self-guided walking tours of Providence.
Here’s what our fellows had to say about their experiences:
“Faced with this great tangle of history it was nice to pick out a few individual roots and follow them, digging them out and finding a way to present them all in a way that is easily accessible to the public. In the end we have three walking tours of the city, each containing the tiniest snapshot of this city’s history… Working on the project was a breeze. Everyone at the memorial I was in touch with was incredibly helpful, both with tracking down the obscurest of references and giving guiding feedback.”
“The fellowship has been such an incredible, hands-on experience, with each day bringing new and exciting opportunities for my academic, personal, and professional growth. The fellowship has given me the chance to engage with the site's fascinating philosophical and historical material, while also providing an introduction to the National Park Service as a whole and the diverse careers and programming within America’s largest classroom, the National Parks. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the place and communities at the foundation of my undergraduate experience, while also gaining a perspective of the site and NPS within their national context.” – Lily Swaine-Moore
Last updated: August 8, 2024