Blackstone River Valley designated as national park

U.S. SEN. JACK REED STANDS on a large map of the Blackstone Valley during a July 2011 event highlighting the effort to designate the Blackstone River Valley corridor as a national park. President Barack Obama recently signed legislation designating the area as a national park.  / COURTESY OFFICE OF U.S. SEN. JACK REED
U.S. SEN. JACK REED STANDS on a large map of the Blackstone Valley during a July 2011 event highlighting the effort to designate the Blackstone River Valley corridor as a national park. President Barack Obama recently signed legislation designating the area as a national park. / COURTESY OFFICE OF U.S. SEN. JACK REED

PAWTUCKET – The Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park has become United States’ latest national park.

President Barack Obama recently signed U.S. Sen. Jack Reed’s legislation, “Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Establishment Act,” making the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution a national historical park, with the city’s Slater Mill as its headlining attraction, according to information from Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien’s office.

The park also includes sites in Slatersville and Ashton, as well as locations in Massachusetts.

In a statement, Grebien said, “So many people over the years have kept the hope alive that someday this special place would achieve its rightful place among America’s national parks. What makes the Blackstone River Valley unique is its important role and identity in American history, as well as its natural and architectural beauty. Moreover, so much of the valley’s landscape, both natural and manmade, remains intact, making it so easy to experience the atmosphere that gave birth to modern America and see the actual buildings where the events took place.”

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According to Grebien, no intact landscape and building is more significant than Pawtucket’s very own Slater Mill, a historic textile mill complex built in 1793 on the Blackstone River. Slater Mill became the first successful cotton-spinning factory in the United States.

Grebien thanked the Reed, as well as U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Reps. James R. Langevin and David N. Cicilline for advocating for the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park.

“It is a distinction which stands to benefit Rhode Island for years to come and marks our unique place in our nation’s history,” Grebien said.

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