PAWTUCKET – The 1793-era Old Slater Mill is among three historic buildings in the city that are now under the control of the U.S. National Park Service. The service announced late Wednesday that it has acquired the Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark District.
The service said its staff, in cooperation with the Old Slater Mill Association, this week completed the transfer of the property to the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
Along with Slater Mill, the service also now owns and operates the 1810 Wilkinson Mill and the 1758 Sylvanus Brown House, the service said. About 3 acres of land surrounding the structures and the raceway infrastructure for both mills and Hodgson Rotary Park on the Blackstone River’s west bank were also included in the transfer, the service said.
“We are honored to become the stewards of this incredibly important national historic landmark,” said Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Superintendent Eric Breitkreutz in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to working with our partners, the Old Slater Mill Association and the city of Pawtucket to continue the public interpretation of this seminal historic site on the banks of the Blackstone River.”
The service also said that it recently accepted a conservation easement on a portion of Blackstone River State Park in Lincoln from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. The agreement, the service said, will bring part of the Blackstone Bikeway and the Captain Wilbur Kelly House Museum of Transportation into the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park’s boundary.
Additionally, two historic districts – the Ashton Historic District in Cumberland and the Slatersville Historic District in North Smithfield – were also established, the service said. The service said such acquisitions and district creations will help “ensure the protection of these sites in perpetuity and will allow the National Park Service to develop interpretive programing that highlights the importance of Slater Mill and the Blackstone River Valley on a national stage.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
