Blackstone Valley Historical Society

2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 23, 2025

Blackstone Valley Historical Society, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI

BVHS will be showing Part 1 of “Senechonet to Manville: A Journey Through Time,” a movie that is a historical commentary on the village of Manville, RI, by Betty and Carlo Mencucci. The movie includes many photographs and other material collected by Roger Gladu. It covers the growth of Manville from colonial times and ends with the spectacular disasters of the 20th century: the 1920s textile strikes, the 1924 house gas explosion on Cumberland Hill, the 1927 flood, the 1938 hurricane, and the flood and fire in 1955.  

Free Event. Don’t miss this movie!

September 21, Great Road Day 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will be an exhibit of some of BVHS’s 19^th and early 20^th century photographs of Pawtucket.

October 21, 6:30 pm. (Monday) Ashley Selima, Director of the RI State Archives and Public Records Administration will give a talk on RI Civic Participation, Voting, and Voter Suppression.

November 13, 6:30 pm (Wednesday) Steve Emma, RI Mineral Hunters, will give a presentation about fossil hunting in RI.

March 23, 2PM BVHS will be showing Part 1 of  “Senechonet to Manville: A Journey Through Time,” a historical commentary on the village of Manville, RI, by Betty and Carlo Mencucci, with many photographs and other material collected by Roger Gladu. The movie covers the growth of Manville from colonial times, and ends with the spectacular disasters of the 20th century: the 1920s textile strikes, the 1924 house gas explosion on Cumberland Hill, , the 1927 flood, the 1938 hurricane, and the flood and fire in 1955.  Free Event.

11AM – 4PM
Discover 300 Years of History Along One of the Oldest Roadways in the Country

–Historic New England’s Arnold House (1693) Learn about Lincoln’s founding family. This rare stone-ender-house has one of the largest fireplaces you’ll ever see. 487 Great Road
–Saylesville Friends Meetinghouse (1703) One of the earliest and longest continuously used Quaker meetinghouses in New England. Final resting place of the Arnold family. 374 Great Road
–Great Road Heritage Campus at Chase Farm Park 671 Great Road: Picturesque meadows to explore or bring a picnic; Visitors Center with Restrooms, view artist’s mural of Great Road in the 19th Century, and visit four-historic sites listed below. Pick up the Shuttle to Moffett & Hearthside:
-Pullen’s Corner Schoolhouse (1850) Lincoln’s last one-room schoolhouse, recently
relocated, restored, and preserved as a 19th c. classroom. Special outdoor exhibit of a
Revolutionary War encampment, with reenactors, drills, traditional craft demonstrations.
-Hannaway Blacksmith Shop (1880) Watch the blacksmith at the forge and anvil forming
hot metal into household objects, just as it was done during the 19th c. in this original shop.
-Moffett Mill (1812) This rare relic from the early industrial era, a versatile former
machine shop still has its original equipment and tools. Accessed only by Shuttle Bus.
-Hearthside House Museum (1810) This majestic stone mansion, hosted by costumed
docents in 19th c. attire, offers an exhibit on the history of Lincoln Woods State Park and its connections to Hearthside and Moffett Mill. 677 Great Road (parking across the street or shuttle from Chase)
-Butterfly Mill (1812) A former textile factory built by Stephen Hopkins Smith at the same time he built Hearthside. The recently restored mill space will be opened from 11-2 by the homeowner. Take Shuttle or walk from Hearthside parking lot next door to it. 700 Great Road
–Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge (1804) One of the oldest masonic lodges in the state that included many of the town’s most notable citizens as its members. Still in use today and open once a year to the public for this occasion. 1093 Great Road
–Valentine Whitman House (1696) Stop by to check out this excellent example of a stone-ender house that has recently undergone total rehabilitation by Preserve RI and now a private residence. Outdoor viewing only
with written materials. 1147 Great Road
–Northgate (1807) Home of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, this original toll house for the Louisquisset Turnpike and later a Grange where social activities took place. Exhibit of 19th & early 20th c. photographs of Pawtucket. 1873 Louisquisset Pike
–Arnold Bakery (1874) One-room original bakery relocated from Saylesville, adjacent to Northgate.

FREE TOURS

2:00 pm May 19, 2024

Blackstone Valley Historical Society, 1873 Old Louisquisset PIke, Lincoln, RI

Annual Meeting of the BVHS at 1:30 pm before the talk.

Marta V. Martinez will give the Christine Nowak Lecture at the Blackstone Valley Historical Society on May 19. This presentation will focus on how Rhode Island Latino Arts, through Nuestras Raíces,  the Latino Oral History Project of Rhode Island (http://nuestrasraicesri.net/) builds pride and stimulates civic activity among Latinos in Central Falls, through pláticas (collective conversations), oral history collection, barrios (neighborhood) tours and historical research. 

    We are excited to welcome Martinez, who is the founder and executive director of Rhode Island Latino Arts, founder of Nuestras Raices, and adjunct professor at Providence College. Her book, Latino History in Rhode Island: Nuestras Raices, was the basis for “La Broa”  (Broad Street) a play recently performed at Trinity Repertory Company

Presentation by Andy Tuetken.

2:00 pm, Sunday, April 21, Blackstone Valley Historical Society, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI .

Andy Tuetken, author of the Murals of McCoy will give a presentation on the murals and his book on Sunday, April 21 at BVHS.

Andy Tuetken loved to attend games in McCoy Stadium when he was growing up, and part of the experience was seeing the murals of famous baseball players on the walls of the stadium.  The 95 murals of McCoy featured players who played in the PawSox, and made it to major league baseball, like Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, and Wade Boggs.

The murals were commissioned in 1977 by Ben Mondor, the former owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Former RISD student Carol “Teyo” Heuser painted the original murals directly on the concourse walls. They were replaced by 4-foot by 8-foot hand-painted murals in 1990. The murals were removed in 1999 during renovations to the stadium, but were eventually put back at popular request with 45 digital replicas. An additional 41 digital photographs were added to the concourse walls.  Many of these were taken by Pawtucket Red Sox team photographer Louriann Mardo-Zayat.  The total would eventually grow to 95 murals. .

When it was announced that the Pawtucket Red Sox were officially moving, Tuetken wanted to know what was going to happen to the murals when the stadium closed.  He began researching the murals and the Sox, and after nearly three years of work, wrote the Murals of McCoy with the assistance of Carolyn Couto, who designed this beautiful coffee table book.

Some of the murals were recently auctioned off.  See this Valley Breeze article by Ethan Shorey.

Tuetken, a lifelong Pawtucket Red Sox fan and public school history teacher, also sees the book as a way to give back to the City of Pawtucket for all it has done for the baseball community in the state of Rhode Island.  All profits from the book are donated to Pawtucket Youth baseball.

Exhibit: 2:00 – 4:00 pm Sunday, November 19

Blackstone Valley Historical Society, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI

On August 12, 1853, a terrible train wreck took place in Valley Falls.  Thirteen people were killed and around 40 wounded.  It is believed to be the first train wreck every photographed. The photograph “went viral” in illustrated newspapers of the day, and the event initiated reforms that led to the creation of standard time and time zones in the United States.

BVHS will have an exhibit on the train wreck and its aftermath. Francine Jackson will give a presentation at 2:30 pm.

The ledger showing the insurance payments made to the victims and their families will be on display.

Sunday, October 15, 2:00 pm BVHS 1873 Old Louisquissett Pike, Lincoln, RI

Dave Lawlor from Run of the Mill Productions will give a premiere of Run of the Mill’s Ann & Hope.

In March, 2020, when the historic Conant Thread Mill burned, Dave Lawlor found a mission. Run of the Mill was created to document historic buildings and homes that may become lost to time.

They have partnered with the National Park Service, RI Housing and Pawtucket Central Falls Development in this mission. They are also dedicated to capturing and sharing the stories of new sites that are being built . They use cutting-edge drone photography as well as traditional photography technology in their work. Learn more