Wednesday, August 26, 6:30 p.m.   Meet at the entrance to Jenks Park on Broad Street, Central Falls, RI, 02863

Central Falls Councilman Bob Ferri invites you to walk with him around Jenks Park and tour the Cogswell Tower.  On Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30 p.m. he will explain this gem within the city, and show you what few know exists there: A grotto at the base of the Tower.

Bob will meet us all at the front entrance to the Park, on Broad Street, right next to City Hall.  Bring your family and friends to enjoy a fascinating night at the Park!

This walk is sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, as part of its On-The-Go series of excursions around the Valley.

 

Images: Above: Cogswell Tower from Wikipedia Commons.

View of Jenks Park, painting on a small souvenir china plate in the collection of the BVHS, from the Lysander Flagg Museum.

 

Don’t miss our upcoming events!  If you like our programs, please support us.  Membership is only $20 for individuals and $30 for families.  If you are interested in local history, please email us your program suggestions.  Or drop in at an event or meeting to talk to us.

 

 

Some exciting things are happening in the Blackstone Valley.

Don’t miss the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park Ranger Walkabouts.  The Park and its partners will offer fourteen free programs on Thursday evenings through the end of August. Each week there will be a tour of a different part of Blackstone Valley.  See here for details.  Here is next week’s walkabout.

August 27 – Chepachet, RI
The Hidden Mill Village
Today Chepachet, RI is best known as a shopping center, a role it has played for over two hundred years. But Chepachet was once home to several mills, and the site of one of the most important events in Rhode Island’s political history that was spurred on by industrialization. Hear these stories of Chepachet’s hidden past.  Location: Meet at Glocester Town Hall 1145 Putnam Pike, Chepachet, RI, parking in the rear of Town Hall.

Take the new Virtual Tour of the Joseph Spaulding House in Pawtucket. Image from Wikipedia Commons.

 

 

Franklin Farm

A master plan to preserve Franklin Farm, Cumberland’s historic house and farm complex, has been presented to the Cumberland Town Council. Read about it here.

Welcome Summer at the Second Annual Strawberry Social at North Gate Saturday, June 13^th!

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

North Gate Toll House, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

With the warmer days of summer about to come upon us, what better way to celebrate than with Strawberry Shortcake.  The Blackstone Valley Historical Society as in days of old, will welcome the new season with the pick of the strawberry crop on homemade cake, and topped with whipped cream.

As part of the festivities, the old Bakery will be open, to show how cakes and cookies were made in the turn of last century.  Also, for children, there will be crafts to take home as souvenirs of this time of year.

The cost will be only $5.00, to benefit the historical research and archiving being done at the Blackstone Valley Historical Society.  We’ll see you all Saturday, June 13^th!

 

 

 

 

 

Talks are free and open to the public.  North Gate Toll House, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

May 17, 2015 1:30 p.m. Annual Meeting of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society.

 2:00 p.m. Christine Nowak Memorial Lecture. David Harvey, Louisquisset.  Mr Harvey will speak about his research into the history of the word and the place,  See a timeline he created for the Louisquisset area.   Louisquisset, according to American Indian Place Names in Rhode Island: Past and Present (Francis Joseph O’Brien Jr., RIGenWeb Project)  is defined as meaning “at the meeting place”, and referring to the “TRACT of land through which the turnpike runs at the Lime quarries, in Smithfield on which Jenks lives and the late Elisha Olney”. The latter description is probably from Dr. Usher Parsons’s 1861 book.

 

Sunday, April 26^th, 2015, 2:00 p.m. Downstairs Hall

North Gate Toll House, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

Event free and open to the public. Donations gratefully accepted.

Our state rock, Cumberlandite, is almost exclusively found on a 4-acre lot in the Blackstone Valley.  It was first discovered by settlers hundreds of years ago, and used to manufacture farm tools and cannons, although cannons tended to crack.

Judy Hadley has been researching this unique rock for several years, and is writing a book on it, to be published later this year.  She will also have with her samples for you to observe.  Come and discover more about Cumberlandite, and hear many interesting historical tales of our state rock.

Image: This is a segment of railroad track from the historic Iron Mine Railroad.  This piece was cut from a longer piece that was dug out of the ground behind the Elder Ballou Meeting House Cemetery.  The Iron Mine Railroad operated for less than ten years and was used to transport quarried cumberlandite, which was used as trap rock.  Presented to the BVHS courtesy of Judy Hadley and the Blackstone River Watershed Council.

 

 

March 22, 2015  2:00 p.m.: Don’t miss Ray Wolf’s talk on the building of the Scituate Reservoir and the lost villages of Scituate. at North Gate, 1873 Louisquisset Pike., an event of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society.  (see last post).   Event free and open to the public.

Valley Breeze article

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April 15, 2015, 6:30 p.m. Saylesville Meeting House, 374 Great Road.  Through letters, diaries, and journals, historian Robert Geake uncovered some oddities and wonders that amazed New England’s pioneers. Join the author for an illustrated talk on his most recent book. Following the lecture, copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at Arnold House. Historic New England members, free; non-members, $5; registration recommended. (401) 728-9696;www.historicnewengland.org.  Image from providencefriends.org

April 25, 2015.  The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission Annual Conference will be held this year in Chepachet Village. All day event.

 

 

April 26, 2015, 2:00 p.m. at North Gate.  Judy Hadley, R. I. State Mineral Hunters,  Cumberlandite.  

 

Sunday, March 22nd, 2015

 2:00 P.M. North Gate Toll House, Upstairs Hall

1873 Old Louisquisset Pike (Route 246), Lincoln, RI 02865

  Early last century, Providence’s quest for water became a nightmare for the town of Scituate.  Among those who had to leave their homesteads to make way for this massive project was Ray Wolf’s family.  Through the beauty and heartbreak of his grandmother’s poetry, Ray has kept alive the total change in the lives of the hundreds of families whose homes were demolished for the construction of the Scituate Reservoir.

The construction of the Reservoir, once the land was cleared, was an engineering marvel.  Follow Ray through the amazing work involved in bringing water miles from its origin to its intended goal.  The State of Rhode Island incredibly documented every part of the project, and photographed every building intended for demolition, every major shovelful which brought the finished product a little bit closer.  And, Ray has compiled these photographs to bring that part of Rhode Island history to life.  Come witness the birth of the Scituate Reservoir.

Ray will also have copies of several of his major books, including The Lost Villages of Scituate, and The Scituate Reservoir, for purchase and autographing.

All talks free, the public is welcome.  Donations gratefully accepted.

 

 

Upcoming Talks:

Talks are free and open to the public.

March 22, 2015, 2:00 p.m. North Gate Toll House.  Raymond Wolf, local historian, will be giving a talk on the building of the Scituate Reservoir.

The Scituate Reservoir was a massive undertaking in the early part of the 20th century.  How was it built, why was it placed where it is, and what sacrifices were made for it?  Ray Wolf, whose family was directly affected by its construction, will explain its construction, and relate memories of that time in northern Rhode Island.

Image: Raymond A. Wolf’s book, The Scituate Reservoir

 

 

April 26, 2015, 2:00 p.m. North Gate Toll House.  Judy Hadley, R. I. State Mineral Hunters,  Cumberlandite.   DATE CORRECTED.

Our State rock, Cumberlandite, is only found here.  How can that be?  Judy Hadley, of the Rhode Island Mineral Hunters, will introduce you to this unique rock, and the reason it is found nowhere else.

Image: This is a segment of railroad track from the historic Iron Mine Railroad.  This piece was cut from a longer piece that was dug out of the ground behind the Elder Ballou Meeting House Cemetery.  The Iron Mine Railroad operated for less than ten years and was used to transport quarried cumberlandite, which was used as trap rock.  Presented to the BVHS courtesy of Judy Hadley and the Blackstone River Watershed Council.

 

News-The Blackstone River Valley National Park

The Blackstone River Valley is now the home of America’s newest national park. President Obama signed the act to create the park on December 20.  See the Valley Breeze article

 

CUMBERLAND-LINCOLN COMMUNITY CHORUS

Holiday Concert

Live at North Gate

 

Saturday, December 6, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
North Gate Toll House Upstairs Hall
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike (Rt 246) Lincoln, RI  02865

Tickets: Adults $10; Children $5, under 10 FREE  Call Jason at 401-862-4202, or email bvhsri@gmail.com and we will  hold your tickets for pickup at the door.   If you would like to pay in advance, please send a check made out to the Blackstone Valley Historical Society,  indicate the number of tickets, and mail to BVHS, PO Box 125, Lincoln, RI  02865.  We will be selling tickets at the door, so just show up!

 

This concert is a joint fundraiser for both CLCC and the Blackstone Valley Historical Society. We had a great time last year, Don’t miss it!

For over 40 years, CLCC has been entertaining Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts.  Their distinguished director, Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman, was described by nine-time Grammy winner Wynton Marsalis as “a rare find, a remarkable virtuoso, and a consummate artist.” Stillman holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, where she received the Dethier Prize for Outstanding Pianist and won the Juilliard Concerto Competition.

 

Photos are from last year’s concert.

 

 

 

 

The Beauty of Handmade Furniture Comes to North Gate!

HANK GILPIN

November 9th, 2:00 p.m.
North Gate Toll House
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike (Rt 246)
Lincoln, RI  02865

Free and open to the public.

For over 40 years, Hank Gilpin has designed and made beautiful furniture using domestic hardwoods.  Come enjoy images of some of his finest hand-crafted pieces.  He also is a landscape artist, and will show examples of this work, also.

Hank Gilpin graduated from Boston University with a degree in photojournalism, but, a chance elective at Rhode Island School of Design led to his chosen profession of woodworking. He works exclusively in solid wood to hand-tool his masterpieces.

Gilpin’s work was featured in New American Furniture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1989, the show that established studio furniture nationally.

Come for an afternoon of beautiful, and useful artwork by one of the Blackstone Valley’s master artists.

 Hank Gilpin’s website