Blackstone_SmallCourtesy of Gretchen Ertl Photography.
Report says resources within the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, pictured in part in the map above, are “nationally significant and both suitable and feasible for inclusion in the National Park System.”


WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) today released a new draft report supporting the inclusion of specific nationally significant sites within the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in the National Park System as a multi-site national historical park.

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline applauded the report’s finding that resources within the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor are “nationally significant and both suitable and feasible for inclusion in the National Park System.”

“This is an important step toward permanently preserving nationally significant sites within the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor as part of the National Park System,” said Senator Jack Reed, the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment, which oversees the National Park Service.  “As the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, this area is a national treasure.  It tells an important chapter in our nation’s history and deserves preservation as part of a new national historical park.  Designation as a full-fledged national historical park has important economic, environmental, historical, and educational benefits for the region.  Including these areas in the National Park System will protect our nation’s history and preserve undeveloped land and waterways that are once again home to diverse wildlife.”

“Rhode Island played a major role in transforming our country into an economic superpower.  Protecting the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and the river that helped build that Revolution will enable us to continue to tell that story for generations to come.  This report highlights our important place in America’s history, and we look forward to working with the National Park Service to make Slater Mill and other properties along the Blackstone River a National Park,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

“The Blackstone River Valley is a model example of how a successful public-private partnership can result in key land preservation and restoration while producing economic and educational benefits for the surrounding communities, and I am pleased the National Park Service has recognized this and decided to move forward to further preserve its significance in the history of our nation,” said Congressman Jim Langevin, who worked with colleagues in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts delegations to request and pass funding for this project. “I am proud of our delegation’s work for more than a decade with community organizations, businesses, and civic leaders of the Blackstone Valley to protect the region's natural and cultural resources.”

“Once the final report is transmitted to Congress, I look forward to introducing legislation in the House that will create the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park,” said Congressman David Cicilline, whose congressional district encompasses much of the Blackstone River Valley Corridor in Rhode Island. “I applaud the National Parks Service and all of the local, state, and regional stakeholders who have helped preserve and enhance this important piece of our nation’s history. Designation as a national historical park will ensure the protection and promotion of this vital historical, environmental, and educational resource for generations to come.”

Following extensive input from local stakeholders and historians, the Special Resource Study (SRS) recommended national historical park boundaries that would encompass land in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including portions of the Blackstone River and its tributaries; the Blackstone Canal; and the non-contiguous nationally significant historic districts of Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket and the villages of Slatersville in North Smithfield and Ashton in Cumberland Rhode Island, and Whitinsville and Hopedale in Massachusetts.  The draft SRS considered this management option to be not only the “Environmentally Preferred Alternative,” it was also the “Most Efficient and Effective Alternative.”

Now that the draft SRS has been released there will be a 30 day public comment period beginning on July 25th, after which the National Park Service will review all comments and determine whether any changes should be made to the report.  The report will then be transmitted to the Secretary of the Interior before being sent to Congress for consideration and legislative action.

Senator Reed plans to introduce legislation based on the final report and work with his colleagues in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts delegations to create the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.  If approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, the national historical park likely would be run collaboratively through a special partnership that would allow the National Park Service to manage and operate the facilities and provide educational services in partnership with regional and local preservation groups who would lead the efforts to preserve the surrounding rural and agriculture landscape within the existing corridor.

The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley Heritage National Historical Park would be the first national historical park in Rhode Island, joining the Roger Williams National Memorial as a prestigious unit of the national park system.  The Touro Synagogue in Newport is a national historic site and is affiliated with NPS.

The 45 current national historical parks are notable for their connection with events or people of historical interest.  These entities usually extend beyond a single building or property.  Many are not “parks” in the traditional sense of wide green spaces, but rather are urban tracts with a number of historically interesting buildings.  Others, in less developed areas, may contain natural attractions in addition to their historical resources.

There is a total of 394 units in the National Park System nationwide.

The Blackstone Valley National Heritage Corridor was established in 1986.  It was twice reauthorized by Congress and renamed for John H. Chafee in 1999.  Federal support for the Corridor was expected to sunset in October 2011, at which point the area retains its National Heritage Corridor designation, but federal funding would end.  However, Senator Reed was able to successfully extend the authorization to October 2012 in the final Fiscal Year 2011 continuing resolution signed into law in April; thus keeping the Corridor eligible for future federal funding. 

According to the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, to date, more than $25 million has been spent on preserving historic buildings, creating museums, constructing visitor centers and building permanent exhibits in the Heritage Corridor.  Since 2002, Senator Reed helped secured over $11 million in federal funding for the Corridor and an additional $6.9 million for the Blackstone River Valley Bikeway.

In 2005, Reed cosponsored legislation in the Senate and Langevin cosponsored a bill in the House authorizing the National Park Service to conduct a SRS to evaluate the eligibility of resources in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor for possible inclusion in the national park system.  The study process began in March 2007 and has been undertaken in consultation with the Heritage Corridor Commission and its staff.  In 2008, a team of academic scholars visited the region and offered recommendations.  In June 2010, the National Park Service prepared a newsletter reporting the preliminary study findings of the area’s natural, cultural, or recreational resources as it pertains to national significance, and laid out several management options -- from maintaining the status quo, to just making Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark District a unit of the National Park System, to the more comprehensive approach which Senator Reed is advocating and which requires Congressional action. 

Over the last year, public meetings have been held in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to get input from citizens.  Legislation would be required to establish parts of the Blackstone Valley as a new unit of the national park system.

Benefits to Rhode Island

By creating a national historical park within the Heritage Corridor, it becomes a permanent unit of the National Park Service and with it the ongoing responsibility to preserve and interpret natural and cultural resources for the benefit and inspiration of future generations. 

It also brings additional visibility to the region, which is expected to increase the number of visitors and the economic development potential for the local economy.

Creating a national historical park sets a clear path to preserve our cultural heritage, to improve how the resources are enjoyed, including outdoor education for young people, and increase the level of protection for our most important and nationally significant resources.

As acknowledged by the SRS, the creation of a national historical park would assist the region in meeting its goals to:

•           Preserve, protect and interpret resources throughout the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor that exemplify the Valley’s nationally significant industrial heritage for the benefit and inspiration of future generations.

•           Support the preservation, protection, and interpretation of the region’s landscape features – both urban and rural, including the Blackstone River and Canal – that provide an overarching context for the Valley’s industrial heritage.

•           Educate the public about the industrial history of the Valley and its significance to our nation’s past and present.

•           Protect the substantial federal investment that has been committed to key resources and facilities Valley-wide.

•           Support and enhance the network of partners who will continue to engage in the protection, improvement, management, and operation of key resources and facilities throughout the Valley.

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