The Blackstone River
flows 48 miles from Worcester, MA down to Pawtucket, RI
pre-1620 – The original Native American name for the river was “Kittacuck” which meant “the great tidal river”. The “Kittacuck” was plentiful with salmon and lamprey in pre-colonial and colonial times.
1635 – William Blackstone (original spelling William Blaxton) settled in RI and built his home on the river, in what is now Cumberland.
1776 – On April 5th, George Washington led the Continental Army over the Blackstone River, through Providence and Connecticut on his mission to New York to engage the British in our fight for freedom and independence.
1790 – Samuel Slater opened the first successful water powered cotton mill in America. Slater Mill was powered by the Blackstone River at Pawtucket Falls.
1899 – Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act: 1899 Refuse Act (33 U.S.C. 407)
1900 – The Blackstone River was already considered polluted. Little was done to abate this pollution for the next 72 years
1948 – Federal Water Pollution Control Act (P.L. 80-845)
1955 – Severe flooding on the Blackstone causes extensive damage in Woonsocket, RI.
1962 – Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, documented the adverse environmental effects caused by the use of pesticides.
1965 – Water Resources Planning Act (P.L. 89-90)
1966 – Citizens Committee for Clean Water (known in 1970s as “Environment Council of RI”) founded by Alfred Hawkes.
1967 – New England River Basins Commission (NERBC)
1969 – Rhode Island got represented at the Blackstone River Watershed Association started in Massachusetts that represented 30 towns in the upper Blackstone watershed. David Rosser became the first and only member at that time from Rhode Island.
1970 –
* April 22: First Earth Day was celebrated. An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended the inaugural events at tens of thousands of sites across the United States.
* December 4th: EPA created by executive order with the mission to “clean up America.” Its first administrator, William Ruckelshaus, was sworn in. The EPA was formed by a reorganization of existing departments (Interior, Health, Agriculture, …)
1971 –
* Audubon Magazine calls the Blackstone, “one of America’s most polluted rivers”.
* December 6th: David Rosser (Executive Director of Blackstone River Watershed Association) and Clarence Gaudette (BRWA member) meet at Slater Mill with all levels of government. Discussion of specific plans to start clean up Blackstone River in 1972. The vision proposed by the BRWA includes interstate linear park system. John McGlennon (EPA Regional Director from Boston), Congressman St Germain, RI Governor Licht, Pawtucket Mayor Burns.
1972 –
* April 30th – May 6th: RI Governor Licht proclamation, “Blackstone River Valley Week”
* September 9th: Operation ZAP (Zero Away Pollution) takes place in Rhode Island.
* October: Passage of the Clean Water Act.
1974 – Rhode Island Flood Plain Management bill (74-S2108) submitted to RI General Assembly by RI Senator Vaslet, “by request.” Providence Journal article (1/31/74) about the drafted legislation headlined it as “Bill seeks stronger wetland protection.”
1975 –
* Documentary film, “Operation ZAP” (1974) showing at Lincoln Town Hall by David Rosser on multiple occasions in early 1975.
* David Rosser died in June 1975; Clarence Gaudette became executive director of BRWA.
* ZAP minipark on Branch Street, “Granite Rock Park,” dedicated on 9/12/75 by Pawtucket city officials.
1977 – September 14th : Zap 2 Public fishing contest along 16 miles of the Blackstone River in Massachusetts. From the RI/MA line to Northbridge MA and in Worcester MA.
1985 – The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council (BVTC) was founded.
1986 –
* RI DEM organizes massive cleanup on the Blackstone River, Seekonk River, and Pawtuxet River.
- The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor was established.
1990
* EPA designates the Blackstone River “the most polluted river in the country with respect to toxic sediments”.
* Friends of the Blackstone (FOB) was started by John Marsland.
1991 –
* RI Rivers Council (RIRC) is created. But not until 1998 RIRC established policies for recognizing local watershed councils. Blackstone was among the first in RI to be represented by a local watershed council on the Rivers Council.
* Massive tire cleanup took place along the river in the Lonsdale section in Cumberland.
1993– The Explorer boat was launched at BVTC to offer tours on the Blackstone River.
1994 – The first “RiverClassRoom” program was started utilizing the Explorer.
1998
* July 30th – President Bill Clinton designated the Blackstone River and the Woonasquatucket River as American Heritage Rivers.
* The Blackstone River Watershed Council was formed by the BVTC.
2000 –
* The Blackstone River Watershed Council (BRWC) merged with FOB.
* Expedition 2000. It was the first of what became an annual event. It was a four-day paddling journey from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Narragansett Bay. This is what gave rise to the creation of the Blackstone River Coalition.
* BVTC hosts first annual Dragon Boat Race
* The BVTC launched the Samuel Slater British Canal Boat, which operated as a Bed & Breakfast based at Central Falls Landing.
* Birth of the Blackstone River Coalition (BRC): members include the Blackstone Headwaters Coalition (BHC), the Blackstone River Watershed Association (BRWA), the Blackstone River Watershed Council (BRWC), the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission of the National Park Service, and Mass Audubon. Blackstone River Coalition began a strategic plan campaigning for a “fishable/swimmable Blackstone River by 2015.”
2001 – Blackstone River Watershed Action Plan drafted by MA-DEP and RI-DEM through a Watershed Advisory Committee developed by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. (Five year action plan finalized in September 2004. This was in parallel but separate from the BRC’s campaign for fishable/swimmable Blackstone River by 2015.)
2002 – BRWC/FOB designated to represent Blackstone River on the RI Rivers Council.
2003 – 30th Anniversary celebration of Operation Zap with John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and corridor partners.
2005 – Flood on the Blackstone causes damage in Woonsocket, RI. Second worst flood on the Blackstone to date which caused major damage to infrastructure .
2006 – The Lonsdale Wetland Project was completed, which began in 2002.
2008 – BVTC’s Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful, certified affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.
2014 – The Blackstone River corridor receives designation of a National Historical Park