SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY

STUDY REPORT 2011

Blackstone River Vall ey
This report has been prepared to provide United States Congress and 

the public with information about the resources in the study area and 

how they relate to criteria for feasibility of a National Heritage Area. 

Publication and transmittal of this report should not be considered an 

endorsement or a commitment by the National Park Service to seek 

or to support either specifi c legislative authorization for the project or 

appropriation for its implementation. Authorization and funding for 

any new commitments by the National Park Service will have to be 

considered in light of competing priorities for existing units of the 

National Park System and other programs.

This report was prepared by the United States Department of the 

Interior, National Park Service, Northeast Region. For additional copies 

or more information contact:

National Park Service

Northeast Region / Boston Offi ce

Park Planning and Special Studies

15 State Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

617.223.5048
TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5

CHAPTER ONE: STUDY PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

Project Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Special Resource Study Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Planning Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW AND RESOURCE DESCRIPTION

Historical Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Cultural Resource Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Visitor Resource Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Natural Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Socioeconomic Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

FINDINGS FOR NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, CHAPTER THREE: SUITABILITY, FEASIBILITY, AND NEED FOR NPS MANAGEMENT

Evaluation of National Signifi cance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Suitability Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Feasibility Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Need For NPS Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

CHAPTER FOUR: MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

Management Option 1.

John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley 

National Heritage Corridor Continues to Operate Under Current Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Management Option 2. 

Old Slater Mill National Historic Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Management Option 3. 

Blackstone River Valley Industrial Heritage National Historical Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Alternatives Considered but Dismissed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Environmentally Preferred Alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
CHAPTER FIVE: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES

Impact Topics Considered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Impact Topics Eliminated from Further Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Methodology for Assessing Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Impact Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

CHAPTER SIX: CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION

Public Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Consultation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

List of Preparers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

APPENDICES

A. Study Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

B. Washington History Program Offi ce Consultation Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

C. Scholars Site Visit Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

D. Selected Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Study Area and Focus Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Figure 2. Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure 3. Slaterville Historic District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Figure 4. Ashton Historic District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Figure 5. Whitinsville Historic District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Figure 6. Hopedale Village Historic District . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Figure 7. Slatersville, RI 1895 Bird’s Eye View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Figure 8. Slatersville, RI 2009 Aerial View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Figure 9. Ashton Village Circa 1870 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Figure 10. Ashton Village 2009 Aerial View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Figure 11. Village of Whitinsville, MA Circa 1880 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Figure 12. Village of Whitinsville, MA 2009 Aerial View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Figure 13. Mileage Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Figure 14. Summary of Environmental Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94