Blackstone

The crossroads of the Blackstone Valley

The Town of Blackstone serves as the Blackstone Valley's crossroads between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and shows how the spirit of the Valley extends across political boundaries. Blackstone was originally part of the Town of Mendon.

The first colonial settlers did nor arrive here until after 1700, but by 1766 the population increase led to the creation of the new South Parish of Mendon, which included modern Blackstone and Millville. The South Parish was a farming community at that time, but a number of small grist mills and saw mills and an iron forge operated along the Mill River.

Textile production began here in 1809, when the Blackstone Manufacturing Company (B.M.C.) opened a cotton spinning mill and built the village of Blackstone. The same year the first of a series of small mills opened at east Blackstone along the Mill River. A third manufacturing district was established at Waterford by Welcome Farnum in 1825. The growth of these small villages led to the incorporation of the South Parish into the Town of Blackstone in 1845.

Today, Blackstone continues to act as a junction between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Many residents of Blackstone work in neighboring Woonsocket, R.I., as has been the case for over a century. The most recent example of bi-state cooperation was the creation of Blackstone Gorge State Park in 1991. The park is jointly maintained by Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and is one of the best examples of the cooperation which has been integral to the success of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.