The historic story of Whitinsville has been told for decades.
Whitinsville has:
A. Historic District,
B. Heritage District Zone,
C. National Park Status, and
C. Local Historic District Zone with aesthetic restrictions
A. Whitinsville Historic District recognized by National Park Service (1983)
In 1983 the Whitinsville Historic District was created and is recognized by the National Park Service.
It has been referenced in walking tours and trolley rides for decades.
There are no governmental regulations or restrictions imposed upon
the exterior aesthetics of the properties within this District.
District Added 1983 - #83000613.
2500 acres, 334 buildings in the areas of:
Church St., East St., Fletcher St., Hill St., Woodland St., Lake St., and Water St., Castle Hill Rd., and Linwood Ave.
The architectural style of these buildings is:
Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Mid 19th Century Revival, Late Victoria
The period of significance of these buildings is:
1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1800-1824, 1750-1799
B. Heritage District Zone established by Town Meeting vote in 1980
In 1980, Town Meeting voters approved a Heritage District within the village of Whitinsville.
There are no governmental regulations or restrictions imposed upon
the exterior aesthetics of the properties within this Zone.
C. National Park Status achieved in 2014
In December 2014, the US House of Representatives approved legislation
designating Whitinsville as part of the National Park Service.
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NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Worcester Telegram & Gazette article December 2, 2014
WHITINSVILLE TO BE INCLUDED IN NATIONAL PARK
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Bill advances to put Blackstone Valley sites in National Park System
By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday to make the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Corridor a unit of the National Park System.
The multi-site park will include areas of:
- The Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket,
- Slatersville (in North Smithfield, RI),
- Ashton (in Cumberland, RI),
- Whitinsville (in Northbridge, MA),
- Hopedale (MA).
The Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Establishment Act was introduced in 2011 by U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., and co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Richard E. Neal and James McGovern of Massachusetts and James Langevin, D-R.I., to preserve the natural and historical significance of sites along the Blackstone River Corridor.
The legislation was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
Since 1986, National Park Service rangers and managers have worked with the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission to tell the story of farms to factories in the 24 communities within the heritage corridor.
A nonprofit organization, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Inc., was recently formed to manage the area after the Corridor Commission expired.
In September, the National Historical Park bill passed a critical hurdle when the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the legislation.
House lawmakers included the bill in the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which was approved Thursday.
"With this vote, we are one step closer to having the volunteers and professionals of the park system safeguard this magnificent natural resource in the center of New England," Mr. Neal said in a news release.
"This action represents a significant step in our efforts to preserve the history and ecology of the Blackstone Valley," Mr. McGovern said.
The defense authorization must be approved by the Senate before being sent to the president's desk to become law. The Senate is expected to vote on this legislation next week.
Contact Susan Spencer at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG
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Worcester Telegram & Gazette article December 17, 2014
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Blackstone Valley celebrates national park designation
By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Charlene Perkins Cutler, executive director of the nonprofit Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Inc., was watching her computer with bated breath Friday as the U.S. Senate voted on the National Defense Authorization Act.
It wasn't the funding for armed services that concerned her, it was the inclusion of the act to establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.
When the bill passed by a vote of 89-11 and was sent to President Obama to be signed, Ms. Perkins Cutler said she called Donna M. Williams of Grafton, chairwoman of the board of directors, and said, "We've got to have a party."
Tuesday evening, some 50 people, many of whom had been pushing for a national park in the Blackstone River Valley of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for 30 years, gathered at the National Heritage Corridor headquarters at the former Woonsocket train depot to pop the cork, pour some bubbly and revel in the moment.
"These are really encouraging times in the Valley," Ms. Perkins Cutler said, noting also that the legislation expands the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor to include Auburn, Massachusetts, and more areas of Providence. The two-state National Heritage Corridor now encompasses 25 communities.
The Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park will be within the national heritage corridor.
Although the management details need to be worked out over coming months, and the funding for the park has yet to be determined, the legislation gives national park designation to the Blackstone River and Canal and its tributaries as well as five nationally significant sites:
1) Rhode Island's Slater Mill Historic Site in Pawtucket,
2) Slatersville (North Smithfield, RI),
3) Ashton Village (Cumberland, RI),
4) Whitinsville historic district (Northbridge, MA),
5) Hopedale historic districts in Massachusetts.
Management of the national park will be coordinated in partnership with the nonprofit Blackstone Heritage Corridor Inc.
Meghan Kish, superintendent of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence, will serve as superintendent of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park. Ms. Kish said she expected Mr. Obama would sign the bill into law this week.
Although the original plan did not call for the Blackstone River National Park to own land, unlike most other national parks, the final legislation allows for Rhode Island to transfer its Blackstone River State Park in Lincoln to the National Park Service, according to Harry T. Whitin, a descendant of Northbridge industrialist Paul Whitin and a director of Blackstone Heritage Corridor.
U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and support of the Massachusetts delegation championed the legislation on Capitol Hill, told the crowd in Woonsocket that becoming a national park "allows us to continue to tell the important story of the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and what it meant."
He added: "Everyone understood that there was something special about the Blackstone Valley."
Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. sent a message thanking the collaborative efforts of citizens of both states to recognize the national historical significance of the region.
Mr. Cicilline said afterward that national park designation "brings substantial additional federal resources" compared to the temporary support of the National Heritage Corridor Commission over the years. It would ensure a permanent role for park rangers, technical assistance and other programmatic support.
And since many people look to national parks for travel, Mr. Cicilline said, "It brings a designation that really raises the profile of the valley."
He predicted there would likely be additional economic development that spins off from the national park.
Ms. Williams, who testified last year before the House Subcommittee on Natural Resources, thanked the wisdom of those who envisioned a national park in the region as far back as the late 1970s.
"It's been down on its heels but they knew it had good bones," she said about the former mill towns and vestiges of early industrial communities. "They could see the history was still there."
The National Heritage Corridor was designated in 1986 and periodic studies assessed its role in telling the American industrialization story, as well as the role of the Blackstone River and Canal in shaping the manufacturing and commercial landscape of the Northeast. A special resource study released in 2011 prompted the legislative drive for designation as a national park.
Jeannie Hebert, president and CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce in Whitinsville, said after the program, "This is going to help us complete a lot of projects that have been in flux for so long," such as the Blackstone River Greenway bike and pedestrian path and the proposed Whitinsville industrial history museum in the renovated Whitin 1826 brick mill at Alternatives. "This is really going to be a shot in the arm for all that."
"Credibility: That's what the park gives Whitinsville," Mr. Whitin said.
Christopher Hookie, Central Valley district manager for Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, said the national park's presence would help promote the several state parks in the area, including Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge, Douglas State Forest and Purgatory Chasm State Reservation in Sutton.
DCR Field Operations Team Leader and Park Superintendent Val Stegemoen said, "With designation of the river (in the national park), water quality issues come into play. And the canal — that allows for improvement of the locks and maybe canal boats."
"It could bring an influx of money," said Devon Kurtz, project coordinator for the Worcester Blackstone Visitors Center. The Middle River, which the new visitors center will border after it is completed in 2016, is a tributary to the Blackstone River. Mr. Kurtz said he is already working on programs and exhibits to involve the community with the river landscape, including teaching a landscape architecture class on the topic this spring at the College of the Holy Cross.
"It certainly is going to affect the whole area," said Justine Brewer, a director of Daniels Farmstead in Blackstone and president of Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, as she savored the evening's refreshments. "And it's a long time coming."
