News
2006
For Immediate Release
CONTACTS:
Robert Beadle, Media Liaison
Phone: 401-632-6573, E-mail:
Robert@nepublications.com
OR
Lorraine Provencher, Coordinator
Phone: 401-724-2200, E-mail:
bvfootsteps@aol.com
175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860
RANGER-GUIDED BUS
TOURS OF THE BLACKSTONE VALLEY OFFER A RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST
DURING FOOTSTEPS IN HISTORY WEEKEND
Two tours featuring several
historical and natural sites are currently filling up.
Seating is limited.
BLACKSTONE VALLEY, Mass., R.I.,
(September 27, 2006) – Two ranger-guided bus tours of the
Blackstone Valley have been added to this year’s annual Footsteps
in History Preserve America Weekend, providing visitors with a
private glimpse into the Valley’s history.
Bus tours will be held on
Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8 and take scenic routes
to several historical and natural sites in the Valley. Tickets
cost $26 and include a boxed lunch. Reservations must be made in
advance by calling (401) 724-2200. Seating is limited.
The bus tours are part of the
Footsteps in History Preserve America Weekend, where 24
communities are opening their doors to cultural and historical
attractions of the Blackstone River Valley on Columbus Day
Weekend, October 7-9.
The following is a list of stops
for both Saturday and Sunday bus tours, unless otherwise noted:
Purgatory Chasm State Park,
Sutton, Mass. (Saturday Only. Bus tour starts here at 9:30
a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m.) – A unique natural landmark, Purgatory
Chasm runs for a quarter of a mile between granite walls rising as
high as 70 feet. Popular with picnickers and rock-climbers alike,
the Chasm is believed to have its origin in the sudden release of
dammed-up glacial meltwater near the end of the last Ice Age,
approximately 14,000 years ago. Trails lead to a wide variety of
rock formations, with such romantic names as The Corn Crib, The
Coffin, The Pulpit, Lovers' Leap and Fat Man's Misery.
Slater Mill, Pawtucket, R.I.
(Sunday bus tour starts here at 10:00 a.m. and ends here at 4:00
p.m.) – Slater Mill is an interactive museum where visitors can
take part in the lives of the New England villagers, inventors,
artisans, and entrepreneurs who created the American Industrial
Revolution. Visitors will meet costumed interpreters eager to
explain and demonstrate what life was like as America began moving
from the farm to the factory in the 1830s.
Waters Farm, Sutton, Mass.
– Waters Farm, a hilltop homestead built in 1757 by Stephen
Waters, overlooks beautiful Lake Manchaug. With stunning views of
the lake, barns, outbuildings, and pristine farmland, Waters Farm
offers visitors a rare glimpse of 18th & 19th century New England
farm life at its best.
Slatersville, North
Smithfield, R.I. – The first American village built solely for
the purpose of producing cloth, Slatersville became the model for
industrial villages in the Blackstone River Valley for the rest of
the nineteenth century.
Captain Wilbur Kelly House
Transportation Museum, Lincoln, R.I. – The Captain Wilbur
Kelly House along the Blackstone River Bikeway offers visitors an
opportunity to see an 1835 mill owner’s house, which has been
converted to a museum. The Kelly House includes a transportation
exhibit about the operation of a canal and provides visitors with
a glimpse of mill life during the 19th century.
E.L. Jenckes Store Museum,
Douglas, Mass. - Built in 1833, the Jenckes Store is a classic
example of a small town general store. Now operated as a museum by
the Douglas Historical Society, the store is stocked today, as it
would have been a century ago.
On Saturday,
October 7, buses depart the Purgatory Chasm State Park in
Sutton, Mass at 10 a.m. and stop at Waters Farm, Slatersville,
Kelly House and Jenckes Store, ending at 3:45 p.m.
On Sunday,
October 8, buses depart Slater Mill in Pawtucket, R.I. at 10
a.m. and stop at Kelly House, Jenckes Store, Waters Farm and
Slatersville ending at 4:00 p.m.
About Footsteps
in History
The Footsteps in History Preserve
America Weekend “Five Centuries in Three Days” is a celebration of
our national heritage in which the 24 communities of the
Blackstone River Valley showcase about 100 cultural and historical
attractions for the enjoyment of residents, tourists and their
families. Footsteps in History was created by the Blackstone River
Valley Tourism Collaborative, which includes the Blackstone Valley
Tourism Council, the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley
National Heritage Corridor, and the Blackstone Valley Chamber of
Commerce. Footsteps in History is sponsored by the Rhode Island
Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, the Massachusetts
Historical Commission with grant funding from the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation. See this
website (events) for the complete list of events, pick up
a brochure at area visitor centers or call 1-800-454-2882 for more
information.
Back to News 2006
About Footsteps |
Events |
Enter Event |
Historic Sites
| Photo Gallery |
Prior Years Info
Contact Us |
News |
Home
