(Photo/Courtesy of the Grafton Historical Society)
GRAFTON – The year is 1789, over 150 years after the earliest settlement in America. A man named Samuel Slater, an English immigrant, would arrive to America with hopes to make it big in milling.
This was not only an important time for Slater, this was also an important time for many immigrants and Americans. A new story would begin for the Blackstone River.
With an industrial revolution in their midst, many people in America would soon join forces with the 45-mile long river for the common goal of running mills. By 1844, the river would power about 100 textile industries in 25 communities. It became known as the “hardest working river.”
In places like South Grafton, enterprises such as the Fisherville, Farnumsville and Saundersville mills were born by the 1800s.
Many Polish and French-Canadian immigrants were attracted to the area for work opportunities. The mills had a lot to offer the immigrants, who made a whopping $6 per week. The mill owners also owned the rental properties where the workers lived and the stores where they shopped. They also provided recreational areas such as the Fisherville Ball Field.
Slater had a vision that started in England and exploded in New England thanks to the power of the Blackstone River. The river in the stories of Grafton’s early milling days is comparable to Shel Silverstein’s book “The Giving Tree.”
The river provided the energy to kickstart America’s Industrial Revolution and unfortunately, humans and industry have not treated the river well in return, by polluting it over the years.
The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor was created in 1986 to preserve the significant value of the Blackstone Valley. It includes cities and towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and nearly one million people. These volunteers work together to protect the Valley’s unique identity and prepare for the future.
Thanks to the mighty Blackstone River, America’s Industrial Revolution began. In the earlier days of America, the river brought people together for the common goal of running the mills. Now, all of these years later, people have come together again in an effort to clean the Blackstone and to finally give back to the river that gave them so much.
As far as the river goes, it just does what it always does: it brings people together for a common goal.
