Spilling Over On the Blackstone River

Here we see a portion of the Blackstone River in Lincoln, RI from an area of land that sits between man-made and natural waterways. This is the natural part that has a man-made element and nearby is the Blackstone Canal. Both are significant parts of Rhode Island history.

Now becoming part of the National Park system, this area serves as a wonderful hiking, canoe and kayak, fishing and bicycling venue. In the past, one served as  something to power the Industrial Revolution (the river) and the other served as part of the Providence to Worcester, MA “highway” infrastructure (the canal).

Did you know that there once was a connection between the Blackstone River and the Rhode Island state shell, the Quahog? At one time the river was largely tidal (in fact, the Native American name for the Blackstone is “Kittacuck" which means “great tidal river”). William Blackstone (originally Blaxton) of Weymouth, MA renamed the river around 1635 and the various dams were erected over time for industrial purposes, changing the nature of the river. However, there are records (inclusive of some natural records) of quahogging well into the tidal extremes of the Blackstone. 

Spilling Over the Blackstone River photographed on the Blackstone River, Lincoln, RI by Keith R. Wahl co-owner / co-founder of Made From RI LLC and is available for purchase at MadeFromRI.com in addition to a variety of Rhode Island photos in various formats and merchandise made exclusively from Rhode Island. Text Written by Keith R. Wahl.

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