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Canal Passages
The Blackstone Canal opened for business on a sunny day in July, 1828 with thundering artillery salutes and roaring crowds. Stretching 45 miles from Providence to Worcester, the Blackstone Canal was built with the strength and ingenuity of thousands and backed by dozens of investors. The canal changed the area's landscape and social fabric, brought new retail goods to residents, and transported produce to distant markets.
Work teams--including some of the region's first Irish immigrants-- built the massive granite locks and canal walls by hand. In 1825, more than a thousand men were at work on the Massachusetts section alone. In the portions of the canal that remain, you can see the precision and artistry of their labor.
The canal was hampered by drought and seasonal ice and flooding, as well as ongoing disputes over water rights with mill owners. By the time the last paying boat passed through Woonsocket in 1848, railroads had made the canal obsolete.
Today, the Blackstone Canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as a living monument to the Industrial Revolution--a time when Americans first felt the awesome power of technology to change the way they lived and worked. Clean-up and restoration efforts preserve the canal for future generations.
Power Trenches
Fueling the City's Industry
Beneath the buildings and streets of Market Sqare lie the remnants of the massive power trenches, canal and spillways that once channeled water to and from the mills that crowded Market Square. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s there were refinements and additions to the intricate system of waterways--all intended to direct and increase the power of falling water from the Blackstone River.
When the river was high, power trenches kept the waterwheels turning, powering the spinners and looms in the mills. But water power could be unreliable. During summer months, or when the river was low, the machinery could grind to a halt. Since the power trenches and canals connected a series of mills, any problem upstream could interrupt power throughout the city. Despite this, water power continued to be vital to the city's industrial production until the conversion to steam power in the 1870s, and later to electricity in the early part of the 1900s.
The switch ot other power sources marked an important econoic change. Drawing free power from the river via the trenches and canals had given Woonsocket mills and economic advantages. With the use of new and costly sources of energy, many mills began to relocate to the South, where both electricity and labor were cheaper. The portions of the trenches and canals that remain remind us of a time when the city prospered along the Blackstone River and the valuable power it provided.