Blackstone Park on the Seekonk River

A Short History of Blackstone Park

Blackstone Park is in an area steeped in history. Roger Williams is said to have landed not far away, where there is now a little park on Gano Street built on filled land. A portion of the Wampanoag Trail, an important Indian route from East Providence across the East Side, crosses Blackstone Park on South Angell Street. Indian artifacts have been found across the Seekonk River to the south.

Blackstone Park was begun in 1866, when a parcel of land extending from Butler Avenue to the Seekonk River was given to the city ‘for a public park’ by Moses B. Jenkins and Wm. P. Vaughn. These five acres included a stream and a ravine. In the 1860’s developers mapped out the adjacent area south toward Angell Street with winding roads and house lots. Because it seemed a long distance from the developing city it remained relatively untouched until after the turn of the century, and few houses were built. A late nineteenth-century interest in including parks and green space in city plans led to the development of the area as a public park instead. Later purchases enlarged the park to its present 45 acre size. For years the park was neglected. People removed sand from the banks to use for building, and when pines were planted to stop this activity, many were dug up to improve private yards. The city improved the park in 1908, creating a bridle path for horseback riding, and grading bluffs fronting on Irving Avenue. River Road was improved, although not paved, and the stairway to York Pond from the bluffs was built. These improvements were done under the stewardship of Parks Superintendent Greene.

The square stone pillars and wall at the edge of the woods opposite the Narragansett Boat Club were built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. They were part of a planned entrance to the park from River Drive that was never completed. There is a bronze plaque, shaped like a shield, on the right pillar. WPA plaques may be found in two other places, all at York Pond, which was probably largely the work of the WPA. One is at the west end of the channel that runs under Butler Avenue into York Pond, and the other on the outflow structure of the pond.

Description

The park borders the Seekonk River from Gulf Road, where a stone wall divides it from Butler Hospital property, all the way to the Henderson Bridge. It is cut into three sections by Irving Avenue and Angell Street, which end at the river. There are trails throughout the wooded areas. The central area is the most open, and some of the trails follow wood roads. During the fishing season, people fish in the river. Boats from the Narragansett Boat Club are on the river from dawn to dusk, weather permitting.

More History

If you have any photographs, recollections, clippings or other material to add to the history of the park, we would love to hear from you.

Park Geology and Ecology

The woods of Blackstone Park grow in the outwash deposits left by the melting of the last glacier at least 10,000 years ago. These deposits of sand and gravel are exposed where slopes have eroded. If you are lucky, you may even find a heavy black rock flecked with light crystals–Cumberlandite, named for its origin in Cumberland, RI, and deposited in the park by the glacier as it moved south. Look for yellow sand and small stones, where paths have eroded through the highly acidic topsoil. This topsoil forms a thin layer on the surface, supporting the growth of acid-loving trees and shrubs. Oaks, American beech, and black birch predominate, with a few maples and birch, and below the trees are native blueberry bushes, clethra (sweet pepper bush), and mountain laurel planted by Park Superintendent Greene in the early  20th Century. Some of the few wild flowers scattered thinly throughout the woods are Pink Lady’s-slipper, Solomon’s-seal, Canada mayflower, and wood aster. Bayberry, sassafras, rosa rugosa, sweetfern, and sumac grow along the edges, particularly near the river. The park also has numerous invasive species; Japanese bittersweet, green briar, Japanese knotweed, poison  ivy, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Euonymous alatus and multiflora rose.

There are two ponds in the park. Hockey Pond, at the southern end, appears to be fed by springs and rain water, and is open water. It is home to a large number of sunfish, a muskrat, painted turtles (or pond sliders), and a king fisher. There are a few skunk cabbage and yellow iris near Hockey Pond. York Pond, a Department of Public Works structure built by the Works Progress Administration, is part of the storm drain system. A concrete channel passing under Butler Avenue carries street run-off from over 400 acres of the East Side into the pond. It also carries water draining from Cat Swamp, shown on old maps near Nathan Bishop Middle School. Recently dredged, York Pond is home to both snapping turtles and pond sliders, and a muskrat. An access road will soon be built to support heavy machinery that can remove sediment from the western end where it settles. Once this is completed, the pond will be landscaped with native species, and the lawn to the south will be planted with wild flowers. York Pond empties into the Seekonk River next to a combined sewer overflow pipe, through a pipe under River Drive. Bur Cucumber, White Snakeroot, Evening Primrose, Common Milkweed, various golden rods and Touch-me-not grow near York Pond.

The Seekonk River is saline, with the tide bringing salt water up river as far as the dam at the Division Street Bridge in Pawtucket. There are mussels, tiny young crabs, and grass shrimp in the water.

Blackstone Park is an important stop for migratory birds, as it is linked to other wooded areas along the Seekonk River. Look for unusual birds in both Spring and Fall.