The two photos above are from the Winter 2016 edition of Shovel magazine. They show the Mill River conduits in Woonsocket being built, I presume as a result of the 1955 flood. This was part of what was called the Lower Woonsocket Local Protection Project. Work began in late 1963 and was completed in 1967.Thanks to Edgar Browning for permission to use them here.
In this view, the Mill River flows into Harris Pond. You can see where it leaves the pond and flows under Privilege Street and continues until it disappears before it reaches Social Street. The Blackstone River can be seen meandering at the bottom.
If you’ve lived in the Hopedale area for a while, you know that Hopedale Pond is part of the Mill River, and that the river flows to the Blackstone River where it continues on its way to Narragansett Bay. However, you might not know just where the rivers meet. I’ve been in Woonsocket a good many times, but had never seen the meeting point until today. (December 28, 2012) With help from my son, DJ, the map and GPS guy, we went there and got the pictures you see on this page. (More photos added in March 2016. Blue sky – 2012. Cloudy sky – 2016.) In the three Google Earth views above, the white lines are the track recorded by DJ’s GPS as we walked around the area.
On its journey from North Pond in Hopkinton/Upton/Milford to the Blackstone River in Woonsocket, the Mill River disappears twice. First it goes under the site of the former Draper Corporation in Hopedale, and then under streets and parking lots in Woonsocket. If you’ve driven down Social Street you’ve gone over the Mill, and if you’ve dined at Chelo’s Restaurant, you may have parked above the river.
The picture above shows the Mill River in Woonsocket, a little downstream from Harris Pond and the Massachusetts line. You can see it entering a tunnel, whereit flows for about 1,100 feet before coming out in the Blackstone River.
Looking upstream where the Mill River flows between flood control dikes. The picture was taken from the headwall of the tunnel entry point.
.Looking downstream (toward Social Street) from beside the entry point of the Mill River into the tunnel. The river flows under the parking lot, and then under Social Street.
Behind Kennedy Manor on Clinton Street. The Mill River enters the Blackstone River on the other side of the wall in this photo.
The Blackstone River. The Mill River flows into it at the bottom left. St. Ann’s Church is in the background.
Since St. Ann Church shows up in many of the pictures on this page, I thought it would be good to include here a little about the current situation there. The following is from blackstonedaily.com.
St. Ann Church and Cultural Center
St. Ann’s Church and Cultural Center in Woonsocket is not only a national treasure, but perhaps one of global significance as its frescoes and stained glass windows are almost unparalleled. The Roman Catholic Diocese closed it as a place of worship about a decade ago. Since then, it has been used as a bingo hall and arts and cultural center on a limited basis, but that will not support the $1.2 million needed to make it water-tight or the $5 million necessary for renovation. The $50,000 annual maintenance costs is the least of its worries but this is America’s treasure that cannot afford to be lost.
St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center is a non- profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of this former Roman Catholic Church. The Center’s mission is to develop multiple venues of adaptive reuse for this endangered and irreplaceable, artistic and historical asset, thereby ensuring its preservation and producing a resource for the community.
The building, constructed between 1913-1917 features over 40 exquisite stained glass windows made in France and installed 1923-1925, along with over 175 magnificent frescos hand painted in the 1940’s by Canadian artist Professor Guido Nincheri, who learned his craft in Florence, Italy.
For more about the talent show, upcoming happenings and the history of the facility, call 401-767-3777 or go to their website at www.stannartctr.org
A charette was recently held with many interested stakeholders – former parishioners, preservationists, cultural and artistic proponents and others merely in love with the many others. The task ahead is huge – how to support and properly utilize an absolutely magnificent and significant part of our past and artistic national treasure. The frescoes will become even more vivid, according to “Wolf”, the Northeast Director of Fresco Artistry in Maryland, who made an impromptu visit and fell in love with the grandeur and artwork so compelling. What shall happen with this lovely building, a connection to a noble yet humble past sacrificing to create a magnificent tribute as God’s home for generations to come? As the months bring discussion, debate and options, Blackstone Daily will follow the collaboration of many whose passion for preserving the building will surely create some positive venues. Currently, thoughts of joining with RISD (RI School of Design), and other colleges and historical preservationist societies or use as a dinner theatre are but a few of the possibilities under discussion. But the building and its artwork is undeniably glorious in every aspect.
