Blackstone Valley Historical Society

The Blackstone Valley Historical Society is dedicated to securing and preserving items related to the history of that area of Rhode Island known as the Blackstone Valley. The Blackstone Valley in Rhode Island is comprised of six communities: Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, Cumberland, North Smithfield and Woonsocket.

North Gate, located on Old Louisquisset Pike, is the permanent headquarters of the Society. Originally a Toll Gate House and later the Lime Rock Hotel, the building eventually became the community center for Lime Rock Grange #22 for a period of 67 years. In 1971 the Society purchased the building from the Grange for the sum of $1.00 and in 1974 it was placed on the National Register of Historical Buildings as a part of Limerock Village Historic District.

On the second floor of the building is a meeting hall whose unique feature is an advertising stage curtain dating to 1925. Also, on the second floor, is the Rice Museum room, a reproduction of a mid-18th century room.

Located next door to North Gate is the former Lime Rock Grange #22 Fire Station, the Buckley building, which features historical items from the Lime Rock Grange, Lime Rock Volunteer Fire Department and the lime stone industry. Additionally on the grounds is a reconstruction of the original Arnold’s Lonsdale Bakery building.

About the Seal

The Blackstone Valley Historical Society Seal was designed by Mrs. Gladys Barnard in 1960.

The water mill in the center of the seal is typical of those which lined the Blackstone River.

The Village of Lonsdale is identified by the spray of oak leaves with acorns above and below the mill. The “Catholic Oak” stood in Lonsdale and for seventy years it was the neighborhood church.

Cumberland is signified by the hand wrought nail in the upper left. Jeremiah Wilkinson, born July 6, 1741, continued to work the forge established by his grandfather in Cumberland.

The Town of Lincoln is represented by the hatchet below the nail. The hatchet appears in Lincoln’s town seal.

The City of Central Falls is identified by the scythe shown in the upper right. At the end of the Revolutionary War Charles Keene made scythes and other edge tools in Central Falls.

The City of Pawtucket is signified by the horseshoe in the lower right. Joseph Jenks, Jr., the first settler of Pawtucket, built his forge and saw mill on the south side of the river. From the force of the river over the falls he obtained the power needed to run his engines.