I actually lived in the mill picture for several years and grew up near here . If you would like to see some great history, you should stop here for a couple of hours and walk around. The Ashton Mill is now an apartment complex. The mill once spun cotton in the 1800's and in more recent years, Corning Glass spun fiberglass to make the suits the Apollo astronauts wore on moon missions. You cannot enter the apartment complex now, nor park in the lot HOWEVER there is a small parking area to the far right (once you are down the crazy hill) that is reserved for visitors to the mill and the Blackstone Valley Bike path. I HIGHLY recommend a walk across the pedestrian bridge to the Capt Wilbur Kelly House...a small museum of displays, photographs and dioramas of the mill and canal history. It is free and the hours are MOSTLY 9 to 4ish. Walk the bike path towards Lonsdale to view a new barn and the canal. Walk under the viaduct to the Ashton Dam for some lovely views. Cross over a wooden canal bridge and walk up to the RI Visitors Center for a bathroom and an occasional art gallery display. I love visiting small towns and this being my own small town home town, I would like others to visit and enjoy, too. PS: the bike path continues through several RI cities and town and there is plenty of parking along the...
Read moreThis is a great little museum that tells the story of Captain Kelly and his role in developing the Ashton Mill, other mills along the Blackstone, as well as the Blackstone River Canal, the railroad between Providence and Worcester, and the village, built by the company, for the workers at the mill This museum is part of the Blackstone Valley Heritage Corridor, which has other museums and sites of interest along the Blackstone Valley. This museum is adjacent to the Blackstone River Bike Trail and across the river from the...
Read moreThis is my first time writing one of these reviews. The museum is easy to get to and it is perfectly sized/filled. The information is very informative and interesting. As soon as I walked in a DEM park ranger greeted me and asked if I wanted a tour, which I did. She was excellent, knowledgeable, and engaging, more than willing to answer any questions I had. I highly recommend this to anyone using the black stone greenway trail or anyone in the area that wants to kill some time learning...
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