Quinnville is a village incorporated into the Town of Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States. It is the smallest of the seven villages within Lincoln, bordered by the villages of Albion at the north, Limerock to the west, Lonsdale to the south, and by the Blackstone River to the east.
The Blackstone Canal flows through the length of the village, west of the Blackstone River. There is a former control gate at the northern end of the village, accessible by the former tow path for the canal. This gate was built by the Lonsdale Company to control the flow of water into the Canal in 1903, at which time this portion of the Canal was no longer used for transportation, but was providing water for power and processing at the Lonsdale Mills, approximately three miles downstream. There are two bridges within the village to cross the canal; one in the Blackstone River Bikeway state park to access parking for the bikeway, and another at Martin Street to cross both the canal and river into Cumberland.
Quinnville, like many of the villages in Rhode Island, is a former mill village. Historically, the area currently known as Quinnville was incorporated into the Town of Cumberland, Rhode Island as part of the village of Ashton, connected by a bridge across the Blackstone River. Both banks of the river were home to textile mills and homes for the mill workers. The mill on what is currently the Quinnville side of the river was demolished in the early twentieth century, while the Ashton Mill is still standing and is currently renovated housing.
Quinnville has its own fire department, as do all villages in Lincoln with the exception of Fairlawn, which is dispatched centrally by the Lincoln Police Department. Quinnville Station 7 is a volunteer-run fire station housing Lincoln fire apparatus Engine 7.
41°56′2.24″N71°25′59″W / 41.9339556°N 71.43306°W
Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state capital of Rhode Island and the county's most populous city, with an estimated 190,934 residents in 2020. Providence County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn constitutes a portion of the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area. As of 2010, the center of population in Rhode Island is located in Providence County, in the city of Cranston.
Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,583 at the 2020 census. With an area of only 1.29 square miles (3.3 km2), it is the smallest and most densely populated city in the smallest state, and the 23rd most densely populated incorporated place in the United States. It is also one of only four incorporated places in New England that have a higher population density than the city of Boston. The city takes its name from a waterfall on the Blackstone River.
Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest town in the state.
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical area and the Greater Boston combined statistical area.
North Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, settled as a farming community in 1666 and incorporated into its present form in 1871. North Smithfield includes the historic villages of Forestdale, Primrose, Waterford, Branch Village, Union Village, Park Square, and Slatersville. The population was 12,588 at the 2020 census.
Manville is a village in the town of Lincoln in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It is located at latitude 41.9616° North, longitude 71.4744° West. It has been assigned the ZIP Code 02838.
Route 123 is a state highway running 7.8 miles (12.6 km) in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its western terminus is at Route 116 in Lincoln, and its eastern terminus is at the Massachusetts border where it continues as Massachusetts Route 123.
The Moshassuck River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows 8.9 miles (14.3 km) from the town of Lincoln to the city of Providence. There are six dams along the river's length.
The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and National Historical Park.
The Blackstone Canal was a manmade waterway, linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, and Narragansett Bay, through the Blackstone Valley, via a series of locks and canals in the early 19th century. Construction started in 1825, and the canal opened three years later. After the opening of the Boston and Providence Railroad (1835), the canal struggled for business. Its transportation role was taken over by the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which completed a parallel line in 1847. The canal shut down in 1848. Several segments of the canal are preserved, and the canal alignment and remains are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Abbott Run is a de facto river in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 10 miles (16 km).
The North Branch Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8.9 miles (14.3 km). There are 9 dams along the river's length.
The Blackstone River Greenway is a partially completed 48-mile (77 km) paved rail trail defining the course of the East Coast Greenway through the Blackstone Valley from Worcester, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island in the United States.
West Hill Dam Reserve is a United States Army Corps of Engineers flood control project with a recreational park and wildlife management area located at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The West Hill Dam Project was completed in June 1961. It is located on the West River, one of the branches of the Blackstone River which flows from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island. The West River originates in Grafton, Massachusetts, at Cider Mill Pond and Silver Lake, near Upton, Massachusetts, and the Upton State Forest. The dam is unusual in that it is not filled unless there is a flood. West Hill Dam was built after devastating floods during the 1950s; it is intended to protect the Blackstone Valley from future destructive flooding. The cities and towns downriver from Uxbridge, including Millville, Blackstone, Woonsocket, North Smithfield, Cumberland, Lincoln, Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence, Rhode Island, suffered extensive flooding from the Blackstone during Hurricane Diane in 1955. Hurricane Donna tested this new dam in 1960 as the eyewall passed over. The West Hill Dam is located in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor near the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. Park rangers provide visitor assistance and offer scheduled interpretative programs. Fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing opportunities are available year-round. The park has a recreation area, 34 picnic sites, one playground, a swimming area and five miles of hiking trails. However, access to the park from West Hill Road is currently blocked as of 2021 because of landowner disagreements. West Hill Dam is also the field office for the Charles River Natural Valley Storage Area. It consists of scattered wetlands in the upper and middle Charles River watershed, between the towns of Bellingham and Needham. The wetlands provide flood storage area, fisheries, wildlife management, and recreation. The Charles River is the well-known watercourse that flows into Boston Harbor.
Albion is a village and historic district in Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States.
Lonsdale is a village and historic district in Lincoln and Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, near Rhode Island Route 146 and Route 95. The village was originally part of the town of Smithfield until Lincoln was created in the 1870s, and was originally centered on the Lincoln side of the Blackstone River. William Blaxton settled in the area in 1635. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Lonsdale was home to several manufacturers including the Lonsdale Company's Bleachery, and the Ann & Hope mill was also located in the village in Cumberland.
The Ashton Historic District is a historic district in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The district consists of a mill and an adjacent mill village that was built for the workers of the mill. It lies between Mendon Road, Scott Road, Angell Road, Store Hill Road, Front Street and Middle Street. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 1984.
The Old Ashton Historic District is a historic district encompassing an early 18th-century industrial area along Lower River Road in Lincoln, Rhode Island. It includes the site of the first textile mill in Lincoln, which was established in 1810–15, and whose original mill building no longer survives. The proprietors of the mill built a series of modest worker houses on Lower River Road, which are now separated from the mill site by a section of the Blackstone Canal. The only structure near the mill site is the Kelly House, built in the 1820s by Wilbur Kelly, one of the mill owners. The area is now a stopping point in Blackstone River Bikeway State Park, with interpretive signs explaining the area's history.
The Valley Falls Company was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, a historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River, within the modern-day town of Cumberland and city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. The Valley Falls Company is the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the world's largest and most successful companies.
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The park was created for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and interpreting the industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley and the urban, rural, and agricultural landscape of that region. The Blackstone River Valley was the site of some of the earliest successful textile mills in the United States, and these mills contributed significantly to the earliest American Industrial Revolution. The subsequent construction of the Blackstone Canal, a few years after the successful completion of the Erie Canal, helped to sustain the region's industrial strength.