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By Bryan Simmons, June 2012 | |
| | | 1. Lady Carrington and The Blackstone Canal Marker | | |
Inscription. If this were the year 1828 you could climb aboard the barge Lady Carrington and travel by water all the way to Worcester.
It was October 8, 1828 and the Blackstone Canal had opened for passenger and cargo service between Providence and Worcester. One hundred yards south of this spot, musicians greeted passengers who were boarding th 65 foot flagship Lady Carrington for its maiden voyage. It was the first commercial shipping in the Great Salt Cove since the Great Gale of 1815 destroyed the lift bridge at Weybosset Street, which previously allowed ocean-going sailing vessels to dock at the foot of Bowen Street.
It had taken over 1,000 workers five years to construct the 45 mile long canal and its 48 granite locks required to navigate the 438 foot difference in elevation between Worcester and sea level at Providence.
The prospect of the canal was a boom for economic development of the Blackstone Valley. Mill villages such as Millbury, Albion, and Manville sprang up along the canal. Summer droughts and winter ice threatened the viability of the canal; but it was rail service, established in 1846 by the Providence & Worcester Railroad, that capped the demise of the canal. The last canal toll was collected on November 9, 1848.
Today all that remains of the Blackstone Canal in Providence can be seen just up stream from here to the north | | | | 
By Bryan Simmons, June 2012 | |
| | | 2. The Blackstone Canal | | |
and south of Smith Street where the Moshassuck River flows between granite stone walls.
Location. 41° 49.676′ N, 71° 24.632′ W. Marker is in Providence, Rhode Island, in Providence County. Marker is on Canal Street, on the right when traveling south. Click for map. Between Park Row and Steeple Street. Marker is in this post office area: Providence RI 02903, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Steeple Street Complex (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Gone From Hence (about 400 feet away); Shakespeare's Head (about 500 feet away); Fleur-De-Lys Studio (about 500 feet away); The Meeting Street School (about 500 feet away); First Baptist Church (about 600 feet away); A Changing Nation (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named The First Baptist Church (about 600 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Providence.
Credits. This page originally submitted on June 16, 2012, by Bryan Simmons of Attleboro, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 348 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 16, 2012, by Bryan Simmons of Attleboro, Massachusetts. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
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