Tour Blackstone Valley – There’s No Place Like Home

Our first destination is Chepachet Farm in Glocester for a breakfast of pancakes and Rhode Island maple syrup, and a farm tour and wagon ride. This one-of-a-kind farm & carriage works provides great photo opportunities! Nearby is the Brown and Hopkins Country Store, known as America’s oldest continuously operated country store, and other antique shops in this quaint New England village. En route we view historical sites like the Ruben Mason Home in Glocester, which, during the Dorr Rebellion in 1842, was designated as a field hospital by the state militia.

A picnic lunch awaits at Burrillville's Spring Lake Arcade. Try your hand on these vintage arcade games - just as exciting as their electronic counterparts of today. We then head to Woonsocket for a tour of the Museum of Work & Culture. See and hear the story of the French Canadian immigrant contributions to the Blackstone Valley. Wright’s Dairy Farm in North Smithfield is our final stop. At this working dairy farm we’ll see some of the 120 Holsteins being milked. Fresh ice cream, milk, whipped cream and desserts are available from the farm store and on-site bakery.

Aromatic coffee, blended tea and warm muffins are served at Hi-on-a-Hill Herb Farm where we begin our sampler of sites. Stroll through the gardens and browse the gift shop for herbs, plants, local honey and preserves to bring home or give to friends.

On to Rhode Island’s northernmost city, Woonsocket, home to “America’s Sistine Chapel” at St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center. This astonishing former church is brilliant with stained glass and boasts the finest European style frescoed interior in North America.

Nearby is the interactive Museum of Work & Culture where we’ll see and hear how French Canadian immigrants contributed to the rich traditions of Rhode Island and the Blackstone Valley. A short drive brings us to the Valentine Whitman House, built in the 17th century, and one of just a few surviving "stone-end" houses in the state.

The Captain Wilbur Kelly House, situated by a preserved section of the historic Blackstone Canal Tow Path. A contrast in modes of transportation, the path is now a segment of the Blackstone River Bike Way – an adventure itself and worth a future visit.

We begin the day enjoying pastry and coffee at Phantom Farms in Cumberland. There’ll be time to check out the selection of spring plants and flowers before we head out to explore the New Dawn Earth Center in the north easternmost corner of the state where a short walk brings us to a hidden pond.

Next stop is the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket , we enjoy a screening of the 20-minute, award-winning movie, "Hidden in the Blackstone." Then it’s a short stroll to Pawtucket’s Slater Mill for our living history tour of the actual mills where the Industrial Revolution began. Our period-costumed interpreter gives an engaging presentation and sheds light on the American Industrial Revolution. After lunch by the river, we head to McCoy Stadium - home of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Here we are treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the newly renovated McCoy Stadium, home to the AAA team of the Boston Red Sox.

Our visit to the Charles D. Looff Carousel at Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket is sure to stir up joyful memories. Ride on the historic Looff Carousel, tour historic Daggett House, Pawtucket's oldest house, and stop in to the Rhode Island Watercolor Society.
 

“Orders Up!” Breakfast is served just as it’s been for 70 years at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket. A completely authentic, and satisfying experience at the first diner ever placed on the National Historic Register. Well-fortified, we travel back to a time of tremendous cultural change - the Industrial Revolution. The scene comes alive in three period buildings at the Slater Mill Museum, listed on the National Historic Register. Child labor, textile manufacturing and daily life are explored on this fascinating tour.

We make our way next to Rhode Island’s first State Park, Lincoln Woods in Lincoln, with its covered bridge, ponds and streams. Here we savor our picnic lunch before setting off to learn about “the herbs and the bees” at Hi-on-a-Hill Herb Farm in North Smithfield.

It’s on to the Historic Tow Path and Captain Wilbur Kelly House Museum in Lincoln to learn about early barge transportation along the canal and take a quiet stroll along a section of the Blackstone Valley Bike Way that lies between the canal and the Blackstone River.

We enjoy a typical Rhode Island May Breakfast before making our way through the Blackstone Valley and beyond to investigate some of Rhode Island’s haunted sites. Paranormal investigator and author Thomas D’Agostino leads the way and, along with his wife, Arlene, gives insight to the paranormal with stories, and accounts of these eerily haunted places.

D’Agostino has investigated the paranormal for over twenty-five years and has written accounts of haunted places throughout New England. His books include “Haunted Rhode Island,” “A Guide to Haunted New England” and “Abandoned Villages and Ghost Towns of New England”.
Sites include Monastery and Nine Men’s Misery (said to be the first mass grave in the country) in Cumberland, RI, Precious Blood Cemetery in Woonsocket, and the Aldrich Burial Lot in North Smithfield.

Your included lunch is at the Tavern on Main in Chepachet where we will learn about the ghostly haunting that takes place here.
In Foster, we visit the infamous site of the Ram Tail factory where it is said the factory bell still tolls.

This is for fans of the television show The Family Guy. This tour highlights some of the sites in the Blackstone Valley and state of Rhode Island that may have inspired this Emmy nominated animated Fox television series. Some of the sites may include McCoy Stadium, Del's Lemonade, Hasbro toys and The Drunken Clam in Johnston. A buffet lunch will be served at Wes's Ribhouse (included in the tour price).

Coming in from out of town?
Special hotel package available.

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