Woonsocket
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Nestled in among a handful of quieter suburbs, this well-groomed town of roughly 50,000 centers around the Blackstone River. Its water power was the source of Woonsocket’s place as an industrial forerunner starting in 1810, when its first textile mill was built. Three decades later, there were upwards of 20 mills operating in the area, and French-Canadian immigrants began arriving to help run them. Today, many of those mills can still be walked through, and French-Canadians are still the town’s biggest ethnic group.
The Rhode Island Museum of Work and Culture
The town’s history as a center for wool manufacturing is evident at The Rhode Island Museum of Work and Culture (42 S. Main St., 401/769-9675, www.woonsocket.org, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Fri.; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat.–Sun.; closed Mondays, $7 adults, $5 seniors and students, free children under 10) which offers excellent exhibits on the town’s history and culture, religion, and industry. That sense of history continues outside the museum, in abutting Market Square. Here you’ll find a handful of historic yarn mills, a hydroelectric power plant, and the river that feeds them both.
Entertainment and Events
Every spring, Woonsocket’s River Island Park hosts the Blackstone River Watershed Association Canoe/Kayak Race (401/762-0440, www.thebrwa.org), which starts in the park and ends about four miles later in Mannville.
By the end of May, it’s time for the Jubilee Franco-American Weekend (401/765-6141), which is celebrated throughout Woonsocket in riverboat tours, concert halls, galleries, and restaurants. All of the festival’s celebrations are meant to illuminate the cultural assets that immigrants from French Canada have brought to Woonsocket over the years.
Nightlife
Jazz aficionados won’t be disappointed by the excellent acts brought in by Chan’s (267 Main St., 401/765-1900, www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com, 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Mon.–Thurs.; 11:30 a.m.–12:30 a.m. Fri.–Sat., $5–15). The funky eatery/club stages performers from far and wide three nights a week.
Shopping
Relive your sweet youth at Pearl’s Candy and Nuts (4 Eddie Dowling Hwy., 401/769-1166, 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Fri); the place is stocked from end to end with every kind of sugary treat—some hard-to-find these days—from licorice whips and Dots to peanut brittle and homemade fudge.
© Michael Blanding and Alexandra Hall from Moon New England, 2nd Edition
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