Last updated: 05.07.04 Nadav_Carmel@Brown.edu

BACKGROUND

Providence, the capital of Rhode Island (RI), is a city with a vibrant history, industrial and otherwise. Its 25 diverse neighborhoods cover roughly 18 square miles, and its four rivers were once home to a large number of industrial facilities. The study area of this project touched on the six neighborhoods through which the Woonasquatucket River flows, extending roughly 500 feet in any direction from the River.

The Rise and Fall of Industry in Providence

Situated at the head of Narragansett Bay, 35 miles north of the open Atlantic Ocean (as well as 40 miles southwest of Boston and 157 miles northeast of New York City), Providence's location made it an ideal seat for the shipping economy of Rhode Island, which boomed in the 18th century, hence providing an economic base for the city's 19th century industrial development.

The state rose to national manufacturing prominence at the end of the 18th century, coinciding with the opening of the nation's first water-powered textile mill by Samuel Slater in 1790. The textile industry quickly flourished in Rhode Island and along with it the machine tool industry to make the machinery with which all manner of cotton, woolen and worsted goods were produced. By the end of the 19th century, Providence was producing more worsted goods than any other American city.

Providence also became a leader in technological innovation in the textile manufacturing industry, due to the large amount of capital available in the city and the high price of land (directly attributable to the presence of several brokerage firms in the city that supplied mills with raw materials), which demanded a high return, and accordingly a high degree of technological sophistication and efficiency. The power loom was invented in Providence, as were a critical component of the steam engine and a number of other important manufacturing parts and processes. Interestingly, in 1824 Providence was also home to the first labor strike in North America in which women participated.

In addition to textile, textile machinery and steam engine production, metalworking also grew in the middle of the 19th century, including jewelry manufacturing. It was this diverse metals industry that allowed the textile industry to stay afloat in Providence longer than it did in the rest of the state. However, by the early 20th century, the textile industry was waning; while the First World War briefly revived the flagging industry, overproduction and the Great Depression drove it into the ground. By the time of the Second World War, textile manufacturing was almost entirely dead, and by the 1950s it had completely collapsed, leaving associated metalworking mills to either retool or shut down, most the latter. The rest of the metalworking industry in the area soon followed suit. Today, many of Providence's old mill buildings house offices, light manufacturing or condominiums, or are simply vacant.

The Woonasquatucket River in Providence

The 19-mile Woonasquatucket River runs from North Smithfield into Providence, where it merges with the Moshassuck River to briefly form the Providence River before emptying into the Narragansett Bay. The upper portion of the Woonasquatucket River, outside of Providence, is relatively pristine; however, the portion within Providence has been contaminated (most notably with dioxin) by various industries for more than 200 years. The River was the birthplace of Providence's worsted industry, and of the city's four rivers, was probably home to more industrial properties than any other. As a result, its banks are now the site of many reused- though mostly unused- mill buildings, and the legacy of contamination lingers still. The neighborhoods surrounding the Woonasquatucket River in Providence (Downtown, Smith Hill, Valley, Olneyville, Hartford and Manton) are some of the poorest in the city. They generally have median family and median household incomes below those of the city as a whole, and have significant, largely Hispanic, minority populations.

(Click to enlarge.)

The River in Providence borders one Superfund site (Centredale Manor), two current known brownfield sites (Riverside Mills and Lincoln Lace and Braid) and a rehabilitated brownfield (the Button Hole Golf Course). This project ties in with other cleanup efforts occurring along the River. Along with the Blackstone River, the EPA named the Woonasquatucket River a National Heritage River in 1998 in order to highlight its important role in the development of American industry, as well as to emphasize the need for environmental and economic revitalization in the area. In 2003 the Blackstone and Woonasquatucket were again accorded honors, this time winning a pilot award from the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers joint Urban Rivers Restoration Initiative. The River is also the target of several local community and environmental revitalization initiatives, including the Providence Plan's Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project and a RI Department of Environmental Management and University of RI wetland restoration project.

However, the River still has a long way to go before it can be considered fishable and swimmable, and the threat of contamination on sites along it- perceived or real, known or unknown- is a major hindrance to redevelopment efforts. To this end, a methodology was explored for predicted soil contamination at sites based on their historical uses, that in the future may be used to identify sites of concern.