LGB American Heritage

2 parks and sites (NPS)

About LGB American Heritage

Ranger Walkabouts
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
Join a Park Ranger and explore the Blackstone River Valley. During the months of June, July, and August, park staff offer specialty tours at varying locations across the Blackstone River Watershed. These programs begin at 6:30 PM and are 60-minutes long. Please wear comfortable footwear and bring water. Most tours are outside and often include walking on uneven surfaces on varying types of terrain with no access to bathroom facilities. Bug spray and sunscreen are also highly suggested. Please Note: There will be no Walkabout on July 2. June 4: From Forge to Fortune in Northbridge Location: 50 Douglas Rd, Whitinsville, MA How did the Revolutionary generation in Northridge set the stage for the future of American industry? Learn how a small forge along the Mumford River gave rise to a textile giant and a blueprint for American innovation. Tour will begin near the historic forge building, located within the Open Sky complex. June 11: Seeds of Success in Slatersville Location: 101 Green St, North Smithfield, RI Why was this location, along the Branch River, chosen for a mill village? How did financiers, workers, ministers, and farmers make this a thriving industrial community? This walk will take us through the well-preserved core of the country’s first planned mill village. Tour begins at Heritage Hall—parking is available in a small adjacent lot and by the Town Hall. June 18: "Owning Our History" with Peter Laarman Location: One Benevolent Street, Providence, RI Gather at the First Unitarian Church to explore the historic church and neighborhood and learn how slavery built dynastic wealth in Rhode Island. This tour will begin at the First Unitarian Church (corner of Benevolent and Benefit streets). June 25: Stepping Out to Skull Rock Lock Location: 300 Quaker Hwy, Uxbridge, MA Discover the history of Skull Rock Lock and take a walk with a ranger from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Meet in the parking lot of Uxbridge High School in Uxbridge, MA. Meet the rangers at Uxbridge High School. July 9: The Transportation Revolution in the Valley Location: Plummer's Landing Parking Area, Northbridge, MA Explore Plummer’s Landing and learn about the enterprising people of the Blackstone Valley who built the infrastructure for a transportation revolution. Meet at the Plummer’s Landing parking area (bit.ly/plummerslanding). Expect to wal…
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Featured parks for lgb american heritage

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

RI,MA

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Upcoming events

Upcoming programs and events at parks in this collection (from the NPS Events API).

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Ranger Programs

Oct 15

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Old Slater Mill Tour

Join a Park Ranger on a tour of the Mill that started the American Industrial Revolution. These 30 minute guided tours investigate the historical significance of Slater Mill, and what valuable lessons the building still teachings us. Tours begin at 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM in front of the mill. Please arrive a few minutes early. Please Note: For visitor saftey, tours of Old Slater Mill will be modified or cancelled if the heat index is at or above 87 degrees Fahrenheit. A shortened 10 minute Ranger talk will be offered at the normal tour times. Visitors will have a brief period of access to the main part of the mill. For the latest weather information, call 401-725-8638.

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860

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Guided Tours

Oct 15

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Victorian Science and the Beyond: Ethereal Evening Tours

The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. -From “Haunted Houses” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Scientific discovery – and the promise of glimpsing the world beyond our perception – captured the imaginations of 19th century Americans. Join Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters for a special evening of historic house tours exploring the intersections of Victorian scientific thought, the lure of the supernatural, and their echoes today. 50-minute tours will invite participants to examine the unknown as we consider the Longfellow family’s entanglements with forensics and phrenology, early views of outer space, the spiritualism movement, and their pioneering use of ether anesthesia. Please note: This tour will include sensitive but frank discussions of 19th century violence, medical procedures, and drug use. Please use discretion when registering.

05:00 PM - 05:45 PM

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Ranger Programs

Oct 16

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Old Slater Mill Tour

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860

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Guided Tours

Oct 16

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

250th Deep Dive Tour: Headquarters of a Revolution

Entrance to the historic house is by guided tour only, and all tours are free of charge. General George Washington’s Cambridge headquarters was a testing ground for many of the ideals, institutions, and questions that still define our nation. This conversational tour explores Cambridge Headquarters as a hub of revolutionary activity, where generals, enslaved people, paid laborers, poets, Indigenous diplomats, politicians, and soldiers shaped history - and how later generations would shape its memory.

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Guided Tours

Oct 16

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Express Tour

Entrance to the historic house is by guided tour only, and all tours are free of charge. Short on time? Tour the first-floor collections on this informal exploration of American history, culture, and identity.

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Guided Tours

Oct 16

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Hourly Tour

Entrance to the historic house is by guided tour only, and all tours are free of charge. What does this house reveal about our shared past? Here, history was made, and history was written. Highlighting the house and its remarkable collections (original to the Longfellow period), this conversational tour will explore links between colonial-era slavery and freedom, Washington’s headquarters at the start of the American Revolution, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetic legacy, and the Longfellow family’s legacy of historic preservation.

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Workshops

Oct 17

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Pawtucket's Iron Foundation: The 1670 Jenks Settlement Walking Tour

Learn about Pawtucket's colonial settlers and the community's early ironworks during a free walking tour this fall. The 1670 Jenks Settlement Walking Tours are hosted by Old Slater Mill Association. Over the course of 1 mile, participants will walk for approximately one hour on paved surfaces, with some small hills and steps. Meet in front of the yellow mill at 67 Roosevelt Ave., Pawtucket, RI. Free parking onsite.

11:30 AM - 01:00 PM

67 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860

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Ranger Programs

Oct 17

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Webster Walking Tour

Join a Park Ranger for a guided walk through Webster's Historic District. All ages are welcome, and no registration is required. Participants should meet in the lobby of the Gladys E. Kelly Public Library (2 Lake St., Webster, MA).

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Meet in the lobby of the Gladys E. Kelly Public Library (2 Lake St., Webster, MA)

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Guided Tours

Oct 18

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Crafternoon at Slater Mill

Slater Mill, long considered the birthplace of the American textile industry, has been a museum for more than a century. This event honors the mill's textile roots and tradition of celebrating craftspeople. Join us for a crafternoon with local makers as we enjoy the beginning of autumn. Celebrate the enduring arts of handicraft and take a mill tour to see how thread is made. You are welcome to bring something you're working on, learn from other crafters, or contribute to a group embroidery project. The park will have a few hand looms, drop spindles, coloring sheets, and good vibes. Stitchers, knitters, crocheters, and spinners are all welcome to drop in anytime during the afternoon. Free guided tours of Slater Mill will take place at 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM.

12:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

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Ranger Programs

Oct 24

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Bat Week at River Bend Farm

Celebrate the start of Bat Week 2026 during an evening program at River Bend Farm (287 Oak Street, Uxbridge, MA). Rangers will offer a bat walk and a free activity. More about Bat Week: Bat Week is an international, annual celebration designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation. Bats are amazing creatures that are vital to the health of our natural world and economy. Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night - eating tons of insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees.

04:00 PM - 09:00 PM

River Bend Farm (287 Oak Street, Uxbridge, MA)

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Lectures

Oct 29

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

A Closer Look at Charley Longfellow’s “Japan Room"

Charles Appleton Longfellow (1844–1893), the eldest son of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Frances Appleton Longfellow, was a globetrotter and avid collector. During his 20-month stay in Japan (1871–1873), he purchased and shipped home to Cambridge dozens of crates of artworks and decorative objects for himself, friends, and family. Upon his return in 1874, Charley transformed the sitting room at his family home into a “ Japan Room ” with the help of his cousin Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow (1854–1934). One of its most striking features was a ceiling decorated with more than 35 fan-shaped paintings arranged in a “scattered fan” pattern. Although Japanese art and decorative objects had entered U.S. markets by the mid-1870s, their availability and visibility varied considerably by city. Created in 1874, on the eve of the transformative 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the Japan Room represents an unusually early American domestic interior devoted to Japanese art and design. This lecture examines its remarkable ceiling of fan paintings, exploring their origins and arrangement and considering how this distinctive feature of the room reflects the ways Japanese art was displayed and experienced in nineteenth-century America. This research was supported by the Friends of the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters 2025 Art Research Fellowship Program. ————————————— Elizabeth K. Eder, Ph.D. , is a museum scholar, educator, and researcher who has worked at the Smithsonian Institution for more than 20 years, including at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of Asian Art (formerly the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), and the Anacostia Community Museum. Her museum career has also included positions at the Walters Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the American Alliance of Museums. Her research interests include nineteenth-century American art; Chinese, Japanese, and European artistic influences on American art; the history of cultural exchange; and women’s histories. Her publications include books, scholarly articles, and museum print and digital resources. She is currently a Research Associate at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and teaches in the Museum Studies Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University, most recently History and Philosophy of Museums (in Global Context) . She is also Principal of Elizabeth K. Eder & Associates LLC, a museum consulting practice.

06:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Guided Tours

Oct 30

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Archaeology Days at Slater Mill

Experience Archaeology Month at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park! Learn about the archaeological digs that have taken place at Old Slater Mill and see artifacts courtesy of the Slater Industrial Archives. Watch footage of archaeologists working on the site, try hands-on activities, and conduct a search for small treasures. In addition to drop-in offerings, mill tours will be available at 10:30 AM, 12:30 PM, and 2:30 PM, free of charge.

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

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All parks (2)

National parks only

National Historical Park

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

RI,MA

The Blackstone River powered America's entry into the Age of Industry. The success of Samuel Slater's cotton spinning mill in Pawtucket, RI touched off a chain reaction that changed how people worked and where they lived. Learn how this revolution transformed the landscape of the Blackstone Valley and the United States. The Visitor Center at Old Slater Mill is closed for the winter season.

National Historic Site

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site preserves a remarkable Georgian house whose occupants shaped our nation. It was a site of colonial enslavement and community activism, George Washington’s first long-term headquarters of the American Revolution, and the place where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his canon of 19th-century American literature.

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LGB American Heritage

2 parks and sites (NPS)

About LGB American Heritage

Ranger addressing large group of people sitting on stone steps in front of yellow building

Ranger Walkabouts

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park

Join a Park Ranger and explore the Blackstone River Valley. During the months of June, July, and August, park staff offer specialty tours at varying locations across the Blackstone River Watershed. These programs begin at 6:30 PM and are 60-minutes long. Please wear comfortable footwear and bring water. Most tours are outside and often include walking on uneven surfaces on varying types of terrain with no access to bathroom facilities. Bug spray and sunscreen are also highly suggested. Please Note: There will be no Walkabout on July 2. June 4: From Forge to Fortune in Northbridge Location: 50 Douglas Rd, Whitinsville, MA How did the Revolutionary generation in Northridge set the stage for the future of American industry? Learn how a small forge along the Mumford River gave rise to a textile giant and a blueprint for American innovation. Tour will begin near the historic forge building, located within the Open Sky complex. June 11: Seeds of Success in Slatersville Location: 101 Green St, North Smithfield, RI Why was this location, along the Branch River, chosen for a mill village? How did financiers, workers, ministers, and farmers make this a thriving industrial community? This walk will take us through the well-preserved core of the country’s first planned mill village. Tour begins at Heritage Hall—parking is available in a small adjacent lot and by the Town Hall. June 18: "Owning Our History" with Peter Laarman Location: One Benevolent Street, Providence, RI Gather at the First Unitarian Church to explore the historic church and neighborhood and learn how slavery built dynastic wealth in Rhode Island. This tour will begin at the First Unitarian Church (corner of Benevolent and Benefit streets). June 25: Stepping Out to Skull Rock Lock Location: 300 Quaker Hwy, Uxbridge, MA Discover the history of Skull Rock Lock and take a walk with a ranger from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Meet in the parking lot of Uxbridge High School in Uxbridge, MA. Meet the rangers at Uxbridge High School. July 9: The Transportation Revolution in the Valley Location: Plummer's Landing Parking Area, Northbridge, MA Explore Plummer’s Landing and learn about the enterprising people of the Blackstone Valley who built the infrastructure for a transportation revolution. Meet at the Plummer’s Landing parking area (bit.ly/plummerslanding). Expect to wal…

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