Manville to Albion - January 19, 2025

It’s been a slow start to the paddling year for me. I got out for a couple of trips in December, but I also spent a lot of time with my mother getting ready for Christmas. Unfortunately, she fell in her house the weekend before Christmas, was admitted to the hospital, and passed away on Christmas night. Not the holiday we were hoping for. 

Since then, I have been busy with the final arrangements, cleaning out the family house and settling the estate. There is a lot to do, and it hasn’t left much time for paddling.

I was a presenter at the Introduction to Canoe Camping session put on by the NH/AMC yesterday. Working on my presentation was a nice distraction from everything else that was going on. The turn-out for the session was great, and it was fun to catch up with so many old friends and meet some new ones. It would be a great thing for RICKA to do and I think we would get a good turn out as well.

Talking about paddling is one thing, but I still wanted to get out to do some paddling, so today seemed like the day. With a snow storm predicted for tonight, it was cloudy and gray, but the temperatures were up in the 40’s. My first thought was to head to River Island Park, but the river was low. Instead, I decided to paddle below the Manville Dam.

I put in at Sycamore Landing, which is the headquarters for the Blackstone River Watershed Association/Friends of the Blackstone. Rather than paddling up to the Manville Dam, I decided to paddle down to the Albion Dam. My very first paddling trip was on this section of the river with my father back in 1989. This was also the first trip that I did after my father passed away in 2020. That day was cold and gray as well. Now, I miss them both…

Mom, Dad and Julie paddling on the Blackstone Canal in
Lonsdale at the first trip that I led for RICKA in 2006

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Albion - February 13, 2022

Below the Albion Dam

I couldn’t paddle yesterday when it was 50-degrees and sunny, but I got out today when it was 30-degrees and snowing.  

I checked the gage, and with the recent rain and snow melt, the Blackstone was running at 4.5 feet, 1800 cfs. I usually go to River Island Park, but at that level the features get washed out and the hike back would be a pain in the snow. Instead, I decided to go to Albion and paddle downstream to Ashton.

Heading downstream

There was plenty of water flowing over the Albion Dam, so I put-in below the dam and played in the waves before heading downstream. I enjoyed the fast moving current for about a quarter mile, but then it occurred to me that it was going to a real chore paddling back upstream, and it was. 

Good thing I turned around when I did. It was still nice to get out and paddle in the snow.  

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Albion to Manville - One Year Later - December 19, 2021

Albion Dam

It will be a year tomorrow since my father’s passing. Coronavirus has upset our lives in so many ways, but none more than in the people it has taken from us. I often heard people say of their loved ones “I think of them every day”, and wondered how that could be true. It is true – I think of him every day.

It was spring 1987 when my father bought his first canoe - a Wenonah Spirit II. It was sometime early that summer when we did our first trip together – Albion to Manville on the Blackstone. This was long before the bike path was built. We put-in on the mill trench across the street from the Albion Mill and paddled upstream to the Manville Dam. I remember wondering about the concrete piers in the river, and my father worrying about scratching his new boat in the shallow, rocky water below the Manville Dam.

Manville Dam

Little did I know on that trip how many times I would end up paddling this section of the Blackstone, or how much I would enjoy boating later in my life. This was just a nice summer trip out on the river with my dad. I paddled this section last year on the day he passed, and it was cold and raw. It was cold and raw again today, but still good to be out on the water. 

Rest in peace Dad - thinking of you always.

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Blackstone Valley Paddle Club – 20th Anniversary – July 31, 2021

Ranger Dan with Suzanne and Lisa

We had a fun night at Sycamore Landing (home of the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club. It was nice to finally meet Ranger Dan who founded the club as a ranger at the Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor – I had heard a lot about him.

The Blackstone Valley Paddle Club was established in the spring of 2000 as a way to get folks out on the waterways of the Blackstone River Valley. The first trip was May 16, 2000 at River Bend Farm. Over the years, the club has continued weekday evening trips (usually Tuesday) throughout the summer getting thousands of folks out on the water. It is amazing how many of the original leaders are still involved today.

The crew

We met at Sycamore Landing and lugged our boats down to the put-in for the paddle down to Albion. I was paddling tandem with Bill. The river was at a nice level with plenty of water flowing over the scratchy sections.

After the paddle we enjoyed a picnic dinner with pie and ice cream provided by the Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor. Julie presented past and current leaders with the 20th anniversary history book.

20th Anniversary Book by Julie and Steve

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I lost my bow paddler today - December 20, 2020

I lost my bow paddler today, or maybe I should say my stern paddler because he was always in the background ready to execute the perfect correction stroke to keep me on track. My father – Gustav W. Eckilson (Ecky to his friends and Welton to his family) passed away on December 20, 2020 after a long illness. He is absolutely responsible for my addiction to paddling, and it is one of the many, many things that I thank him for every day.

 

As a young man my father was an active outdoorsman and mountain climber. In 1962 he reached the peak of Mount Rainier – one of the most challenging mountain summits in North America, and a frequent training ground for Everest climbers. Arthritis and a young family ended his outdoor activities for a while, but they resumed in retirement when he enjoyed hiking, camping and canoeing, mostly with the Narragansett Chapter of the AMC.

 

I did my first canoe trip with my father in 1989 on the Albion to Manville section of Blackstone in the Spirit II, and my first whitewater trip in 1990 below the Pontook Dam on the Androscoggin River in the Mohawk. I still paddle both of those boats regularly today. Unfortunately, my young family limited my ability to paddle with him when he was most active. By the time I caught the paddling bug around 2006, his arthritis had returned and he was out of the boat and off the trail. He would ask about my adventures, but we were never able to go on a trip together.  

 

I went out today to paddle on the Blackstone as a tribute to him. It was cold and gray, and somehow it didn’t fill the hole in my heart in the way that I expected. I’m sure in the days and years ahead I will miss him in many ways that I never expected.  

 

Rest in peace Dad – no one deserves in more than you.

Paddling the Errol Rips on the Agroscocggin River in 1990

A Bike Path Runs Along It - Lonsdale to Manville - June 21, 2020

I did my first bike shuttle yesterday on the bike path from the Lonsdale Drive-in to Manville - 6.5 miles up on the bike, about 7 miles back down in the boat, and 3 portages (Albion, Ashon and Lonsdale). It took my about 4-hours.  Nice way to spend Father's Day morning.

Manville to Lonsdale from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Albion to Manville – June 26, 2018

I arrived late and parked in Manville thinking I would paddle down to meet the rest of the crew. As I carried my boat down the steps, I could see them paddling upstream. It was a perfect night for a paddle, but the river was low – 1 foot, 150 cfs on the Woonsocket gage. A few people were able to paddle up through the narrow shoot but nobody carried up to the dam itself. Nice night with a full moon as we arrived back at the take out.

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Blackstone - River Island Park to Albion - February 17, 2018

Tandem paddling with Bill

I stayed close to home today and paddled with Bill and Earl on the Blackstone from River Island Park to Albion - about 6 miles. The river was at a nice level – 3.5 feet, 1300 cfs.  Bill didn’t wear a wetsuit or drysuit, so I didn’t either, which limited the surfing and other playing around.  With two dams to portage, we were glad we brought the portage cart.

Portaging the Albion Dam

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Woonsocket Gage

Albion to Ashton - November 26, 2016

I usually get out to paddle on Black Friday, but the weather was bad and nothing was running.  Instead, I put up Christmas decorations.  On Saturday, I decided to stay local, so I put-in below the Albion Dam and paddled down to the Blackstone Canal in Ashton. I portaged the Ashton Dam on the left to catch the wave below the dam before portaging over to the canal.  The Blackstone River Watershed Council cleared out the canal a couple of weeks ago, and it looks great.

Reflections on the Blackstone Canal

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Ashton to Manville Loop - September 18, 2016

I haven't done one of these in a while, but here's a video of yesterday's trip on the Blackstone from Ashton up to Manville and back. Two portages on the way up, two portages on the way back down, and I carried my boat up to the Manville Dam for the run back down. The water was low below the Ashton and Albion Dams, but otherwise it wasn't bad. I didn't paddle much of the canal, but it didn't look bad either.

Ashton to Manville from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Blackstone - River Island Park to the Pratt Dam - July 12, 2015

Bernon Mill in Woonsocket

After spending some time working in the yard yesterday, I decided to run something local today.  Michelle said that she would pick me up at the end, so I decided to run the Blackstone from River Island Park in Woonsocket to the Pratt Dam in Lonsdale.  The river was at a good level (2 feet,500 cfs) – just fluid enough to keep from bouncing off rocks.

I put in at River Island Park and headed downstream past the old Bernon Mills, which were built in 1828 and 1831.  I enjoyed the riffles and stopped to play in the waves under the Bernon, Court Street and P&W Railroad bridges.  After that it is about 4 miles of flatwater down to Manville.

Manvill Dam

Manville is one of the oldest industrial sites on the Blackstone River.  Industrial activity started there in the late 17th century when the Wilkinson family established a foundry on the site – Unity Furnace.  In 1811, the Unity Manufacturing Company was established to manufacture cotton cloth. By the 1920s, the Manville Mill was the largest textile mill in the United States with over 5,000 employees.  It was significantly damaged in 1955 during the floods resulting from Hurricane Carol, and completely destroyed in a fire a few weeks later.

I portaged around the Manville Dam on the bike path to the right.  The access to the river below the dam is steep and covered in poison ivy.  At 500 cfs the water is flowing pretty good below the dam, so I snapped a couple of pictures and continued downstream to Albion.

Albion Dam

Although you can’t see it from the river, the Albion Mill Village is one of the best preserved of the Blackstone River’s original mill villages.  The first mill was built here in the 1820s, and was expanded several times after.  The Valley Falls Company constructed the main section of the current mill in 1908.  After a couple of miles I portaged around the Albion Dam. On the bike path to the right and headed downstream to Ashton. 

The section of the Blackstone between Albion and Aston is one that I don’t paddle very often - probably because it is such a short trip. The most prominent features on this section of the river are the two huge bridges that carry traffic from Route 295 over the river. On the Cumberland side, the pike bath takes landlubbers on a pleasant trip along the river. On the Lincoln side, the banks are steep with huge rock outcroppings that plunge down into the river

Ashton Viaduct

The portage around the Ashton Dam is a two-step process.  First, portage from the river into the Blackstone Canal.  Then, portage for the Blackstone Canal back into the river.  I paddled out into the deeper water below the main spillway and headed downstream under the Ashton Viaduct and into the old Ashton Mill Village. 

The large Ashton Mill was built by the Lonsdale Company in 1847.  They also built the Berkley Mill about a mile downstream, and owned mills on the Lincoln and Cumberland side of the river in Lonsdale. 

I took out at the Pratt Dam and carried my canoe down the bike path to the parking lot in Lonsdale where I found Michelle waiting.  It’s about a 9 mile trip, and it took me 3 ½ hours.

Pratt Dam

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Woonsocket Gage

Albion to Manville again – June 24, 2014

We had 13 boats – 11 kayaks and 2 canoes (thanks Earl) for our Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip on the Blackstone from Albion to Manville.  It was an uneventful trip except for one swim at the first drop below the Manville Dam. It is unusual for me, but I never even took out my camera.  Thanks to Earl for taking this picture.

Albion to Manville - June 21, 2014

 Up the Blackstone Canal

It’s the first day of summer, so I had to get out to paddle.  Unfortunately, I had stuff to do at home, so I couldn’t go far.  Frank and I ended up scouting the trip we will do Tuesday night with the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club – the Blackstone River from Albion to Manville. 

It was a beautiful morning when I arrived at the bike path in Albion.  Frank was already there, so we got our gear together and headed up to the put-in above the Albion Dam. 

Below the Manville Dam

Although you can’t see it from the put-in, the Albion Mill Village is one of the best preserved of the Blackstone River’s original mill villages.  The first mill was built here in the 1820s, and was expanded several times after.  The Valley Falls Company constructed the main section of the current mill in 1908. 

We launched from the put-in above the Albion Dam, and paddled up a through a washed out section of the 1828 Blackstone Canal before entering the Blackstone River.  From Albion, it’s a short paddle upstream to the old Manville Mill Village. 

Running the last drop

Manville is one of the oldest industrial sites on the Blackstone River.  Industrial activity started there in the late 17^th century when the Wilkinson family established a foundry on the site – Unity Furnace.  In 1811, the Unity Manufacturing Company was established to manufacture cotton cloth. By the 1920s, the Manville Mill was the largest textile mill in the United States with over 5,000 employees.  It was significantly damaged in 1955 during the floods resulting from Hurricane Carol, and completely destroyed in a fire a few weeks later. 

The water was shallow as we approached the Manville Dam (1 foot, 200 cfs on the Woonsocket gage), but I was able to paddle up the first drop, through the piers, and up to the Manville Hill Road Bridge.  From there, I carried up to the dam to run the easy rapids below the dam.  It should be a nice run with the paddle club on Tuesday.

Albion Mill - c. 1874 and 1909

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Exploring the old Manville Mill

Albion to Manville - June 22, 2013

Today I got a little bit of an idea how the upstream sections of the Paddle Across Rhode Island might have been when I paddled up the Blackstone from Albion to Manville. It's just under 2 miles each way, but it took 1 1/2 hours on the way up, and less than a 1/2 hour on the way back down. Lots of water, but nothing compared to what we had that week. It would have been a long portage around the Pawtuxet River.

Manville Dam

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My Video - Below the Manville Dam at 2,000 cfs

Albion to Manville…again – July 3, 2012

I was back in Albion on Tuesday night for the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club trip to Manville. It was a nice summer night – sunny and warm.  We had a good turnout with around 30 boats. It’s a leisurely flatwater paddle up to Manville. About half the boats portaged the first rocky ledge and made their way up to the bridge. Five of us the carried up to the dam to run the quickwater back down.

 

Albion to Manville - June 30, 2012

I'll be leading the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club this week, so I went down to scout the trip from Albion to Manville.

Blackstone River - Albion to Manville - April 15, 2012

I took a couple of hours this afternoon to run the Blackstone from Albion to Manville - good time.

Albion to Ashton - July 9, 2011

I spent a couple of hours yesterday paddling a short, but pretty section of the Blackstone - Albion to Ashton.  This section of the river follows the bike path, but has very little development otherwise.  I was glad to see that a new put-in with nice granite steps has been installed below the Albion Dam.  This will make portages much easier. 

Dams on the Lower Blackstone River

I was sorting through some old pictures yesterday, and was able to put together pictures of all the dams on the lower Blackstone River from Blackstone, MA down to Pawtucket, RI.

Rolling Dam - Blackstone Gorge

Saranac Dam - Waterford/Blackstone

Woonsocket Falls Dam
(seen through the South Main Street Bridge)

Manville Dam

Albion Dam

Ashton Dam

Pratt Dam - Lonsdale

Valley Falls Dam



Elizabeth Webbing Mills Dam - Central Falls



Slater Mill Dam - Pawtucket

Pawtucket Falls Dam
(Photo  by Cheryl Thompson Cameron)

All can be portaged, although some are much more difficult than others.  The dams along the Blackstone River Bikeway from Woonsocket to Valley Falls (Manville, Albion, Ashton and Lonsdale) can be portaged relatively easily.

The next dam upstream in MA is Rice City in Uxbridge.  I would have had a picture of that dam if I hadn't lost my camera on Saturday.  Above Plummers Landing is the dam at Riverdale, followed by the Depot Street Dam in Grafton. I'm not familiar with the dams further upstream in MA, but I want to get up there sometime. The section from Riverlin Street in Millbury down to Grafton is on my list of places to paddle.

An early morning paddle on the Blackstone - May 22nd

It was another busy weekend, and I knew if I was going to squeeze in any paddling, it would have to be early Saturday morning. So I skipped my usual gym session and went paddling instead. The boat was on the car by 6:00 AM, and I was on the water by 6:30.

I paddled the Blackstone Canal and River from Lonsdale up to Manville and back. The trip is around 10 miles with two dams to portage (twice).  It turned out to be a pleasant 3 hour paddle. The level was actually prety good with the Woonsocket gauge at 2 feet, 600 cfs.

There’s a good size tree down in the Canal just before the Martin Street Bridge. It requires getting out of the boat, but is easy to get around otherwise. The take out at the Lonsdale Dam is a little eroded from last month's floods, but still very serviceable.

Here’s a short video of the trip.


An Early Morning Paddle on the Blackstone from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
River Guide from the Blackstone River National Heritage Corridor