May 20 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Transportation Talk: Canals, trains, and trolleys in 19th century Worcester County
Boston businessmen were more than a little perturbed in 1828 when the newly built Blackstone Canal gave Worcester merchants direct access to Providence and the sea for transporting freight. At the time, raw materials and finished goods were moved most efficiently via water routes.
But just two decades later, the first train carrying freight and passengers between Providence and Worcester made the Blackstone Canal obsolete, and it was closed. The train had turned a two-day journey into a two-hour trip and didn’t freeze in winter.
Trains were followed by trolleys for local transportation, though trolleys disappeared too with the advent of cars and better roads.
Historian Ken Ethier will talk about early transportation in Worcester County, on Saturday, May 20, at 11 a.m. at the Samuel Slater Experience in Webster.
The event is free; register at Eventbrite.com.
