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Feeling adventurous as the weather turns warmer? Then perhaps a trip to the town of Burrillville, Rhode Island is the perfect way to spend a spring day.
That is where you’ll find an abandoned textile mill offering hikers a glimpse into New England’s Industrial Revolution days along with stunning views of the man-made dam that sent water cascading through the building.
Bring your walking shoes and your camera when you head to the ruins of Oakland Mill.
Sitting just where the Branch River meets Mill Pond, John L. Ross built a dam across the river in 1849, followed by his Oakland Mill in 1850. The property also featured housing for the mill workers and over the years various owners added a company store, barbershop and even a recreation hall for billiards, reading and stage shows.
It was a thriving community in the mid-1800s, now it’s an amazing abandoned site worth exploring.
READ MORE: Abandoned Plane From 1971 Crash Found in Rhode Island
Though the housing and other buildings are long gone, the stone skeleton of this mighty mill remains.
Here’s a few pics of when I visited the Oakland Mill ruins in Burriville. It’s like exploring a castle in RI
byu/ToadScoper inRhodeIsland
Getting there isn’t all that tricky either.
Just off of Mill Street in the Oakland section of Burrillville there are two trails out to the former mill site. There’s also a small parking lot so you don’t have to leave your vehicle by the road.
The trails are pretty well maintained and the property has lots to explore, but visitors definitely need to do so with caution.
READ MORE: Explore Buzzard’s Bay on this Beautiful Westport Hiking Trail
Along with the mill ruins is a building that once housed offices. This area is a little more dangerous, with sections of the office building roof having caved in and floors have collapsed as well.
There was at one time a smoke stack still standing on the site, but it recently collapsed as well.
Still the site if like a step back in time and well worth the short hike to some incredible photos.
Take a walk through the quiet woods of Little Compton, Rhode Island and hit the reset button on life. Simmons Mill Pond Management Area can be accessed via Colebrook and John Dyer roads.
Gallery Credit: Gazelle
Mills across the SouthCoast have been converted into stores, apartments and even restaurants. But one former mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island is now home to a 10,000 square foot tropical plant paradise.
Need a getaway from the hustle and bustle of everyday life? The Pondhouse Airbnb in Ashfield, Massachusetts provides a WiFi-free, cell service-free space that is not only aesthetically pleasing and relaxing, but is also a great way to reconnect with yourself and with nature. Plus, if you’re searching for the perfect spot to check out New England’s stunning fall foliage without getting out of bed, search no longer.
Gallery Credit: Kari Jakobsen
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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