did the tide's waters ever make it to Pawtucket? I thought the whole idea of the Blackstone/Seekonk river was that it had such a powerful amount of rise compared to its run.
That aside, I'd say that Pawtucket is more than entitled to call is stretch of river the Pawtucket river, and it is probably in RI's interest to renameit within the boundaries of the state.
The river is tidal all the way up to the natural Pawtucket Falls below the Main Street Bridge that is located between the Slater Mill and former Apex store with pyramid shaped roof. The Falls were the northern bounds of the Providence Colony per Roger Williams' deed with the local Native Americans. The indigenous people long used the falls and its rocks as a foot crossing point.
The river is navigable and ships regularly traveled to and from it via Narragansett Bay up until the mid 1900's. The Providence bridges on the Seekonk River were all of the draw or swing type so that ship traffic could pass. Both banks of the river below the falls in Pawtucket were once heavily industrialized and lined with many energy (mostly coal) and lumber businesses supplied by boat. Pawtucket was a large manufacturing hub back then. Today the river's very limited boat traffic is nearly all small personal vessels used for recreation purposes.
While it is not official, locals in Pawtucket have long called the small stretch below the Falls to the Providence and East Providence borders the Pawtucket River.
Two old photos of the river in Pawtucket dated from the late 1800's and early 1900's with the still used today 1876 stone arch Division Street Bridge (now just south of Route 95) in the background:
The Washington Bridge (built in 1930) that once carried Route 195 traffic over the Seekonk River between Providence and East Providence:
The Crook Point Bascule Railroad Draw Bridge built in 1908:
The excursion steamer Mackinac at the Pawtucket State Pier (on the river bank opposite the Tidewater Landing site at what is today Festival Pier Park) in the 1920's. This 162 foot long ship left this pier in 1925 with 677 passengers for a day trip to Newport. Many were part of a company outing for the J&P Coats Company, a thread manufacturer that was Pawtucket's largest employer with at one time close to 5,000 workers. Its boiler blew up shortly after leaving Newport on its return. 55 passengers were killed and another 150 injured. There is a memorial plaque at this place in Pawtucket today marking this disaster.
The former Newport-Jamestown Ferry at the State Pier in Pawtucket in the 1970's. The ship came to Pawtucket after the opening of the Newport Bridge in 1969 and was used for several years as a floating teen center. It is now a floating restaurant in Portland, ME.
