Local Lens

The Revolutionary River

Premiered Sunday, June 28 at 6 p.m. on CPTV

The Schuylkill River Heritage Area, also known as “The Revolutionary River,” is the birthplace of many of the movements that shaped our nation, and continues to redefine our country today. Along the banks of this Pennsylvania river and its tributaries, the American, Industrial and Environmental Revolutions were born.

This new one-hour documentary that travels the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and examines its larger role in American history - and also takes a broader look at the relatively new phenomenon of National Heritage areas, first established by Congress in 1996.

The Revolutionary River is written, produced and directed by Noank, Connecticut-based filmmaker Bailey Pryor.

Beginning with the American Revolution, the Schuylkill River Heritage Area was the site of many key events, including the Continental Congress and Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge. The river’s valley also played an important role in the country’s Industrial Revolution. Dozens of factories, forges, mills and mines dotted the landscape and gave rise to technological innovations that would change the course of human history.

America’s Environmental Revolution, where our nation’s conservation ethics and environmental responsibility evolved, was born along the Schuylkill. It was here that naturalists like John Audubon and John Bartram began to document their surroundings in an attempt to understand our world. In the 19th-century, the City of Philadelphia took a pioneering step by purchasing land along the Schuylkill River with the sole intention of protecting the river as a source of drinking water. Nearly a century later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States government embarked on the nation’s first and largest environmental cleanup project on the Schuylkill River.

CPTV’s Local Lens series offers Connecticut filmmakers a home to tell their unique stories and provide a forum for upcoming and established talent in production and filmmaking. This continuing series also often focuses on the lesser-known yet unique stories that make Connecticut an interesting place to call home.

The Local Lens series is made possible with the support of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. Funding for this episode, The Revolutionary River, is made possible with support by the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.