History of Fall River, Massachusetts

For much of its history, the city of Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

has been defined by the rise and fall of its cotton textile industry. From its beginnings as a rural outpost of the Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

, the city grew to become the largest textile producing center in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

during the 19th century, with over one hundred mills in operation by 1920. Even with the demise of local textile productions during the 20th century, there remains a lasting legacy of its impact on the city.

Early history

At the time of the establishment of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, the area that would one day become the city of Fall River was inhabited by the Pokanoket

Pokanoket

The Pokanoket tribe is the headship tribe of the many tribes that make up the Wampanoag Nation, which was at times referred to as the Pokanoket Nation or the Pokanoket Confederacy or known as the Pokanoket Country...

Wampanoag tribe, headquartered at Mount Hope

Mount Hope (Rhode Island)

Mount Hope is a small hill in Bristol, Rhode Island overlooking the part of Narragansett Bay known as Mount Hope Bay. The elevation of the summit is 209 feet, and drops sharply to the bay on its eastern side. Mount Hope was the site of a Wampanoag village...

in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

. The "falling" river that the name Fall River refers to is the Quequechan River

Quequechan River

The Quequechan River , is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts that flows in a northwesterly direction from the South Watuppa Pond to the Taunton River. The word Quequechan means "falling water" in Wampanoag, hence the city's name....

. Quequechan is a Wampanoag word believed to mean "Falling River" or "Leaping/Falling Waters."

In 1653, Freetown, Massachusetts

Freetown, Massachusetts

Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...

was settled at Assonet Bay

Assonet Bay

Assonet Bay is a small inland bay in Assonet, a village within the town of Freetown, Massachusetts. The Assonet River connects the waters of the bay with the Taunton River.-References:...

by members of the Plymouth Colony, as part of Freeman's Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683 Freetown was incorporated as a town within the colony. The southern part of what is now Fall River was incorporated as the town of Tiverton, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

in 1694, a few years after the merger with the Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

and Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island, along with Little Compton and what is now Bristol County, Rhode Island

Bristol County, Rhode Island

The border with Bristol County, Massachusetts is rather unusual since the counties both share the same name. The only other instances in which two neighboring counties with the same name share a state border are Sabine County, Texas and Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Union Parish, Louisiana and Union...

. The state boundary was placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street.

In 1703, Benjamin Church, a prominent veteran of King Philip's War

King Philip's War

King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...

, established a sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

, a gristmill

Gristmill

The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, including the water rights, to Richard Borden of Tiverton and his brother Joseph. (This transaction would prove to be extremely valuable 100 years later, helping to establish the Borden family as the leaders in the development of Fall River's textile industry.)

Native settlement during this time was confined to a reservation near what is now Notre Dame Cemetery. Later the reservation was shifted to the eastern shore of Watauppa Pond. The reservation fell apart in the early 20th century.

By the mid-18th century, Thomas Borden (son of Richard) operated a sawmill and a gristmill on the south bank of the Quequechan River, while Joseph Borden ran a fulling mill further upstream. Steven Borden operated a gristmill and sawmill on the north bank of the river. During this time, settlement also occurred in the northern part of modern-day Fall River, along what is now North Main Street. The oldest remaining house in Fall River, located on French Street, was built in 1750.

On May 25, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, the Battle of Freetown

Battle of Freetown

The Mount Hope Bay raids were a series of military raids conducted by British troops during the American Revolutionary War against communities on the shores of Mount Hope Bay on May 25 and 30, 1778...

was fought when about 150 English soldiers, under the command of Major Ayers, sailed up Mount Hope Bay

Mount Hope Bay

Mount Hope Bay is a tidal estuary located at the mouth of the Taunton River on the Massachusetts and Rhode Island border. It is an arm of Narragansett Bay. The bay is named after Mount Hope, a small hill located on its western shore in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island. It flows into the East...

in the night and landed near the mouth of the Quequechan River

Quequechan River

. Spotted by a sentinel, the ship was fired upon by several local minutemen

Minutemen

Minutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to war threats, hence the name.The minutemen were among the first...

, their gunfire returned by cannon fire. Several British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

soldiers disembarked to lay siege on the village, burning the house, gristmill and sawmill of Thomas Borden, and taking his aged father prisoner, burning his house as well. The prisoner was eventually released after several days, and the British retreated from Freetown altogether. The Freetown minutemen were aided by a colonist militia from the Tiverton outpost led by Colonel Joseph Durfee, a war veteran recently returned from a battle at White Plains

White Plains, New York

White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...

. The British suffered two casualties as a result of the light fighting. The colonists suffered no losses.

Later in 1788 during the Revolutionary War, the area was visited by the Marquis de Lafayette, the famed French war hero who was a guest of Joseph Durfee's father Thomas Durfee. The 1750s-vintage house is now located at 94 Cherry Street in Fall River, and is open to the public for tours. Today, Lafayette Park in the city's East End is named for the French war hero.

Town of Fall River established

On February 26, 1803 Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River, Massachusetts

was incorporated as a town. A year later, on June 1, 1804, Fall River changed its name to "Troy". The name "Troy" was used for 30 years and was officially changed back to Fall River on February 12, 1834.

The early town consisted of about two dozen families, including Richard Borden and his father Thomas. (His great-grandfather Thomas had been kidnapped by the British in 1778.) The other notable family names included Durfee, Buffington, Davol and Cook.

The First Congregational Church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

in Fall River was organized in 1816. The church began with five members. Their first meeting house was dedicated in 1823. Some years later, they sold it to the Unitarian Society. That society later sold it to the city, which made a schoolhouse of it. It was burned in the great fire of July 1843.

Other early churches established in Fall River include the First Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

Church (1825), Methodist Church (1826), Unitarian

Unitarianism

Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....

Society (1832), and the Episcopal

Episcopal Church (United States)

The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...

Church of the Ascension (1836). Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...

s had been established in a small house by 1836, with their first church, St. John the Baptist, dedicated in 1840.

The two Fall Rivers

During this time, the southern part of what is now Fall River (south of Columbia Street) would remain part of Tiverton, Rhode Island. In 1856, the town of Tiverton voted to split off its industrial northern section as Fall River, Rhode Island. In 1861, after decades of dispute, the United States Supreme Court moved the boundary to what is now State Avenue, thereby creating a City of Fall River entirely within Massachusetts. (Also as part of this decision, Pawtucket, Massachusetts would become part of Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...

The great fire of 1843

By 1843, the town of Fall River was a bustling center of about 8,000 people, along with the adjacent population in what was then still Tiverton, Rhode Island. On Sunday, July 2, 1843, with the temperatures in the 90s, a fire alarm rang out around 4 p.m. Water in the Quequechan River

Quequechan River

had been stopped so that some work could be done. The fire had begun when two boys were playing with a small cannon, igniting a pile of wood shavings near the corner of Main and Borden Street. Fed by high, dry winds, the entire space of buildings between Main, Franklin, Rock and Borden streets soon became engulfed in fire, beyond the control of firefighters. Much more destruction may have occurred if it had not been for a change in wind direction which blew the flames back toward the charred areas. The conflagration destroyed a total of 291 buildings over about 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) at the heart of the town.

About 200 families were left homeless by the blaze. The city lost vital shops, the custom house, post office, hotels, churches, and banks. An appeal for relief was made on July 4, 1843 by local officials. A total of over $50,000 was donated by people in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

, Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

and other local towns.

Early industrial development (1811-1865)

The early development of the textile industry

Textile industry

The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....

in Fall River grew out of the developments made in nearby Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, beginning with Samuel Slater

Samuel Slater

Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...

at Pawtucket

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...

in 1793.

In 1811, Col. Joseph Durfee, the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

veteran and hero of the Battle of Freetown

Battle of Freetown

in 1778, established the Globe Manufactory (a spinning

Spinning (textiles)

Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...

mill) at the outlet of Cook Pond, near what is now Globe Corners in the city's South End. This was the first textile mill in the city of Fall River (although it was still in Rhode Island at the time). It was never very successful. The first mill burned a few years later and was rebuilt and reorganized by Oliver Chace

Oliver Chace

Oliver Chace was the founder of several New England textile manufacturing companies in the early 19th century, including the Valley Falls Company, the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, currently one of the largest companies in the world.-Early life:Chace was born on August 24, 1769 in...

in 1813. It later operated as a print works

Printing press

A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...

from 1829–1839, being known as the Riverton Print Works from 1835–1839; later owned by Globe Yarn Co.

Globe Yarn Mills

Globe Yarn Mills are two historic textile mills located at 460 Globe Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.The company was incorporated in 1881 for the manufacture of cotton yarns. Mill No. 1 was constructed nearby at Globe Mills Avenue in 1881. William J. Jennings was the first president...

; later by Laurel Lake Mills.

The real development of Fall River's industry, however, would occur along the falling river from which it was named, about a mile north of Durfee's first mill. The Quequechan River's eight falls combined to make Fall River the best tidewater privilege in southern New England. It was perfect for industrialization - big enough for profit and expansion, yet small enough to be developed by local capital without interference from Boston.

The Fall River Manufactory was established by David Anthony and others in 1813. That same year, Oliver Chace

Oliver Chace

and others founded the Troy Cotton & Woolen Manufactory in 1813, at the top end of the falls. Originally from Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts.It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, 47 miles south of Boston; and 12 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island....

, Chace had worked as a carpenter for Samuel Slater

Samuel Slater

in his early years.

In 1817, the Fall River Manufactory would install the first power looms in the city.

The Pocasset Manufacturing Company

Pocasset Manufacturing Company

Pocasset Manufacturing Company was a cotton textile mill located in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was located just west of Main Street across the second falls of the Quequechan River. It was organized on August 15, 1821, with $100,000 in capital. The mill began operation in 1822, with Samuel Rodman...

was established in 1821, just downstream from the Troy Mill, across the street from where the Herald News is today. Oliver Chace

Oliver Chace

served as its first agent.

Fall River Iron Works

In 1821, Col. Richard Borden established the Fall River Iron Works along with Maj. Bradford Durfee at the lower part of the Quequechan River

Quequechan River

. Bradford Durfee was a shipwright, and Richard Borden was the owner of a grist mill. After an uncertain start, in which some early investors pulled out, the Fall River Iron Works was incorporated in 1825, with $200,000 in capital. The iron works began producing nails, bar stock, and other items such as bands for casks in the nearby New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

industry. They soon gained a reputation for producing nails of high quality, and business flourished. By 1845, the company was valued at $960,000. In 1827, Col. Borden began regular steamship service to Providence.

The iron works would continue play an important role in the early development of the textile industry in Fall River. Richard Borden later constructed the Metacomet Mill in 1847, which today is the oldest remaining textile (cloth-producing) mill in the city, located on Anawan Street.

Also in 1847, the Fall River Gas Company was established by the iron works. Gas was produced by heating coal and capturing the gas in a special process.

Cloth printing

In 1824, Andrew Robeson arrived from Scotland and established the first print works in the city, a segment of the industry that Fall River would in later years come to dominate.

By 1833 Fall River had 13 cotton mills, employing 1,200 people, with 31,000 total spindles (a common measure of total spinning capacity) and 1,050 looms.

The American Print Works was established in 1835 by Holder Borden, uncle of Colonel Richard. With the leadership of the Borden family, the American Print Works (later known as the American Printing Company) would become the largest and most important textile company in the city, employing thousands at its peak in the early 20th century.

Other factories

Oliver Chace

established a thread mill on Bay Street in 1838. It was later used as an office as part of the Connanicut Mills. Today, it is the oldest remaining textile factory in the city, although it never produced cloth.

Nearby, a twine

Twine

Twine is a light string or strong thread composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord....

mill was established by Augustus Chace and William Trafford in 1845, on the stream from Cook Pond. It would later be known as the Wyoming Thread Mill

Wyoming Mills

Wyoming Mills is an historic textile mill site located at 110 Chace Avenue in Fall River, Massachusetts. It is also known as the former Marshall Hat Factory site.The Wyoming Mills company was established in 1845 by Augustus Chace and William B...

. In the later 19th century it became part of the Marshall Hat Company and was greatly added onto with a large brick mill.

By 1845, the Quequechan's available power had been all but maximized. The Massasoit Mill, located near what is now Heritage State Park, was established in 1846 as the first mill in the city to be powered by steam engine. However, it would be another decade or so when the improvements in the steam engine by George Corliss would enable the construction of the first large steam-powered mill in the city, the Union Mills in 1859 on Pleasant Street. It was the first mill to be built "above the dam" along the Quequechan River.

The Wamsutta Steam Woolen Mill was built in 1846, above the dam near Pleasant Street.

The loom

Loom

A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...

-making firm of Kilburn, Lincoln & Co. traces its roots to an 1847 merger of E.C. Kilburn, which made looms, and J.T. Lincoln, which built shafting components. Kilburn, Lincoln & Co. looms would become well-known in the textile industry during the late 19th century.

The American Linen Company was founded in 1852 on Ferry Street for the manufacture of fine linen fabrics. However, in 1858, with demand for linens low, it was converted for the manufacture of cotton print cloth, although the name "American Linen Company" remained. The production of linen was gradually phased out.

Infrastructure

Fall River's port would play a vital role in the city's fortunes for much of its history. It was designated a port of entry

Port of entry

In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...

by the federal government as early as 1837, when that designation was switched from nearby Dighton

Dighton, Massachusetts

Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,175 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part of the state.- History :...

. Coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

began to be imported from Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

as early as 1833, along with iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

from Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Colonel Richard Borden also established the first railroad line to serve Fall River, the Fall River Branch Railroad

Fall River Branch Railroad

The Fall River Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1844 providing a rail link from the emerging textile town of Fall River to the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad at Myricks Junction. It began operating in 1845 with 12 miles of track...

, which was incorporated in 1844 and opened about 1845. Two years later, regular steamship service to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

began. Known as the Fall River Line

Fall River Line

The Fall River Line was a combination steamboat and railroad connection between New York City and Boston that operated between 1847 and 1937. It consisted of a railroad journey between Boston and Fall River, Massachusetts, where passengers would then board steamboats for the journey through...

, it was America's most luxurious steamship line, connecting rail travelers from Boston

Boston

to Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. It would operate until 1937.

The Old Colony Railroad

Old Colony Railroad

The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

and Fall River Railroad merged in 1854, forming the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad. That same year, Fall River was officially incorporated as a city and had a population of about 12,000. James Buffington served as its first mayor.

For three generations, the Borden family dynasty would have control or business interests in the city's banks, the gas company, steamboats, railroads and mines.

Cotton boomtown (1865-1923)

Fall River

Fall River, Massachusetts

profited well from the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

and was in a fine position to take advantage of the prosperity that followed. By 1868, it had surpassed Lowell

Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

as the leading textile city in America with over 500,000 total spindles. It would maintain this distinction until the mid-1920s, when it was overtaken by nearby New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

.

Destroyed by fire in 1867, the American Print Works was soon rebuilt in 1868. Several other new mills were established during the late 1860s, including the Davol, Mechanics and Durfee Mills.

Then, during 1871 and 1872, a most dramatic expansion occurred, when 15 new corporations were founded, building 22 new mills throughout the city, while some of the older mills expanded. The city's population increased by an astounding 20,000 people during these two years, while overall mill capacity double to more than 1,000,000 spindles. (One can only imagine the level of excitement and chaos that would have existed in the city at that time).

On September 19, 1874 the deadliest fire in Fall River's history occurred at the Granite Mill. When the fire occurred, it quickly cut off access to the stair tower and the single exit. The fire department's ladders were not high enough to reach the victims. Workers on the sixth floor began jumping from windows in a desperate effort to escape the flames. Thirty were killed, and many more were injured for life. The mill was gutted and would later be rebuilt. As a result of the tragedy, all mills were required to have at least two exits. Metal fire escapes would also be required.

By 1876 the city had 1/6 of all New England cotton capacity, and one half of all print cloth production. "King Cotton" had definitely arrived. The "Spindle City", as it became known, was second in the world to only Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

To house the thousands of new workers, mostly Irish

Irish diaspora

thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...

and French Canadian

French Canadian

French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

immigrants during these years, over twelve thousand units of company housing were constructed. Unlike the well-spaced boardinghouses of early Lowell

Lowell, Massachusetts

and Lawrence

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

or the cottages of Rhode Island, worker housing in Fall River consisted of thousands of wood-framed multi-family tenement

Tenement

A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...

s, usually three-story "triple-deckers" with up to six apartments. Many more privately owned tenements supplemented the company housing.

During the 19th century, the city of Fall River became famous for the granite rock on which much of the city is built upon. Several granite quarries operated during this time, the largest of which was the Beattie Granite Quarry, located near what is now Quarry Street, near the corner of Locust. Many of the mills in the city were built from this native stone, and it was highly regarded as a building material for many public buildings and private homes alike. The Chateau-sur-Mer

Chateau-sur-Mer

Chateau-sur-Mer is the first of the grand Bellevue Avenue mansions of the Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. It is now open to the public as a museum...

mansion in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, is perhaps the best example of Fall River Granite

Fall River granite

Fall River Granite is a Precambrian bedrock underlying the City of Fall River, Massachusetts and surrounding areas along the eastern shores of Narragansett Bay. It was formed 600 million years ago, as part of the Avalon terrane....

being used for private home construction.

(It is interesting to note that while most of the mills "above the hill" were constructed from native Fall River granite, nearly all of their counterparts along the Taunton River

Taunton River

The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...

and Mount Hope Bay

Mount Hope Bay

were made of red brick. This was due to the high costs associated with transporting the rock through the city and down the hill, where no rail lines existed because of the steep grades.)

In 1911, the city hosted the "Cotton Centennial", a large celebration of the city's textile industry, which was attended by President William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

Decline of the textile industry

The cotton mills of Fall River had built their business largely on only one product: print cloth. About 1910, the city's largest employer, the American Printing Company

American Printing Company (Fall River Iron Works)

The American Printing Company, located in Fall River, Massachusetts grew to become the largest producer of printed cotton cloth in the United States by the early 20th Century. The company grew as an offshoot of the Fall River Iron Works, established in 1821 by Colonel Richard Borden and Major...

(APC), employed 6,000 people and was the largest company printer of cloth in the world. Dozens of other city mills solely produced print cloth to be printed at the APC. The city's industry truly had all its eggs in one very large basket.

World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

had provided a much needed demand for the textiles, and many of the mills of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

benefited during this time. The post-war economy quickly slowed, however, and production quickly outpaced demand. The northern mills faced serious competition from their southern

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

counterparts due to factors such as lower labor and transportation costs, as well as the South's large investment in new machinery and other equipment. In 1923, Fall River faced the first wave of mill closures. In 1924, the American Printing Company opened a new plant in Kingsport, Tennessee

Kingsport, Tennessee

Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...

, moving much of its operation these, and slashing many Fall River jobs in the process. Some mills merged and were able to limp along until the late 1920s. By the 1930s and the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, many more mills were out of business, and the city was bankrupt. A few somehow managed to survive through World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and into the 1950s.

The worst fire

Great Fall River Fire of 1928

The Great Fall River Fire of 1928 occurred on February 2–3, 1928 and destroyed a vast portion of downtown Fall River, Massachusetts. Although the city has had many other large fires, both before and after, the 1928 conflagration is generally considered the worst in the city's history, since it...

in Fall River's history occurred on the evening of February 2, 1928, beginning when works were dismantling the recently vacated Pocasset Mill

Pocasset Manufacturing Company

. During the night the fire spread quickly and would wipe out a large portion of downtown. City Hall was spared, but was badly damaged. Today, many of the structures near the corner of North Main and Bedford Street date from the early 1930s, as they were rebuilt soon after the fire.

The once mighty American Printing Company finally closed for good in 1934. In 1937, their huge plant waterfront on Water Street was acquired by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...

and soon employed 2,600 people. In 1941, just five weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

, a huge fire broke out in the old 1860s main building of the print works. The fire was a major setback to the U.S. war effort, as $15 million in raw rubber (30,000 lbs.) was lost in the inferno.

By 1940, there were just 17 companies still in operation, compared to 49 in 1917.

With the demise of the textile industry, many of the city's mills would be occupied by various smaller companies, including the garment industry, traditionally based in the New York City

New York City

area, but attracted to New England by the lure of cheap factory space and an eager workforce in need of jobs. By 1940, nearly one-fifth of the city's workforce was employed in the garment industry. This industry would survive in the city well into the 1990s, but has also largely become a victim of globalization

Globalization

Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...

and foreign competition. History of Fall River's Garment Industry

Modern era

In the 1960s the city's landscape was drastically transformed with the construction of the Braga Bridge and Interstate 195

Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts...

, which cut directly through the heart of the city. In the wake of the highway building boom, the city lost forever some great pieces of its history. The Quequechan River

Quequechan River

was filled in and re-routed for much of its length. The historic falls, which had given the city its name, were diverted into underground culverts. A series of elevated steel viaducts were also constructed to access the new Braga Bridge. Many historic buildings were demolished, including the Old City Hall, the 150-year-old Troy Mills, the Second Granite Block (built after the 1928 fire), as well as several other 19th century brick-and-mortar buildings near Old City Hall.

Constructed directly over Interstate 195, where its predecessor was, the new city hall (officially known as "Fall River Government Center

Fall River Government Center

Fall River Government Center is the location of the municipal government offices in the city of Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. Located at One Government Center, and constructed directly over Interstate 195, it was the first public building built over a Federal interstate highway...

") was finally opened in 1976, after years of construction delays and quality control problems. Built in the Brutalist style so popular in the 1960s and 1970s, the new city hall drew complaints from city workers and residents almost immediately.

Also during the 1970s, several modern apartment high-rise towers were built throughout the city, many under the auspices of the Fall River Housing Authority. There were two built near Milliken Boulevard, two on Pleasant Street in Flint Village, another on South Main Street and one in the north end off Robeson Street. Today, these high-rises are known by a variety of names, and most serve as housing for the elderly.

In 1978, the city opened the new B.M.C. Durfee High School

B.M.C. Durfee High School

B.M.C. Durfee High School is an historic former high school building at 289 Rock Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.The school was built in 1886 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981...

in the north end, replacing the historic Rock Street masterpiece that had become overcrowded and outdated for use as a high school. The "new" Durfee is currently one of the largest high schools in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

Recent history

In the 1980s the city of Fall River suffered three more huge, disastrous fires. Although nobody was killed in any of these events, the city lost three historically important structures.

On November 5, 1981, the 100-year old Richard Borden Mill on Rodman Street caught fire sometime in the afternoon and burned for many hours through the night. During the massive fire, the Fall River Fire Department poured many thousands of gallons of water on a Shell Gasoline station just next door to the mill at the corner of Plymouth Avenue, preventing a possible explosion that would have created much more damage.

Then, just a few months later, on May 11, 1982, while in the process of a major renovation project, hot sparks from a worker's torch ignited a fire near the roof of the Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in the city's Flint Village section. Fed by high winds and dry roof timbers, the fire spread quickly, soon engulfing the twin copper-clad spires of the church as well as several triple-decker apartment houses across Bedard Street. The raging inferno was so hot, there was nothing the fire department could do but watch and try to prevent other buildings from burning. The high winds made the job ever so difficult, and in the end, the church was a complete loss, along with dozens of neighboring buildings, destroying an entire city block between Bedard Street and Pleasant Street. A new church would be built in the same location in 1986.

Finally, on January 12, 1987, the huge Kerr Mill Complex, also in the city's East End along South Watuppa Pond, was destroyed in a massive inferno that began in the historic 1899 Thread Mill on Eastern Avenue and spread along the entire complex. The mills had been occupied by many companies, and over 900 people suddenly found themselves without jobs. The Kerr Mill site was redeveloped in the late 1990s, and in 2001 the Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center of UMass-Dartmouth opened its doors at this location. More recently, the MediTech building opened on the western side of the property, with a garage built on the site of the 1899 mill in front of the building.

External links

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Early history

Town of Fall River established

The two Fall Rivers

The great fire of 1843

Early industrial development (1811-1865)

Fall River Iron Works

Cloth printing

Other factories

Infrastructure

Cotton boomtown (1865-1923)

Decline of the textile industry

Modern era

Recent history

See also

External links