Pocasset Manufacturing Company
Encyclopedia
Pocasset Manufacturing Company was a cotton textile mill located in 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...

. It was located just west of Main Street across the second falls of 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....

. It was organized on August 15, 1821, with $100,000 in capital. The mill began operation in 1822, with Samuel Rodman of New Bedford
New Bedford
-Places:*New Bedford, Illinois*New Bedford, Massachusetts, the most populous New Bedford**New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park*New Bedford, New Jersey *New Bedford, Ohio*New Bedford, Pennsylvania...

 as the principal owner. 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...

, served as the mill's agent until 1837. Nathaniel Briggs Borden
Nathaniel B. Borden
Nathaniel Briggs Borden was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.-Early life and education:Borden was born to Simeon Borden and Amey Borden in that part of Freetown, Massachusetts which later became Fall River. Borden attended the district school and Plainfield Academy...

 was named clerk and treasurer .

The Pocasset Mills were the site of the origin of the Great Fall River Fire of 1928
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...

. The mills were destroyed along with a vast portion of the city's business district.

History

In the company's early years, they primarily constructed mills for their tenants. The first development was intended to enlarge the grist mill but with Oliver Chace, erected what was known as the "Old Bridge Mill". This mill stood west of Main Street at that time and immediately north of the Fall River stream. They tore down the grist mill but left the existing fulling mill.

In 1821, the machinery firm of Harris, Hawes & Company occupied two floors of a building put up for their use by the Pocasset Company. The basement was still used as a grist mill and they also built a water-wheel to raise the water to a convenient level for laundry.

In 1825, the stone Satinet Mill was erected. It was partly occupied by the first calico printing business in Fall River. The south half was occupied by a manufacturer of satinet
Satinet
Satinet is a finely woven fabric with a finish resembling satin but made partly or wholly from cotton or synthetic fiber. The process was developed in Mesopotamia, 5000BC. The fibers may be natural as with cotton, woolens or cashmere wool, or synthetic. The process of manufacturing satinets in the...

s. It was made 3-5 story building made 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....

. It was demolished after the Great Fire of 1843.

West of the printing mill, the Quequechan Mill was built in 1826. It was called the "New Pocasset" and was leased for a yarn mill . It was a five story stone building that was 319 ft long and 48 feet wide. It contained 16,392 spindles and 492 looms.

Also in 1825, the Watuppa Reservoir Company, was incorporated under a special statute by the Massachusetts and Rhode Island state legislature. It was authorized to make reservations of water in the ponds by erecting a dam to raise the water by two feet. Nathaniel Briggs Borden as a member of the this private entity, enabled Pocasset Manufacturing to take advantage of the increase the river flow speed to allow them to build more mills for lease. Previously use of land and waterfalls were controlled by Troy Company where some of the original proprietors included Amey Brigg Borden (mother of Nathaniel) and Oliver Chace. Watuppa Reservoir Company built a dam below the Troy Company dam.

In 1826 the Pocasset constructed still another stone building which was known as the Massasoit Mill and later called the Watuppa Mill. This mill had 9,000 spindles, 224 loams As the first mill in the city to be powered by steam engine, it was run by steam power and allowed it to be located above the dam near the end of Pleasant Street. Records show that the steam plant used at least eighteen condensers. In 1899, a complete electric light plant was installed. In 1905 the Pocasset replaced 16,000 mule spinners
Spinning mule
The spinning mule was a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two boys: the little piecer and the big or side piecer...

with 13,000 frame spindles.

In 1847, the Pocasset Mill commenced running. It was a five story stone building that was 208 ft long and 75 feet wide. It was the first of the wide mills and contained 20,352 spindles and 422 looms. The machinery was run by a Corliss engine and three turbine wheels. The building has its own fire apparatus including pumps and sprinklers . The Pocasset Mill made sheetings and shirtings.

By 1877, the company employed 550 and owned fifty four tenements. The number of stockholders increased to twenty one. .

The mills operated until 1926, and were destroyed by fire in 1928.
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