The City of Fall River is an industrial community on the
banks of the Taunton River in Bristol County with a long and fascinating
history. The first settler was Benjamin Church, a hero of King Philip's
war, who built a sawmill in 1690. The city's geography determined its
destiny; as historians have pointed out, the significant fact about Fall
River is that it had water power and port facilities together, making it
both a transfer point for passenger and freight traffic to New York and
the site of intense industrial development. Its diverse residential
population is made up of immigrants from Great Britain, Portugal and
Canada drawn to the mill jobs available in the city. Fall River's
industrial history began in 1811 when Colonel Joseph Durfee opened the
Globe Manufactory. By 1830 the city had seven textile mills, a steamboat
to Providence and Newport and its own newspaper. A staggering population
and industrial boom made Fall River one of the textile capitals of the
nation with more than 100 cotton mills housing four million spindles,
employing more than 30,000 people, and generating a weekly payroll of over
$500,000. The city boasted an international market and 130,000 people when
its prosperity peaked during the First World War. When textile manufacturing began moving south in the 1920's, the
city's decline began, accelerating during a devastating fire, which
destroyed the central business district, and the Depression. By 1930 the
city declared bankruptcy and its finances were operated by the state from
1931 to 1941. Having learned its lesson, the modern city maintains a
highly diversified industrial profile with chemical operations, electrical
and food products along with the garment and textile industries. It also
maximizes tourism with the largest factory outlet district in New England
and a World War II memorial which opens a variety of American warships to
visitors at the State Pier in Fall River. The city retains a variety of
handsome historic public buildings.
Narrative based on information provided by the
Massachusetts Historical Commission
|