| Greater Fall River Area
|
|
| Fall
River, city, Bristol
county, southeastern Massachusetts,
U.S. It lies on the east shore of Mount Hope Bay, at the mouth of the
Taunton River, 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Providence,
Rhode Island. Its site was included in Freeman's Purchase, a tract of land
bought from Native Americans in 1659 by Plymouth colonists and settled in
1686. Originally part of Freetown, it was separately incorporated as the
town of Fallriver in 1803. Renamed Troy, it reverted (1831) to its earlier
name (derived from the Algonquian term Quequechan,
meaning "Falling Water"). Abundant waterpower, a fine harbour,
and a moist climate encouraged textile
milling in the town as early as 1811, and by 1871 the city was a leading
cotton-textile
centre. It was the scene of numerous labour strikes, and its millworkers
played a prominent role in the American labour-union movement. In 1892
Fall River was the site of the notorious ax-murder trial of Lizzie
Borden, who was acquitted of hacking her father and stepmother to
death.
In the 1920s and '30s many of the area's textile mills were closed, but despite continued trends of mill relocations away from the area, the textile and clothing industries remain the city's largest source of employment. Also important are services (including health care, insurance, and business services) and the production of chemicals, electronics, and food products. Battleship Cove harbours as historical exhibits a World War II destroyer, a submarine, a replica of the sailing ship HMS Bounty, the battleship USS Massachusetts (the state's official war memorial), and other ships; the Marine Museum is also there. Adjacent to the cove is Fall River Heritage State Park (1984). Bristol Community College was established (1966) in Fall River. Inc. city, 1854. Pop. (1990) city, 92,703; Providence-Fall River-Warwick MSA, 1,134,350; (1996 est.) city, 90,865; Providence-Fall River-Warwick MSA, 1,125,782. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica |