Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. It straddles part of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island state line with Tiverton, RI to its south.
The Quequechan River is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts, that flows in a northwesterly direction from the northwest corner of the South Watuppa Pond through the heart of the city of Fall River and into the end of the Taunton River at Mount Hope Bay at Heritage State Park/Battleship Cove. The word Quequechan means "Falling River" or "Leaping/Falling Waters" in Wampanoag, hence the city's name.
Matthew Chaloner Durfee Borden was an American textile leader from Fall River, Massachusetts, who, in 1880 reorganized the failed American Print Works into the American Printing Company. In the years that followed, his company would grow to become the largest cloth-printing company in the world, earning him the nickname "the Calico King". His father was Colonel Richard Borden, who founded the Fall River Iron Works.
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 of New Bedford as the principal owner. Oliver Chace, served as the mill's agent until 1837. Nathaniel Briggs Borden was named clerk and treasurer.
For much of its history, the city of Fall River, Massachusetts has been defined by the rise and fall of its cotton textile industry. From its beginnings as a rural outpost of the Plymouth Colony, the city grew to become the largest textile producing center in the United States 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.
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 Bradford Durfee. The American Print Works was established in 1835 by Holder Borden. It employed several thousand workers at its peak during World War I.
Mill Conversion or mill rehab is a form of adaptive reuse in which a historic mill or industrial factory building is restored or rehabilitated into another use, such as residential housing, retail shops, office, or a mix of these non-industrial elements (mixed-use).
Colonel Richard Borden (1795–1874) was an American businessman and civic leader from Fall River, Massachusetts. He co-founded the Fall River Iron Works in 1821, and later built several early cotton mills, as well as the Fall River Line, Fall River Gas Works Company, the Fall River Railroad, banks and other businesses. The Borden family would dominate the economic and civic life of Fall River into the early 20th century.
The Border City Mill No. 2 is a historic cotton textile mill at One Weaver Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1873, it is the largest surviving element of the once-sprawling Border City Mill complex. It was designed by Josiah Brown, a prominent local designer of mills, and is one of the city's few brick mills. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was converted into residences in the 1980s.
Barnard Mills is an historic textile mill at 641-657 Quarry Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Developed beginning in 1874, it was the first mill to use ring spinners instead of mule spinners, and was a major local employer until its closure in 1939. The complex has been redeveloped as a commercial retail space called Tower Mill. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Flint Mills is a historic textile mill complex located on Alden Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, near the banks of the Quequechan River. The company was founded in 1872 and named in honor of John D. Flint, who served as its first president. The original 1872 mill burned in 1882, and was rebuilt in 1883. The complex was later expanded with a second mill and large addition in 1909. The site also contains a detached granite mill office building. The section of Fall River surrounding the mill became known as "Flint Village". The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Wampanoag Mills is a historic textile mill complex located at 420 Quequechan Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built beginning in 1871, it is a large and well-preserved example of granite textile mill construction. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Old Colony Iron Works-Nemasket Mills Complex is a historic industrial site located on Old Colony Avenue in the East Taunton section of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States, adjacent to the Taunton River at the Raynham town line. The site was first occupied by the Old Colony Iron Company, which had originally been established in the 1820s as Horatio Leonard & Company. The western part of the complex was sold to Nemasket Mills in 1889. The eastern part was acquired by the Standard Oil Cloth Company. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Massasoit Fire House No. 5 is a historic former fire station located in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The Highlands Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by June, Cherry, and Weetamoe Streets, Lincoln, Highland, President, North Main, and Hood Avenues in Fall River, Massachusetts. The district lies just north of the Lower Highlands Historic District.
Fall River Bleachery is an historic textile bleachery on Jefferson Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Borden Flats Light is a historic lighthouse on the Taunton River in Fall River, Massachusetts, US. It is a tower-on-caisson type known as a sparkplug lighthouse.
The Troy Cotton & Woolen Manufactory was a textile manufacturing company located Fall River, Massachusetts. Founded in 1813 by Oliver Chace, it was the second textile mill to be built over the Quequechan River, after the Fall River Manufactory. It was located at what is now Troy Street between Pleasant and Bedford Streets.
The Fall River Manufactory was the first cotton mill to be constructed across the Quequechan River in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. It was also the first successful textile mill in the area.
