Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Wamsutta Mills is a former textile manufacturing company and current brand for bedding and other household products. Founded by Thomas Bennett, Jr. on the banks of the Acushnet River in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1846 and opened in 1848, Wamsutta Mills was named after Wamsutta, the son of a Native American chief who negotiated an early alliance with the English settlers of the Plymouth Colony. It was the first of many textile mills in New Bedford, and gradually led to cotton textile manufacturing overtaking whaling as the town's principal industry by the 1870s.
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.
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.
Chace Mills is a historic textile mill complex on Lewiston and Salem Streets in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1872, it is one of the city's most visible historic mills, with a particularly fine Italianate stair tower. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Sagamore Mill No. 2 is an historic textile mill located at 1822 N. Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1881, it is the oldest surviving mill of three built by the Sagamore Mill Company, one of Fall River's largest textile operations. The mill complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Barnard Mills is an historic 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.
Charlton Mill is a historic textile mill at 109 Howe Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1911, it is the last of the city's stone mill buildings to be built, and the first to feature the dual sources of steam and electrical power. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Crescent Mill, later Merchant Mill No. 3, is an historic cotton textile mill located at 54 Front Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1872 during an industrial construction boom, it is one of the city's finest examples of Italianate mill architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is now used for other light industrial purposes.
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.
Cornell Mills is an historic cotton textile mill on Alden Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Built in 1890, it is a well-preserved example of late 19th-century industrial mill architecture in stone. The mill complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. On February 26, 2016, a developer has bought the property with the intent to convert the mill into middle-class residential housing.
The Whittenton Mills Complex is a historic textile mill site located on Whittenton Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Mill River. The site has been used for industrial purposes since 1670, when James Leonard built an iron forge on the west bank of the river. The first textile mill was built in 1805 and expanded throughout the 19th century. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and now contains various small businesses.
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 destroyed so many businesses at a time when the city's economy was already struggling from recent textile plant closings. By the time the fire was out, five city blocks were completely wiped out. Nobody was killed and only a few people suffered serious injuries.
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.
Notre Dame de Lourdes, known from 2012 to 2018 as St. Bernadette Parish, is a former Roman Catholic parish in Fall River, Massachusetts. A part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, the parish was established in 1874 to serve the growing French-Canadian population located in the city's Flint Village section. Since its founding, the parish has occupied three different church buildings; a wooden structure (1874–1893), a spectacular granite church (1906–1982) and the current modern church (1986-2018). The parish complex over time has also consisted of other multiple buildings, including St. Joseph's Orphanage, The Jesus Marie Convent, a school, the church rectory, the Brothers' residence, and the former Msgr. Prevost High School. The parish also includes Notre Dame Cemetery, located in the city's south end.
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.
Tecumseh Mill No. 1 is a historic cotton mill located at 164 Hartwell Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1866, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as part of the Corky Row Historic District. Tecumseh Mills No. 2 and No. 3 were located nearby on Plymouth Avenue, but have since been demolished.
The Cocheco Mills comprise a historic mill complex in the heart of Dover, New Hampshire. The mills occupy a bend in the Cochecho River that has been site of cotton textile manufacturing since at least 1823, when the Dover Manufacturing Company supplanted earlier sawmills and gristmills. The present mill buildings were built between the 1880s and the early 20th century, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
The Granite Mill fire occurred on September 19, 1874 at the Granite Mills in Fall River, Massachusetts. 23 employees, most of them children, were killed in the blaze.
