History
The Fall River Area has a rich and diversified history. Originally called "Quequechan" (meaning 'falling water') by the Wampanoag Indians because of the small river that turned into steep falls before cascading into the Taunton River, the Fall River Area was the ancestral home of this tribe until they were driven out during the King Phillip's War in 1675.
Settlers, mostly farmers and ship's carpenters from Rhode Island, Boston and Plymouth, were drawn to the region in the early 1700s. The tumbling Quequechan River and a navigable harbor were the natural resources that together would determine the region's growth.
The industrial history of Fall River began in 1811 when Colonel Joseph Durfee and several investors built the first cotton mill. The mill was driven by the river that emptied into a small pond near the waterfront. Two years later the Troy Mill, the first of the great granite structures at the foot of the Quequechan River, was built and Fall River's cotton spinning era had begun in earnest. After a decade of building, Fall River and the surrounding town's populations began to increase steadily. By 1830, the town had seven textile mills, a steamboat to Providence and Newport, a newspaper and a population of 4,159. This growing trend continued and, by 1872, 18 new mills and 15 new corporations were started as Fall River went on to become one of the textile capitals of the nation.
The abundance of work available in the mills drew immigrants from around the world. A steady wave of English, Irish, Russian, Lebanese, French, Polish and Eastern European Jewish immigrants flocked to Fall River and its surrounding cities to staff the factories and mills. They arrived in such vast numbers that by 1900, Fall River had the highest percentage of foreign-born residents of any city in the entire country. The migration from Portugal and the Azores outnumbered all other ethnic groups. Together, these immigrants gave Fall River the diversity of character that characterizes the city today.
An international market and the prosperity of the war years ensured the strength of Fall River's economy throughout the years 1905-1921. The Spindle City's population peaked at 130,000 with more than 100 mills, employing more than 30,000 people and producing a weekly payroll in excess of one half million dollars.
The period from 1847 to 1937 was marked by the Fall River Line, America's most luxurious steamship line connecting rail travellers from Boston with New York. The Fall River Line Pier is maintained today along with the Fall River Marine Museum so that visitors can see and relive the glory of that era.
The great prosperity of Fall River in the early decades of the 20th century was deceptive however, since the city flourished mainly on one industry - textiles.
The Depression of the 1920's had a dramatic and devastating effect on the city. Cheap labor beckoned the industry southward, and what had taken a century to build collapsed in less than a decade.
Today, the industrial decline which plagued the Fall River Area during the first half of the century has reversed itself, and we look with hope into the future. The public and private sectors, business organizations, councils and groups, are working together to demonstrate that, collectively, we can rebuild the region. New companies are opening their doors and established companies are expanding into the Southcoast. Plans are carefully being laid. Capital improvement projects are being implemented. Industry is being broadened. Our continued progress and growth is directly attributable to the people and institutions that make up the Fall River Area.
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The Mystery
A sizzling August, 1892. A double murder. An ax. Lizzie Borden. Did she or didn't she? Sleuths from around the world still seek the truth. Books, a movie, even a ballet, explore the possibilities. And so can you. The clues exist to this very day at the scene of the crime: Fall River, Massachusetts.
Lizzie Borden craved a life of luxury and elegance in the city's fashionable Highlands. That's where Yankee mill barons built architectural masterpieces on hills overlooking the sparkling waterfront. Her father, a wealthy financier, preferred a more "frugal" lifestyle, with a home downtown near his businesses. A motive for a terrible deed? You be the judge.
The Fall River Historical Society's collection of artifacts relating to the Borden murder mystery is one of the largest in existence. Actual courtroom evidence from the sensational trial, rare photographs and even the handleless hatchet, the suspected murder weapon, are included in the exhibit.
The Borden Home at 92 Second Street, the site of the infamous ax murders, has become a city landmark. On the 104th anniversary of the double murder, the house was opened to the public for the first time in history. Carefully restored to its original Victorian splendor, the Greek Revival House now operates as a museum and bed & breakfast. Tour the house, view the murder scene, and, if you dare, spend the night.
In addition to these sites, Borden buffs will enjoy visiting Maplecroft (Lizzie's home after the murders) and the Oak Grove Cemetery (where the Borden's are buried).
Although found innocent of all wrongdoing, Lizzie Borden remains forever convicted in the minds of many people. Did she get away with murder? Come to Fall River and conduct your own investigation of the mystery that has confounded experts for over a century.
LNG
More recently, Fall River has controversially been tapped as a location for a giant LNG facility. In 2003, Weaver's Cove Energy, LLC., a subsidiary of Amerada Hess, proposed building this facility in a densely populated urban neighborhood (10,000 people live within 1 mile of the proposed site), despite the fact that no facility of this sort has been built in an inner city. Although LNG has a mixed track record (and is highly explosive), it was approved by FERC nonetheless. The community has rallied to defeat the project [1] and protestors, politicians, and Mayor Edward Lambert Jr.'s administration has been relatively successful in placing significant roadblocks in front of the project since FERC's approval.
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