Interior House Painter Fall River MA

Fall River
City
City of Fall River
Downtown Fall River in 2007
Flag Seal Logo
Nicknames:  “The Scholarship City,” “The River”, “Spindle City”, “Where the River Falls” “The City of the Dinner Pail”
Motto(s):  “We’ll Try” “Make It Here”
Location in Bristol County in Massachusetts
Fall River Location in Massachusetts Show map of Massachusetts Fall River Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°42′05″N 71°09′20″W / 41.70139°N 71.15556°W / 41.70139; -71.15556Coordinates: 41°42′05″N 71°09′20″W / 41.70139°N 71.15556°W / 41.70139; -71.15556
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Bristol
Settled	1670
Incorporated (town)	1803
Incorporated (city)	1854
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Paul Coogan
• City council	Cliff Ponte President Pam Laliberte-Lebeau Vice President Shawn A. Cadime Michelle Dionne Bradford L. Kilby Trott Lee Christopher Peckham Leo O. Pelletier Linda Pereira
Area
• Total	40.24 sq mi (104.22 km2)
• Land	33.12 sq mi (85.79 km)
• Water	7.12 sq mi (18.43 km2)
Elevation	72 ft (37 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	94,000
• Density	2,837.91/sq mi (1,095.73/km)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes	02720–02724
Area code	508/774
FIPS code	25-23000
GNIS feature ID	0612595
Website	www.fallriverma.org

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.

Located along the eastern shore of Mount Hope Bay at the mouth of the Taunton River, the city became famous during the 19th century as the leading textile manufacturing center in the United States. While the textile industry has long since moved on, its impact on the city’s culture and landscape is still prominent. Fall River’s official motto is “We’ll Try”, dating back to the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1843. Nicknamed The Scholarship City after Irving Fradkin founded Dollars for Scholars there in 1958, mayor Jasiel Correia introduced the “Make It Here” slogan as part of a citywide rebranding effort in 2017.

Fall River is known for the Lizzie Borden case, the Fall River cult murders, Portuguese culture, its numerous 19th-century textile mills and Battleship Cove, home of the world’s largest collection of World War II naval vessels (including the battleship USS Massachusetts). Fall River has its city hall located over an interstate highway.

History

Colonial period to 1800s

At the time of the establishment of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, the area that would one day become Troy City was inhabited by the Pokanoket Wampanoag tribe, headquartered at Mount Hope in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island. The “falling” river that the city’s name refers to is the Quequechan River (pronounced “quick-a-shan” by locals) which flows through the city before draining into the bay. Quequechan is a Wampanoag word believed to mean “falling river” or “leaping/falling waters.” During the 1960s, Interstate 195 was constructed through the city along the length of the Quequechan River. The portion west of Plymouth Avenue was routed underground through a series of box culverts, while much of the eastern section “mill pond” was filled in for the highway embankment.

In 1653, Freetown was settled at Assonet Bay by members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of Freeman’s Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683, Freetown was incorporated as a town within the colony. The southern part of what is now Fall River was incorporated as the town of Tiverton as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1694, a few years after the merger with Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island, along with Little Compton and what is now Newport County, Rhode Island. The boundary was then placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street.

In 1703, Benjamin Church, a hero of King Philip’s War established a saw mill, grist mill, and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, along with the water rights to Richard Borden of Tiverton and his brother Joseph. This transaction would prove to be extremely valuable 100 years later, helping to establish the Borden family as the leaders in the development of Fall River’s textile industry.

During the 18th century, the area consisted mostly of small farms and relatively few inhabitants. In 1778, the Battle of Freetown, was fought here during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) after British raids badly damaged Bristol and Warren. The militia of Fall River, at that time known as Freetown, put up a stronger defense against a British force.

In 1803, Fall River was separated from Freetown and officially incorporated as its own town. A year later, Fall River changed its name to “Troy.” The name “Troy” was used for 30 years and was officially changed back to Fall River on February 12, 1834. During this period, Fall River was governed by a three-member Board of Selectmen, until it became a City in 1854.

In 1835, The Fall River Female Anti Slavery Society was formed (one of the many anti slavery societies in New England) to promote abolition and to allow a women’s space to conduct social activism. There was an initial group, which was wary of allowing free black full membership, so a second group (this one) was formed in response by Elizabeth Buffum Chace and her sisters, who were committed to allowing free black women membership. Sarah G. Buffman, a delegate from the group, was sent to the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in Philadelphia in 1838. Buffman signed all three of the statements that the convention’s delegates agreed on.

In July 1843, the first great fire in Fall River’s history destroyed much of the town center, including the Atheneum, which housed the Skeleton in Armor which had been discovered in a sand bank in 1832 near what is now the corner of Hartwell and Fifth Street.

During this time, the southern part of what is now Fall River (south of Columbia Street) remained part of Tiverton, Rhode Island. In 1856, the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island voted to split off its industrial northern section as Fall River, Rhode Island. In 1861, after decades of dispute, the United States Supreme Court moved the state boundary to what is now State Avenue, unifying both Fall Rivers as a city in Massachusetts (among other changes; see History of Massachusetts § Rhode Island eastern border).