USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fall River > Centennial history of Fall River, Mass. : comprising a record of its corporate progress from 1656 to 1876, with sketches of its manufacturing industries, local and general characteristics, valuable statistical tables, etc. > Part 22
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FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
amply appreciated by the industrious communities upon its shores, is not the distinctive merit suggesting our present consideration. As a harbor or roadstead, easily made in whatever wcather, broad enough to shelter navies upon its unbroken expanse, sufficiently deep for the passage of the largest ships, and by its landlocked position protected from storms in all directions, Mount Hope Bay is of the largest value to Fall River and its people.
In the course of the purely narrative part of this work, allusions have been made to the local advantages of Fall River, and in their proper con- nection brief notices incorporated of the means of communication with other business centres. The commercial facilities afforded by the situation of the city, upon so secure and spacious a sheet of water, are of inestimable account to its future. Between New York and Boston, with the possible exception of New Bedford, there is no harbor possessing the number and excellence of features that this landlocked bay can claim, all others either lacking in room, ease of access, or sufficient depth. The singular availability of Fall River as a location for bonded warehouses, its docks and piers possessing a draught of water adequate to the approach of the largest vessels, and its railroad and marine communication offering the best freight carriage north and south, has not infrequently drawn the attention of engineers and capitalists. The railroad features of the place may be said to be unique in one important respect-that the main line from Boston, following the shore of the bay, ad- mits of dock connections at any desired point along the whole water-front, and the New Bedford line entering the very heart of the city, and landing goods almost at the doors of the mills, though constructed fifty years after the laying out of the highways, crosses but one public street. The exceptional advantages of the location as an industrial centre, due to the cheap transportation of coal, cotton, iron ores, and other raw material, at its command, constitute an important integer in the general enterprisc and pros- perity. Should foreign commerce, in some not far distant day, appropriate to its uses the remarkable advantages already largely enjoyed by domestic trade, such a result would be neither illogical nor surprising.
Occasional suggestions have been afforded in the preceding history of the early modes of travel and freight carriage established between Fall River and Boston, New York and Providence. A more complete record of the progress of communication in those directions, prepared by a careful hand, is embodied in the following pages.
Early communication with the neighboring places was limited to private conveyance, until the establishment in 1825 of a stage line for passengers between Fall River, Providence, and New Bedford, the terminus of each line being at Slade's Ferry, where the only means of crossing was by sail or row
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THE PROVIDENCE LINE.
boat. Isaac Fish, who also ran coaches to Boston, Bristol, and Newport, via Bristol Ferry, was the proprietor of the Providence line, and I. H. Bartlett had control of the New Bedford line. In 1826, a horse-boat was put on at Slade's Ferry, so that the stages could come over to the village. This simple craft ran satisfactorily for many years, but in January, 1847, was superseded by the steam ferry-boat Faith, which in turn made way for the Weetamoc, in March, 1859. The completion of the new iron railroad bridge in 1875, erected by the Old Colony Railroad Company at this point of the river, with carriage road included, rendcred the ferry, which for generations had been a great public convenience, useless, and the boats were accordingly witli- drawn.
As business advanced, and there came the necessity of more frequent intercourse with the neighboring towns and of transportation to and fro of merchandise, corn, grain, provisions, etc., the convenience of water communica- tion was noted, and efforts made to realize the marine advantages of the local- ity. At first, sailing craft of greater or less capacity were employed, the Irene and Betsey, a two-masted lighter, and the sloops Fall River and Ar- gonaut, each of thirty or forty tons, being the first to ply regularly on the waters of the Mount Hope and Narragansett bays. Soon sailing packets began stated trips to New York, Albany, Newport, and Providence ; and then came the Eudora, a propeller built expressly to run between Fall River and New York as a freight boat. She was the first propeller in use here or on any of the adjoining waters, and was commanded by that veteran captain of the Sound boats, William Brown.
THE PROVIDENCE LINE.
Shortly after the organization of the Fall River Iron Works Company, with Colonel Borden as managing agent and treasurer, a regular line of com- munication by water between Fall River and Providence was established under its auspices. The early experience of the Colonel in shipbuilding and boating well fitted him for further and more extensive enterprises in such direction, and, with the advent of steam-power in navigation, a steamer was purchased and placed upon the route. The first boat was the Hancock, built in Castine, Maine, in 1827, and brought to Boston, where she was purchased by Mr. Holder Borden, soon after her arrival. She measured 98 tons, was 89 feet long, 18 feet beam, and about 6 feet depth of hold. The Hancock was commanded by Captain Thomas Borden, who went to Boston to bring her to this port, and, in coming through the draw at Stone Bridge, encountered considerable difficulty on account of the width of the steamer and the narrow-
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FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
ness of the draw. She began running regularly between Fall River and Pro- vidence in September, 1828, occupying about three hours in the trip. A picture of her is still in existence, but so blackened that the outlines only can faintly be traced. The picture, which is a painting, was discovered a few years since covering a chimney flue, where it had been placed by one who failed to appreciate its value. A number of figures are to be seen on the open deck of the boat, appearing to an ordinary observer like very black gentle- men wearing extremely angular coats and enormou's hats.
The Hancock was succeeded in 1832 by the King Philip. She was built in New York, and measured 169 tons. Her length was 120 feet, breadth 20 feet, and depth 73 feet. She also was under the charge of Captain Borden, and for more than a dozen' years made her trips regularly between the two ports, without accident or noticeable incident.
In 1845, the Bradford Durfee was placed upon the route, the King Philip being used as a supplementary boat. She was named for one of the most active and most energetic business men of his time, largely concerned in manufacturing pursuits, and having much to do with out-door affairs, especially in shaping and erecting the earlier docks and wharves of the city. The Bradford Durfee has been kept in good repair, is still in active service, and appears to be as strong and as safe as ever. She has a square engine --- a style peculiar to the earlier New York boats-which has done excellent service.
The staunch and noble Canonicus was next added to the list of steamers owned by this company. Built in 1849, and commanded by Captain Benja- min Brayton, she was run for a few years between Newport and Providence, via Fall River and Bristol, and subsequently as an excursion boat to different points. In 1862, she was sold to the United States Government, to be used as a transport ; in 1865, bought back again by the Iron Works Company, she is now employed for extra service and occasional trips to Rocky Point, Newport, Block Island, and other resorts during the summer months. " None know her but to love her," and she has ever proved one of the most popular and reliable boats on these waters.
In 1854, the Metacomet appeared in the bay, a very beautiful steamer, owned by the same company ; she was built in New York, was 170 feet long, 26 fect beam, and 9 feet depth of hold, being about the same size as the Canonicus. She also was disposed of in the early days of the rebellion, trans- formed into a gunboat, named the Pulaski, and finally wrecked on the coast of Mexico. In 1874, the steamer Richard Borden was placed upon the route. She is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, boats in either Mount Hope or Narragansett bays, having travelled the distance, about thirty miles, in one
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THE NEW YORK LINE.
hour and a half, including stoppages. She, with the Bradford Durfee, now forms a line of two boats, each day, one leaving either city in the morning and returning in the afternoon.
One of the peculiarities of this line is that it has been absolutely change- less. It was owned at the outset by the Fall River Iron Works Company, and they own it now. Security and stability have ever been its characteris- tics. There has never been any decided opposition. One or two boats have made a few trips between Providence and Fall River, but they were soon withdrawn. The boats have landed at their present wharves in Fall River and Providence for many years. The Iron Works Company own the wharf at which the boats land in Bristol, and they hold the wharf at Bristol Ferry almost in perpetuity. Even the running time has changed but little, about two hours being the average, summer and winter.
In the summer of 1829, a Liliputian steamer, called the Experiment, made occasional trips upon the Providence River and between Taunton and Newport, sending a boat ashore with passengers at Fall River. Other steam- craft, the Babcock, the Rushlight, and the Wadsworth, at sundry times at- tempted to establish communication between Fall River and neighboring ports, but with only partial or no success. In 1847, the Perry, a steamer looking much like the Canonicus, was built for Rufus B. Kinsley, to run be- tween Newport and Fall River. She made three trips a week to Fall River, running alternate days to Providence. In June, 1848, she began running to Fall River in the morning, and to Providence in the afternoon, but, her owners soon finding that two trips daily to Providence would be more profit- able, she was withdrawn entirely from the Fall River route.
In May, 1827, the Marco Bozzaris, a steamer, was advertised to run be- tween Dighton and New York, stopping at Fall River-" Passengers to be taken by stage from Dighton to Boston." Whether any trips were ever made, cannot now be stated with certainty, but the project thus boldly put forth was realized twenty years later, with only this change-that Fall River became the grand centre of transfer from water to land transportation.
THE NEW YORK LINE.
In 1847, shortly after the completion of the Fall River Railroad opening direct railway communication with Boston, the Bay State Steamboat Com- pany was formed with a capital of $300,000, and in the spring of that year, the steamer Bay State, built expressly for the line, commenced her regular trips between Fall River and New York. Many citizens will remember the May morning when she proudly entered the harbor, an event signalized by
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FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
the firing of guns, ringing of bells, and the, if possible, more demonstrative shouts and cheers of the exeited people, who erowded the high bluffs along the shore, or pressed forward upon the wharf which was henceforth to be her point of arrival and departure. She was the pioneer of a noble and emi- nently suceessful enterprise.
The Bay State proved worthy of her name. She was commanded by Captain Joseph J. Comstock, who was subsequently eaptain of the ocean steamer Baltie, and always the same popular and gentlemanly commander. The length of the Bay State was 320 feet ; her tonnage, 1600. Until the completion of the Empire State, of equal size and power, the steamer Massa- chusetts was chartered as alternate boat, and commanded by that long-expe- rieneed veteran, Captain William Brown. In 1854, the mammoth Metropolis, the most superb steamboat of her period, was added to the facilities of this admirably conducted line. Built and equipped solely from the profits of its business, she was as strong as wood and iron combined eould make her, and elegantly furnished throughout, eliciting among the townspeople almost as mueh exeitement and eommotion on her arrival as was awakened by her pre- deeessor, the Bay State. Her length was 350 feet, breadth of beam 82 feet, and depth of hold 15 feet. Her capacity was 2200 tons.
The conception of the organization of this favorite through route of travel between Boston and New York, via Fall River, was largely due to Colonel Richard Borden, by whom also the railroad was projected and mainly constructed. Other business men were interested in this latter movement and aided in its development, among whom were Andrew Robeson, Sr., who was its first president, his sueeessor, Hon. Nathaniel B. Borden, and David Anthony, who was treasurer. Jefferson Borden was also most prominent in the management, and shared with his brother Richard in the organization of the steamboat line. Until 1846, there had been no communication direet from Fall River by steam or rail with either Boston or New York, although the traveller might, by going to Providence or Stonington, eatch a train or boat.
The Bay State Steamboat Company in course of time passed into the control of the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Company, and, the Old Colony Railroad Company having in the meantime extended their road from Fall River to Newport, that city (1864) was made the eastern terminus for the boats of the line. Soon eame another ehange, the steamers becoming the property of the Narragansett Steamship Company, then under the control of Messrs. Fisk and Gould, of New York, and the eastern ter- minus was re-established (1869) at Fall River, the conviction having foreed
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THE NEW YORK LINE.
itself upon all, whether travellers or proprietors,-that there was the most convenient and popular point of ingress and egress.
A year or two more, and this favorite line of travel became the property of the Old Colony Steamboat Company, forming, in connection with the Old Colony Railroad, then running by a new and shorter line, via Taunton, to Bos- ton, the safest, the most delightful in point of scenery, and by far the most comfortable route between the commercial centre of the nation and New England.
The older steamboats having had their day, including the Governor, the Senator, and the Katahdin, which were chartered from time to time and used as winter boats, as also the State of Maine, purchased about 1850 and prov- ing one of the best sea boats ever in Eastern waters, the Old Colony Steam- boat Company is now equipped with the staunch and beautiful steamers, Newport and Old Colony, as winter craft, and the truly magnificent floating palaces, Bristol and Providence, for the milder and pleasanter portions of the year. The latter steamers, built in 1867, each 373 feet long, 83 feet beam, 16} feet draught, and 3000 tons measurement, excel all other steamers afloat in elegance of finish, furniture, and appointments. They each have 240 state- rooms, and sleeping accommodations for 800 to. 1000 passengers. The offi- cers and crew of each comprise 130 persons. The most experienced and cautious pilots are employed, every precaution is taken to guard against casual- ties of all sorts, and ample provision is made for the welfare and safety of passengers should disaster occur. One of the later features of the line, of a rather æsthetic character, is an evening concert in the saloon by a fine band. It is so highly appreciated as to be considered now well-nigh indispensable.
This route, " The Old Fall River Line," has continued for thirty years the favorite of the travelling public, on account of its certainty, and its uni- form speed and safety. Among the hundreds of thousands of people trans- ported by this line during the Centennial year, not one received injury. That this route to New York, for comfort, convenience, and beauty of scenery, far excels all others, there is no question. Passengers leaving Boston in the early evening, have a delightful view of the harbor, with its islands, shipping, and way out to the sea ; pass through numerous towns and villages, and an everchanging landscape; and then, for a score of miles, sweep along the banks of Taunton River to Fall River, a distance by rail of 48 miles, travelled in an hour and fifteen minutes, in spacious and elegant cars, over a road-bed smooth and even, laid with steel rails the entire distance. From the decks of the steamers, as they pass down the bay in the still hours of twilight, may be seen one of the finest and most varied panoramic views in New England, rich in .historic and natural interest. At the start is Fall River, with its
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FALL RIVER AND ITS INDUSTRIES.
church spires and mammoth manufactories, rising abruptly from the bay on the east ; the bare, bald summit of Mount Hope, the seat of the Indian sachem King Philip, a little farther down on the west ; while the islands and softly undulating waters of Mount Hope and Narragansett bays streteh away towards the south until Newport is reached. Passengers by this route secure a good night's rest, and arrive in New York or Boston in ample sea- son for extended travel south, or north and east, and for all business pur- poses.
FREIGHT LINES.
In 1866, the transportation of freight to and from Fall River had increased to sueh dimensions, that enterprising gentlemen obtained a charter and organized the " Fall River Steamboat Company." The propellers Alba- tross and United States, each between 400 and 500 tons measurement, were purchased and placed upon the route to New York, running two trips each, weekly, between the two ports. Upon the formation of the Old Colorty Steam- boat Company., comprising some of the gentlemen connected with this line, the boats were sold to the new company, and are now run in connection with the larger steamers for the transportation of freight.
In the spring of 1865, the Fall River and Warren Railroad, connecting with the Providence and Bristol line at Warren, being ready for travel, the steamer Oriole was put on as a ferry-boat, connecting this road at its eastern terminus, opposite the city, with the Old Colony Railroad at their depot on Ferry Street. On the completion of the new bridge at Slade's Ferry, the railroad, having in the meantime been purchased by the Old Colony Railroad Company, was extended and brought over the river into the city, thus dis- pensing with the ferry-boat and inaugurating a route for freight as well as for passengers between Fall River, Providenee, and further west. Several large eoal steamers, bringing 1000 tons of coal each trip, arrive weekly at this port, and there are besides other steam-eraft used for freight, excursions, and tugboat purposes. A large fleet of tugs used in the fishing business are wholly or in part operated by citizens of Fall River, and belong to the steam marine of Mount Hope Bay.
THE CLYDE LINE.
In March, 1876, the proprietors of the Clyde line of steamers, perceiving the natural advantages and facilities for business afforded by Fall River, deter- mined to make that port the eastern terminus of a line of freight propellers to Philadelphia. They placed two boats upon the route, the Norfolk, of 41I
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THE CLYDE LINE.
tons burden, and the Defiance, of 381 tons, each capable of carrying the con- tents of thirty-five railway cars. Connections were made with the Old Colony Railroad, thus opening up a new and direct route from Boston to Philadelphia, and avoiding the perils of Cape Cod and Vineyard Sound on the one hand, or the intricate windings, shoals and shallows, rocks and sand-bars of inland river navigation on the other.
The venture proving unexpectedly successful, and verifying the wisdom of the movement, the next year the company added to the line the Vindi- cator, a propeller of 1021 tons burden, one of the largest on the coast, and capable of stowing 4000 bales of cotton, or the contents of one hundred cars.
Applying here the truth, " coming events cast their shadows before," it may not be too much to predict that active business men in Fall River of to-day will, in their time, witness the arrival and departure of steamships from their harbor on lines to be established direct between Fall River and foreign ports.
FALL RIVER:
ITS
HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PHASES.
T 'HERE is still treasured by a very few of our oldest citizens, a modest pamphlet, coverless, not exceeding twelve pages, and altogether unpre- tentious in typographical execution, yet exceedingly valuable for its true picture of the settlement as it was about the middle of the last century, and for the record of local patriotism it has preserved. Its author, referred to in the early pages of our narrative, was a conspicuous citizen, identified with the original industrial enterprise of the settlement (then Tiverton, R. I.,) as the projector of the first spinning factory, and noted for his intelli- gent and comprehensive observation. In 1834, still possessing a vivid re- collection of the incidents of his youth and maturer years, he wrote the interesting, though much too brief, record of local events, which is here re- produced in its entire volume.
REMINISCENCES OF COL. JOSEPH DURFEE,
RELATING TO THE
EARLY HISTORY OF FALL RIVER, AND OF REVOLUTIONARY SCENES.
" Joseph Durfee was the eldest son of the. late Hon. Thomas Durfee. He was born in April, in the year 1750, in what is now the city of Fall River. At that time, and until within a few years, the Fall River stream was owned 'by the Bordens. Much of what now is the city, whcrc are elegant buildings and a dense population, was then a wilderness, where the goats lodged in the winter seasons. The Bordens and the Durfees were then the principal pro-
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REMINISCENCES OF COL. JOSEPH DURFEE.
prietors of the Pocasset Purchase, and owners of the land on the south side of what is now Main Street, for more than a mile in length. Thomas and Joseph Borden owned the south side of the stream, and Stephen Borden owned the north side. Thomas Borden owned a saw-mill and a grist-mill at that time, standing where the old saw and grist mills stood near the iron- works establishment.
" Thomas Borden left a widow and four children, viz .: Richard, Chris- topher, Rebecca, and Mary. Joseph Borden, brother of Thomas, owned a fulling-mill, which stood near where the Pocasset Factory 110w stands. He was killed by the machinery of his fulling-mill. He left four children, viz. : Abraham, Samuel, Patience, and Peace. Patience was my mother. Stephen Borden, who owned the north side of the stream, had a grist-mill and a saw- mill, standing near where the woollen establishment has since been erected. He left six children, viz .: Stephen, George, Mary, Hannah, Penelope, and Lusannah.
"The widow of Joseph Borden was afterwards married to Benjamin Jenks, by whom she had six children-John, Joseph, Hannah, Catherine, Ruth, and Lydia. The widow of Stephen Borden was married to John Bowen, by whom she had two sons-Nathan and John.
" At that time, and until within a few years, there were but two saw-mills, two grist-mills, and a fulling-mill standing on the Fall River. There are now about forty different mills on the river. The stream was very small ; but the falls were so great that there was little occasion for dams to raise a pond suf- ficient to carry the wheels then in operation. A small foot bridge, which stood near where the main street now crosses the stream, afforded the only means of passing from one side to the other of the stream, except by fording it. There was formerly a small dam near where the Troy Factory now stands, over which the water flowed the greater part of the year. When it failed, those who owned the mills near the mouth of the stream hoisted the gates at the upper dam and drew the water down. It was no uncommon thing, twenty-five or thirty years ago, for the water to be so low and the river so narrow at the head of the stream, that a person might step across without difficulty. It was frequently not more than six inches deep. At one timc there was a foot bridge of stepping-stones only across the Narrows between the North and South Ponds.
" Our country has been involved in three wars since my recollection. The first was with the French and Indians-when we fought for our lives. The French offered a bounty for every scalp which the Indians would bring them. It was therefore certain death to all who fell into the Indians' hands. I distinctly recollect the time when General Wolfe was killed-and of seeing the soldiers on their march to reinforce the army. I saw many men enlist into the service, and among them, Joseph Valentine, father of William Val- entine, of Providence. I was then about ten years of age.
" The second war was with Great Britain, during the greater part of which I was actively engaged in the service of my country. We then fought for our liberty. We were divided into two parties, called Whigs and Tories- the former, the friends of liberty and independence ; the latter, the enemies
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