Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 51

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1399

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 51

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480

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

While Methodism was preached in Fall River in early years, the or- ganization of the First Methodist Episcopal Church did not take place until twenty years after the formation of the town. In the year 1824 services were held in the village by Rev. Ebenezer Blake, then sta- tioned at what is now South Somerset. In 1825 a class of about twelve members was formed here and John Anthony, afterward a local preacher, was appointed leader. Intermittent services were held, usually conducted by the Somerset ministers, and in 1827 a revival took place and nine persons were baptized on April 1. The services were held in the school house then standing on the corner of South Main and Annawan streets. In 1827 the Conference sent the first regular pastor to Fall River in the person of Rev. E. T. Taylor, widely known as "Father " Taylor, celebrated for his labors in behalf of seamen. A church building was commenced that year, which was dedicated De- cember 25. It was a small structure and stood a little to one side of what is now Central street. Pastors succeeding Mr. Taylor were Revs. E. Blake, 1829; Daniel Webb, 1830; Ira M. Bidwell, 1831-32; Squire B. Haskell, 1833-34; Mark Staple, 1835-37; Hector Bronson, 1837-38; Phineas Crandall, 1839-40; under his administration the debt on the old church was paid off, the building was sold, and a new edifice erected on the site of the present one, near the corner of South Main and Annawan streets; it was dedicated February 20, 1840, by Rev. Orange Scott, who succeeded Mr. Crandall. Rev. Isaac Bonney, 1840- 41; Thomas Ely, 1842-43. In the great fire of July 2, 1843, the church was burned, but it was at once rebuilt and was dedicated April 3, 1844, by Rev. Charles K. True, who succeeded Mr. Ely as pastor. Then came Revs. George F. Poole, 1844; James D. Butler, 1845; David Pat- ten, 1847; Daniel Wise, 1849; the congregation was now divided and the Conference returned Mr. Wise and also Rev. Elijah T. Fletcher; this resulted in the organization of the Bank Street Church. Succeed- ing pastors were Frederick Upham, 1850; Elisha B. Bradford, 1853; John Howson, 1855; Thomas Ely, 1857; Andrew Mckeown, 1859; Charles H. Payne, 1861; Henry Baylies, 1863; J. D. King, 1867; A. A. Wright, 1870; S. L. Gracey, 1873; Ensign McChesney, 1874; Wat- son L. Phillips, 1877; William T. North, 1879; Warren A. Luce, 1882; Dwight A. Jordan, 1883; Alfred E. Drew, 1886; Archibald McCord, 1887; Walter J. Yates, 1889; Warren A. Luce, 1892; Stephen O. Ben- ton, 1896. The first parsonage, purchased in 1863, was sold in 1871, and the present one erected on Ridge street.

481

THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

The first Christian Church 1 in Fall River was organized in 1829, and in the following year the edifice was erected. This was destroyed by the fire of 1843, and the present one built on Franklin street. The following pastors have served this society: Revs. Joshua V. Hines, Benjamin Taylor, H. Taylor, James Taylor, Simon Clough, M. Lane, A. G. Cummings, Jonathan Thompson, all prior to 1840; P. R. Rus- sell, 1841; A. M. Averill, 1843; Elijah Shaw, 1845; Charles Morgridge, 1847; Stephen Fellows, 1848; David E. Millard, 1852; B. S. Fanton, 1855; Thomas Holmes, 1863; Hiram J. Gordon, 1865; S. Wright But- ler, 1866; M. Summerbell, who served several years. G. B. Merritt and Rev. Charles B. Lusk, the present pastor.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE CITY OF FALL RIVER-FROM 1830 TO CITY INCORPORATION.

Industrial conditions in Fall River at the beginning of the fourth decade of the present century differed widely from those of the present day. The mill buildings erected prior to that date, and indeed for an- other decade, were small in comparison with the great structures of later times, rarely exceeding 100 by 40 or 50 feet, and two or three stories high. They were built without the use of derricks down to later than 1830, a fact that seems astonishing to the younger gener- ation-the heavy stones that were used in the walls being carried up to the top of the upper stories on hand-barrows or rolled up an incline. In erecting the Annawan and the late mills of the Fall River Manufac- turing Company, Major Durfee created considerable comment and ad- miration by employing oxen to draw the heavy materials upward on the walls.

In those days a mill superintendent received only $2 a day, and even that was thought high wages. Doffer boys received twenty-five cents

1 This First Christian Church established a mission in the city, in which the present Boyle Street Christian Church had its origin. The latter was organized in 1876 and is now under the pastorate of Rev. M. W. Baker.

The North Christian Church was organized in 1848, and a small edifice was soon afterwards erected. The Church of the New Jerusalem was organized in 1854. The church building on Rock street, was built in 1869.

482

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

a day and overseers of rooms, $1.25. While the machinery used was substantially of the same kind now operated, it has of course been greatly improved in many directions. The hours of labor were long, beginning at 5 o'clock, in the morning, summer and winter, and con- tinued until 8 o'clock, when half an hour was taken for breakfast; three-quarters of an hour was allowed at 12 M. for dinner, and work was then resum . ed and continued until 7:30, or until dark in the winter. Supper was eaten af- ter that. The male employees in some of the mills were served with New England rum at 11 A.M.

The growing man- ufacture of cotton goods and the com- parative difficulty of reaching the markets of those early days, led several firms at other points to estab- lish small print works, the products of which found ready sale. These conditions JEFFERSON BORDEN. were influential in prompting Fall River men to engage largely in that branch of the business. Holder Borden was not slow to forecast the future of the calico printing industry, and after his Massasoit Mill was in successful operation, he took the initia- tive, in 1834, in the measures that led to the erection and starting of the American Print Works. This is one of the largest establishments of the kind in the country. It began operating in January, 1835, and continued under the immediate management of Mr. Borden until Feb-

483

THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

ruary, 1837, when his ill health compelled his retirement and he was succeeded by Jefferson Borden,1 who acted as agent and manager until February, 1876, a period of thirty-nine years. During that period the American Print Works built up a reputation for efficient management, unyielding perseverance in the face of the most disheartening misfor- tunes, and excellence of product. The works were enlarged in 1840, were incorporated in 1857 and Col. Richard Borden elected president, which office he held until February, 1874. The corporation purchased the Bay State Print Works in 1858, then under management of Thomas J. Borden, and made it a part of the larger institution. In 1867 a por- tion of the original building was demolished and a new structure of Fall River granite begun; but on December 15 of that year, when the building was about finished the whole of the new part and about half of the old was destroyed by fire. This calamity was preceded on the 6th of the same month by the burning of a large part of the Bay State Works. The entire loss was about $2,000,000. The same energy and invincible spirit of enterprise that had organized the company and erected the works were now brought to bear, and the rebuilding of the great structures comprised in the present works was prompt and suc- cessful. The further history of this and other industries, the incep- tion of which has thus far been noticed, is given in a a later chapter.

1 Jefferson Borden was born in the then village of Freetown, February 28, 1801, and was one of the thirteen children of Thomas Borden, in the fourth generation from John, the founder of the family in Fall River. His father's homestead tract was the old mill lot of sixty-six acres (before mentioned) and his residence was in the vicinity of the present Kilburn, Lincoln & Co.'s machine shops. Jefferson Borden labored on the farm and attended the local school until he was sixteen years old, when he left home and obtained employment in the grocery of William Valentine in Providence. Three years later, in 1819, he returned to Fall River equipped with a good knowl- edge of general business principles and with hopes and ambition almost boundless. His brother Richard was then operating his grist mill and running the sloop Irene and Betsey in connection with it to Canonicut and Providence. During about a year after his return Jefferson joined these expeditions in his brother's interest, when not needed on the farm. In 1820 the two bought the small store of Holder Borden and Jefferson took charge of it. Upon the organization of the Fall River Iron Works he was chosen clerk and retained the position until September of the next year, when he was called to represent the company in its Providence branch. In that responsible position his keen business sagacity, his persistent energy and his intelligent forecast of the mar- kets soon gave the products of the company a wide distribution from that point. He remained there fifteen years, when, in 1837, the increasing ill health of Holder Borden made a vacancy in the management of the American Print Works and he was called to fill it. From that date until 1876, a period of thirty-nine years, Mr. Borden retained active control of the great industry, carry- ing it triumphantly through times of financial distress and building it up from its ashes, inspiring confidence in his associates and achieving for the business permanent success. He became in- terested in many other industries, among them the old Bay State Steamship Company, of which he at one period owned three-fifths of the stock, the Fall River Railroad Company, the Borden Mining Company and others. He was at different periods president of the American Print Works, the Fall River Iron Works Company, the Fall River Bleachery, the American Linen Company, the Troy Cotton and Woolen Company, and director in several other companies. Mr. Borden died in Fall River, August 22, 1887.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The Bay State Print Works were situated at Globe Village on the stream that flows out of Cook Pond, now Laurel Lake, to empty into the bay, and was the successor of the first cotton mill established at that point. This mill passed through possession of various persons and to Col. Joseph Durfee, who, in 1820, sold it to Potter & Chatburn, who converted it into a print works. The first prints were made there in 1830. From that date it was enlarged at several different times and was operated in 1833-34 by Holder Borden; in 1835-39 by the Tiverton Print Works Company, Walter Durfee, agent; in 1843-44 by Prentiss & Marvel; in 1845-53 by W. & G. Chapin, and in 1853-58 as the Bay State Print Works, until purchased by the American Print Works.

The building of mills and the establishing of new industries was not so active in the decade from 1830 to 1840 as in the previous ten years; neither did the population increase so rapidly. Two causes at least tended to produce this result. In 1832 cholera swept over the country, and although Fall River escaped the ravages of the malady almost wholly, its effect upon the general industrial affairs of the whole coun- try were very injurious and no doubt extended to localities that were not great sufferers from the disease itself. The local newspapers of that year contain no reference to deaths by cholera, although there is record of a number of fatalities in the town of Seekonk in September; indeed Bristol county as a whole seems to have been remarkably free from an epidemic that was terribly destructive in other parts of the country.

The other cause of depression alluded to was the financial panic of 1837. While we know that the business interests of Fall River, in common with those of other parts of the country, were depressed by the financial stringency of that period, we are still without much of detail regarding its effects. It is certain, however, that through the great energy of such men as Holder Borden and his associates, the village of Fall River scarcely felt the influence of the "hard times " that almost paralyzed manufacturing operations in many localities. The local newspapers of those times paid little attention to events oc- curring at their very doors, while they gave liberally of their space to foreign news, and we search in vain in such files as are still in exist- ence for information on this point.

Of one fact, however, we are assured-this community recovered speedily from the effects of the financial stringency and panic that were utterly ruinous in many places, where speculation in its various forms

485

THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

had been rife previous to the crash. Up to that time the business foundations of the village had been securely placed by the forceful efforts of the stalwart men whose names have already been, or will be, noticed herein, and they were not to be permanently or seriously dis- turbed by any ordinary financial shock. While the founding of new industries may have been postponed through the influence of the " hard times," active operation was kept alive in those already established, and within a few years after the crisis had passed, additions were made to several of the older mills and one new one was erected.

This returning prosperity is indicated by the following brief item of local news from the Monitor of May 20, 1843:

In passing around our village a few days since we counted forty new dwelling houses in the various stages of building-besides two large churches and a large ad- dition to one factory. It is understood some forty more will be put up during the season. There is continued call for tenements.

But all such congratulations, and evidences of prosperity, and hopes for the immediate future of the village were soon to be silenced under the weight of a terrible calamity. At about 3 o'clock on Sunday, the 2d of July of that year, while the congregation was still in the churches attending the usual service, an alarm of fire was sounded. Almost simultaneously with the sound of the alarm, in rear of a small carpen- ter shop and between it and a cabinet shop, on the north side of Bor- den street, near the corner of Main, was in flames. The season for several previous weeks had been exceedingly dry; the water in the stream was low and the flume, then undergoing repairs, was empty. At that date the village was sadly lacking in apparatus for extinguish- ing fires; yet the place had thus far almost miraculously escaped ex. tensive conflagrations. There were in 1843 only two hand engines of the old style-the one called Rapid engine No. 1, and the other the Hydraulion, both in a house on Pleasant street, where Niagara engine house stood; there was also one hook and ladder company. Besides these there were also the Fall River, the Pocasset, the Print Works, and the Troy Forcing Pump companies, so called. It will be seen that this was a decidedly inferior equipment for a community of nearly 8,000 inhabitants. There was, of course, the old bucket brigade, which responded as they could to fire alarms with the buckets kept in their houses or places of business, but they were almost helpless in a great fire. The flames spread with great rapidity and for nearly seven hours the work of destruction went on. At one time there were more than a

486

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

score of dwellings and stores in flames and when the fiery demon was conquered an area of twenty acres in the business heart of the village was covered with ruins in ashes. The burned district extended from Borden street on the south to beyond Franklin street on the north. All the stores in the place, excepting about half a dozen in the suburbs, were in ruins. While the fire was in progress the people of Bristol, ten miles away, put their engine on a sloop and hurried to the scene.

The alarm was given at about four in the afternoon. The conflagration com- menced near the corner of Main and Borden streets, in an open space in the rear of a large three story warehouse occupied by Abner L. Westgate. This space was covered with shavings, which were kindled from the firing of a small cannon by two boys. The fire almost instantly communicated with the surrounding buildings, and within five minutes the flames were apparently fifty feet high. Showers of sparks and cinders carried by the heavy wind kindled a number of buildings before they were reached by the body of the flame. The buildings on both sides of the main street were burning, aud the wind was blowing nearly parallel with the street. All hope of controlling the flames and saving the business part of the village was aban - doned. So sudden was the movement of the flames, unexpectedly appearing in dif- ferent localities, that in many cases all efforts to preserve property were ineffectual. The whole space between Main, Franklin, Rock and Borden streets was one vast sheet of flames entirely beyond the control of man. And had not the foe proved the ally, the destruction would have continued until nearly the whole village was in ruins. The change in the direction of the wind was all that checked the flames. While Dr. Archer's house, southeast corner of Main and Franklin streets, was burn- ing, the wind, which had been blowing from southwest, suddenly changed to north- ward, driving back the flames over the burnt district. The house of H. Battell, on Purchase street, was the last one burned, and the only one north of Franklin street. It took fire about 10 P. M. While it was burning a vessel arrived with an engine company from Bristol. The company immediately proceeded to Purchase street, and by their efforts saved the adjoining buildings, and prevented the further prog- ress of the flames. The conflagration had swept over nearly twenty acres of the cen- tral part of the village.1

The following summary of buildings destroyed and trades temporarily dispossessed was published soon after the fire: 2

1 Fowler's History of Fall River, 1862.

2 In this fire was destroyed the so-called "Skeleton in Armor," which was the subject of Longfellow's well known poem. This skeleton was discovered in 1832 in the soil on or near the site of the gas works in Fall River. The following is a part of the description of this curious relic from the pen of Dr. Phineas W. Leland : "The skeleton was found near the surface in a sit- ting posture, the leg-bones doubled upon the thigh-bones, and the thighs brought up nearly parallel with the body. It was quite perfect, and stood remarkably well the test of exposure. Covering the sternum was a triangular plate of brass somewhat corroded by time, and around the body was a broad belt made of small brass tubes four or five inches in length about the size of a pipe-stem placed parallel and close to each other. Arrowheads made of copper or brass were also found in the grave with the skeleton. That these were the remains of an Indian

487

THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

Number of families residing within the burnt district at the time of the fire 225 Persons belonging to those families 1,334

Persons in addition, employed or doing business in the burnt district, but living out, about 600

Number of buildings burned, not including the smaller ones

196

Of which there were used as dwelling houses, and occupied by one or more families each

Hotels

Churches (Methodist and Christian Union)

Cotton factory (Old Bridge Mill)

Carriage factories

Banks

Cabinet warehouses

Marble factory

Tannery

Livery stables

Dry goods establishments destroyed

Clothing

Grocery and provision establishments, including three or four crockery stores connected

Boot and shoe stores destroyed

Hat and cap

Book and periodical stores destroyed

Hardware

Milliners' shops destroyed

Mantua-makers' shops destroyed.

Apothecaries' 66

Jewelers'

Harness makers' 66

Stove and tinware "

Brass foundries destroyed

Blacksmiths' shops destroyed

Machine

Carpenters'

Reed-maker's shop

1 1

seemed to be generally conceded ; the configuration of the skull, the position in which the skele- ton was found, and the additional fact that parts of other skeletons were found near the same place renders it nearly certain that these were the bones of an Indian. Whose frame it was will not likely ever be permitted us to know. Whether it belonged to some chief still celebrated in song and story, or to an obscure child of the forest, whose bones and deeds slept in the same un - distinguished grave, we have no means of knowing. Tradition and history are alike silent when interrogated. We would fain believe that these were the remains of some noble old chief, once master of the beautiful rich valley through which the dark waters of the Titicut (Indian naine of Taunton River) still roll. We would believe so, for we love to think that humanity once warmed the heart of him whose bones have excited so much our wonder and curiosity. Whoever he was, peace be to his ashes." It is proper to state that other authorities have arrived at very different conclusions as to the race to which this long-buried man belonged, holding that it could not have been the American Indians. The best authorities, however, take the ground that it was the remains of an Indian chief, killed in the King Philip war.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Shoemakers' shops destroyed.

Plane-maker's shop

Roll-coverer's .

Turner's ..

Painters' shops

Butchers'

Soap-boiler's shop

Cigar factory

Restaurants

Bake houses

School house destroyed

Athenæum

Custom house

Post-office

Auction room

Counting rooms

7 2

Dentists'

Stage office

Printing offices

Lawyers' "

Physicians' offices

Barbers' shops

Whole amount of loss on buildings. $264,470

other property 262,015

Whole amount of insurance

175,475

Excess of loss $351,010

School rooms besides destroyed

$526,485

This was a disheartening and almost overwhelming calamity, and no more forcible tribute can be paid to the indomitable energy and uncon- querable courage of the people of Fall River than was shown in their rise above their condition immediately after the fire. The ruins were scarcely cold when steps were taken to start the wheels of business and rebuild in better and more enduring form the ruined village. A com- mittee was designated to ascertain the needs of those who were destitute and all such were promptly supplied with clothing, food, bedding, etc. Meetings were held in neighboring and distant communities and sub- stantial aid was forwarded to the authorities. About $60,000 in goods and money were contributed from New York and elsewhere. On the 15th of July the editor of the Monitor, after describing the desolate appearance of the burned district before improvements began, wrote the following :

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THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

Already is the burnt district dotted over with small buildings to answer the im- mediate wants of the people. . N. B. Borden is preparing to put up a large block on Pleasant street to extend from Main to Second. D. Anthony has already commenced the foundation for a brick block on the corner of Main and Granite streets. Doctor Durfee and Doctor Archer, and Mrs. F. B. Durfee are preparing to erect a three story brick block on Main street to extend from Bank to Franklin street. J. D. Burt is preparing to put up a building on Main street in place of a part of the Union block. A. L. Westgate is erecting a large warehouse on the corner of Main and Borden streets.

MAIN STREET, LOOKING SOUTH FROM PINE, BEFORE THE FIRE.

This was less than two weeks after the fire; and again on the 29th of July we find the following notes in the Monitor:

More than fifty buildings are now in progress upon the burnt district, of all sizes and descriptions, from the stately block to the small edifice, erected for the present and immediate wants of the people.

On the 9th of December the editor counted more than one hundred and fifty buildings in various stages of progress. On August 10, 1844, the number of buildings erected since the fire was about three hundred, among them being Anthony & Cotton's block, Archer & Durfee's block, French & Sanford's block, N. B. Borden's block, the Pocasset block, the Granite block, the Market block, and five churches. On the 4th of October, 1845, the editor noticed the fact that "the new Market

490

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

THE FIRE OF 1843-VIEW OF THE BURNED DISTRICT, LOOKING NORTH FROM BORDEN STREET.

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THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.

building is nearly finished. It extends from Main street on the west to Second street on the east, and from Pocasset street on the south to Market street on the north." This building, the walls of which now stand in the present City Hall, was dedicated December 30, 1845. The stalls and rooms were rented at its completion for a gross sum of about $1,600.

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Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Part 51

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company Number of Pages: 1399

Author: Borden, Alanson, 1823-1900; Boston History Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1399