USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 58
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Previous to the year 1871 the water supply of Fall River was inade- quate and unsatisfactory, both for domestic and public uses. It was supplied wholly from wells and springs, many of which had become unfit for use. After the usual preliminary discussion the first Board of Water Commissioners for the city was appointed in the spring of 1871. The source of supply was self-evident to all; it was the pure, spring fed Watuppa Ponds, which have been frequently mentioned in foregoing pages. The drainage area of these ponds is even as yet sparsely set- tled and the soil surrounding the ponds is of such a character as to in - sure exceptional purity of the water flowing over and through it. The area of the watershed is about 17,000 acres and the ponds are capable of supplying daily 35,000,000 gallons. It will be seen that the quantity now drawn daily by the city can be greatly increased with no possible danger of exhausting the supply. An analysis of the water was made in 1870 by Prof. John H. Appleton, which showed that in one gallon there are only 1.80 grains of solid matter, a degree of purity reached in the supplies of very few cities in the country.
After preparation of the plans for the works, a road was constructed
was Hilliard Earl, who lived in Dartmouth and New Bedford and finally settled in Taunton; he died of consumption at the early age of thirty-seven years. Benjamin Earl shipped as cabin boy at the age of thirteen years, but returned to Taunton and learned the trade of wool carding and cloth dressing; when he came to Fall River in 1826 he was employed in Bennett's wool-carding mill, but in the fall of that year began learning the printing trade in the Monitor office. His pur- chase of that establishment is elsewhere noticed. In 1836 he purchased the book store of S. L. Thaxter and continued that business many years. Mr. Earl was town clerk 1836-46; representa- tive in 1847; deputy collector, 1849-53; in the Common Council 1858 and alderman 1859; city auditor and collector 1862-67; and held other positions of honor. He was long a trustee of the Fall River Savings Bank, and a member and officer in the two Congregational Churches of the city. He married in 1830 Nancy Simmons, and was the father of six children. Mr. Earl died in July, 1882,
547
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
in the fall of 1871 extending about a mile and a half to the site selected for the pumping station, and during the year 1872 the foundations of an engine house, boiler house and coal house were built and the super- structures were completed in the following year. The gate house, where the water was taken from the lake, was built 225 feet from the shore, where the depth of the water was about ten feet. The engine house was designed to accommodate four engines, two for high service and two for low service. The first engine, built by the Boston Ma- chine Company, was put in operation January 5, 1874, and the water was supplied to the city on the 8th of the same month. The engine pumped into a 24-inch force main extending from the engine house to the corner of Main and Bedford streets, supplying the low service, i. e., those parts of the city which can be satisfactorily supplied with neces- sary pressure from a reservoir situated 256 feet above tide water. The more elevated portions of the city are supplied by the high service, through a system of pipes fed by a 16 inch force main, extending from the engine house to the corner of Robeson and Twelfth streets. This part of the service is supplied by a Worthington engine built in 1875. The capacity of the Boston engine was 3,000,000 gallons in twenty-four hours; that of the Worthington engine, 5,000, 000 gallons. The capac- ity of both engines has been exceeded during large conflagrations. The tower was built of granite and contains two stand pipes three feet and six inches in diameter, one for each branch of the service. The top of the low-service pipe is forty-eight feet above the highest point of the 24 inch force main; the top of the other pipe is eighty-eight feet above the highest point of the 16-inch force main and both are supplied with waste outlets. The base of the tower is twenty-one feet square to a height of twenty-two and a half feet, surmounted by an octagonal shaft sixty. and a half feet high. The pipes occupy the center of the tower and around them winds an iron staircase to the top. The cost of the works to October 1, 1876, was $1,328,456.14. The number of gallons pumped in 1874 was 185,116,305; in 1876, 297,658,014. Under the liberal policy of the city authorities the consumption of the water has rapidly increased to the present time. The net cost of the water works to January 1, 1898, is $2,454,819.85. The bonded debt on that date was $1,925,000, with a sinking fund of the value of $503,747.45. The annual receipts from consumers now amount to more than $150,000. About eighty miles of pipes of the various sizes have been laid in the streets, and there are now 827 hydrants in use and 811 gates.
548
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Under an act of legislature of 1893 an issue of bonds was provided for to the amount of $25,000, of which $19,000 was appropriated by the City Council for water works extensions and $6,000 for the extension of the main in Highland avenue.
The heavy freighting business of Fall River incident to the period of rapid development now under consideration attracted attention from the proprietors of the well known Clyde lines of steamers, and in March, 1876, they placed two boats upon the route between this city and Philadelphia. These were the Norfolk and the Defiance. Con- nections were made with the Old Colony Railroad, completing a new and direct freight connection with Boston. A large measure of success attended this enterprise and in the following year the large propeller, Vindicator, was added to the fleet. Vessel capacity is still provided by this company sufficient to meet the demands. Nothing further need be added to the foregoing to prove that the decade from 1870 to 1880 placed Fall River in the fore front of progressive cities and attracted to its future possibilities wide-spread attention and many newcomers, who would still further develop its material resources.
Since 1880 there have been incorporated thirteen additional cotton mills and kindred industries as follows: Conanicut Mills, 1880, capital $120,000; Border City Manufacturing Co., 1880, capital $1,000,000; Metacomet Manufacturing Co., 1880, capital $200,000; Bourne Mills, 1881, capital $400,000; Globe Yarn Mills, 1881, capital $1,200,000; Laurel Lake Mills, 1881, capital $500,000; Barnaby Manufacturing Company, 1882, capital $400,000; Seaconnet Mills, 1884, capital $600,- 000; Hargraves Mills, 1888, capital $800,000; Kerr Thread Company, 1888, capital $100,000; Cornell Mills, 1889, capital $400,000; Sanford Spinning Company, 1891, capital $500,000; Stevens Manufacturing Company, 1892, capital $250,000; Parker Mills, 1895, capital $500,000. All of these are adequately described in the succeeding chapter.
In 1880 the Fall River Gas Works Company was incorporated, with capital of $288,000. This was the first direct successor of the gas works that were established by the Fall River Iron Works Company in 1847, and which supplied the city until 1880. Jefferson Borden was the first president of the corporation; treasurer, George P. Brown. Directors, Jefferson Borden, John S. Brayton, David A. Brayton, David A. Brayton, jr., Richard B. Borden, A. S. Tripp, William B. Durfee. A change in the management of the company took place in October, 1886, when the following officers were chosen: President,
549
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
John S. Brayton; treasurer, Samuel T. Bodine; clerk and manager, George P. Brown; directors, John S. Brayton, A. S. Covel, A. O. Granger, Henry Lewis, Samuel T. Bodine, Randal Morgan, David Patton. In 1896 this company absorbed the property of the Man- ufacturers' Gas Light Company and increased the stock to $450,000, and the following officers were elected: President, John S. Brayton; vice-president, Joseph A. Baker; treasurer, Edward C. Lee; clerk and manager, George P. Brown; directors, Samuel T. Bodine, Randal Morgan, Walton Clark, Oliver S. Hawes, John S. Brayton, Joseph A. Baker, George P. Brown.
Among the miscellaneous corporations that were incorporated in the city after 1880 were the following: The Crystal Spring Bleaching and Dyeing Company, incorporated 1881, capital $100,000; Massasoit Man- ufacturing Company, incorporated 1882, capital $150,000; Fall River Machine Company, incorporated 1880, capital $96,000; Jesse Eddy Manufacturing Company, incorporated 1886, capital $60,000; Fall River Bobbin and Shuttle Company, incorporated 1893, capital $100,- 000; in the same period the electric light companies and street railway companies were incorporated. To some of these organizations further reference is here necessary.
This chapter of final general history of the city of Fall River may be closed with some tables of statistics, which indicate the growth of the community in population, manufactures, etc. The valuation of the city from 1854 to the present time is shown in the following table:
Year.
Valuation.
Tax.
Amount raised by Taxation.
No. Polls.
1854
$ 8,939,215
$ 5.80
$ 56,523.70
3,117
1855
9,768,420
5.60
59,425.15
3,148
1860
11,522,650
7.40
90,124.61
3,238
1865
12,134,990
16.50
209,272 20
4,461
1866
12,762,534
17.50
232,827.62
4,740
1867
15,220,628
17.00
269,020.95
5,135
1868
17,919,192
14.00
262,872.74
6,002
1869
21,398,525
15.60
346,310.09
6,247
1870
23,612,214
15.30
374,753.22
6,743
1871
29,141,117
13.00
392,974.15
7,070
1872
37,841,294
12.00
471,835.53
8,870
1873
47,416,246
13.00
636,451.61
10,020
1874
49,995,110
12.80
662,486.11
11,119
1875
51,401,467
14.50
768,464.37
11,571
1876
48,920,485
15.20
764,629.41
10,519
1877
47,218,320
15.50
753,735.96
10,926
550
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Year.
Valuation.
Tax.
Amount raised by Taxation.
No. Polls:
1878
42,329,730
17.50
739,518.48
11,564
1879
38,173,510
18.00
689,370.32
11,678
1880
39,171,264
18.00
702,088.91
12,008
1881
41,119,761
19.00
777,546.46
12 091
1882
43,421,970
18.80
813,490.93
12,881
1883
45,540,835
18.40
836,697.38
12,871
1884
45,798,860
18.80
859,013.53
13,212
1885
45,234,150
18.80
851,952.59
14,066
1886
45,111,705
18.80
852,014.82
14,677
1887
45,576,175
18.40
847,442.47
16,198
1888
46,504,585
17.40
862,823.98
16,319
1889
49,839,641
17.80
931,667 01
17,466
1890
53,395,908
16.40
913,894.39
18,756
1891
54,281,930
17.20
972,412.69
19,342
1892
56,065,920
17.40
1,018,320.00
21,340
1893
60,413,805
17.40
1,095 534.00
22,167
1894
63,638,563
16.80
1,113,959.86
22,321
1895
65,238,178
17.80
1,168,028.66
22,966
In 1849, the number of taxable polls was 1,603. The valuation of real estate was $1,678,603; of personal estate, $1,310,865; total $2,- 989,468.
Population statistics from 1810 to the present time are as follows:
1810
1,296
1878
48,494
1820
1,594
1879
46,909
1830
4,159
1880
47,883
1840
6,738
1881
49,049
1845
10,290
1882
5.0,487
1850
11,170
1883
.52,558
1855
12,680
1884
54,001
1860
13,240
1885
56,863
1862 1
17,461
1886
59,026
1865
17,525
1887
63,961
1870
27,191
1888
63,715
1871
28,291
1889
68,774
1872
34,835
1890
74,918
1873
38,464
1891
77,329
1874
42,289
1892
83,026
1875
45,160
1893
87,773
1876
44,356
1894
89,576
1877
45,113
1895
89,203
Before relating in succeeding separate chapters the history of many
1 The increase in population in 1862 was owing to the annexation of the town of Fall River R. I., which contained a population of about 3,590.
551
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
departments, institutions and industries of the city, it may be profit- able to briefly glance backward over a few comparatively recent years of the municipal life. One feature that is always conspicuous in the growth of large business centers is the rapidly increasing public debt ; and, contrary to anticipated results from correct business practice by individuals, the rate of increase of public debt is to a considerable ex- tent an indication of the rapidity of the growth of the city in all direc- tions. If this condition does not seem consistent to the uninformed, it is a subject that is clearly understood by the experienced official in any prosperous city. In the annual address by Mayor Greene made in January, 1897, he gave some figures that have a direct bearing upon the financial development of the city within the past twenty years, the value and interest of which fully justify the following quotations:
The total indebtedness in 1880, including both municipal and water debt, was $3.145,574.40, and the total indebtedness, including municipal and water and all special loans, bonds for which have been issued up to January 1, 1897, and also in- cluding the entire cost of the armory, which will never appear in any table of indebt- edness, $3,428, 788.17.
These figures show an increase of valuation of over $33.000,000 and an increase of indebtedness of only $283,213.77, or to give the statement in percentages, an increase of over 8712 per cent. in valuation and an increased indebtedness of orly a fraction over 9 per cent. In 1880 the population was 47,883 and to-day more than 100,000, being an increase of more than 52,000.
During this time $1,030,259.66 had been expended for sewers alone, and besides this sum there has been expended a large amount of money in rebuilding the City Hall and other public buildings, school houses and many other important public im- provements. The rate of taxation in 1880 was $18 per $1,000, and in 1896, $17 per $1,000.
In the early years of this municipality debts were incurred with considerable free- dom, without providing for payment by creating sinking funds, as is now required by law. As an illustration I give the following: Fall River from 1870 to 1880, in. crease of population 76 per cent. ; increase of tax valuation, 59 per cent. ; increase of taxation, 87 per cent. ; increase of indebtedness, 829 per cent.
From a standard publication by H. C. Adams on public debts, I find that the aver- age per capita debt of all the cities of the United States was $51.15. Twenty-one of these cities each contain a population of 100,000 and over, and of this number there were but five that fell below the average in their per capita of indebtedness, while many of them passed far beyond that of the average city. I do not wish to quote the names of the cities, but the per capita of indebtedness of some of the highest ranges as follows: $216,69, $157.87, $129.88, $127.84, $127.43, $90.71, $90.38, and $89.39. The per capita indebtedness of the city of Fall River is about $35.
In 1874 sinking fund commissioners were elected by the City Council, but up to 1875 nothing definite had been done by them, and the debt of the city increased steadily until 1870, when the depression in business, which had been quite general
552
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
throughout the country for three years, was severely felt by serious business compli- cations in our own city. The valuation had been increased from $23,612,214 in 1870, to $51,401,467 in 1875, when, owing to general business depression, there was a shrinkage in values, and the assessors' valuation was reduced from $51,401,467 in 1875 to $37,001,790 in 1879, thus reducing the amount which could be raised from the tax levy for municipal purposes. The debt increased steadily from $338,589.42 in 1870 until 1879, when it reached the sum of $3,170,784.31. This great increase of in- debtedness from 1870 to 1879 was occasioned by the introduction of water, the con- struction of school houses, engine houses, widening of Pleasant street and many other necessary and important improvements.
The water debt was especially authorized by legislative enactment, and up to 1880 bonds were freely issued to pay running expenses as well as cost of construction. In the year 1830, and every year since, the necessary sum beyond receipts from sales of water, varying from $70,000 in that year to $20,000 in 1896, has been placed in the annual tax levy, but the municipal debt, the highest in 1878, $1,576,070.32, had been increased by votes of the City Councils of the preceding eight years, thus increasing the municipal indebtedness $1,237,480 90 or 365 per cent., and had the laws which now exist, limiting the indebtedness according to valuation, been upon the statutes, such a thing could not have been possible without special legislative enactment.
This indebtedness has been cheerfully borne by the taxpayers, because it became a necessity, occasioned by the growth and development of the city, although it was a burden which should have been provided for as is the water debt, by the issue of long term bonds.
Upon further examination I find the greatest annual increase of indebtedness in the history of the city occurred in the years 1873 and 1874. In 1873 the municipal indebtedness alone, independent of water debt, was increased from $557,895.01 to $978,211.44, or $420,316.43 and in 1874 from $978, 211.44 to $1,434,478.58, or $456,267 .- 14, and this debt was carried at rates of interest that would seem appalling to-day.
The total amount expended for sewers since the sewer system was established to January 1st, 1897, was $1,514,899.41, and up to this time no system of sewer assess - ment has been established.
The following statement shows the amount of the municipal debt from February, 1870, to the present time, with the amount of the water debt from 1873:
Year.
Municipal Debt.
Water Debt.
Total. $338,589.42
Feb. 1, 1870
1871
306,328.77
1872
387,784.71
1873
$557.895.01
$300,000.00
857,895.01
1874
978,211.44
505,000.00
1,483,211.44
Jan. 1, 1875
1,434,478.58
950,247.23
2,384,725.81
1876
1,518,031.14
1,445,232.33
2,963,263.47
1877
1,479,095.44
1.639,862.33
3.118,957.77
1878
1,576,070.32
1,564,768.72
3,140,839.04
1879
1,549,912.78
1,620,881.53
3,170,794.31
1880
1,487,611.08
1,657,963.32
3,145,574.40
553
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
Year.
Municipal Debt.
Water Debt.
Total.
Jan. 1, 1881
1,436,311.68
1,648,475.35
3,084,787.03
1882
1,363,427.53
1,632,226.45
2,995,653.98
1883
1,287,896.42
1,622,265.25
2,910,161.67
1884
1,241,177.28
1,610,575.81
2,851,753.09
1885
1,161,367.47
1,593,505.49
2,754,872.96
1886
1,176,018.24
1.576,123.48
2,752,141.72
1887
1,087,553.47
1,549,328.88
2,636,882.35
1888
1,031,280.36
1,519,491.89
2,550,772.25
1889
969,642.52
1,507,563.28
2,477,305.80
1890
959,693.38
1,490,854.10
2,450,547.48
1891
1,115,796.04
1,476,897.70
2,592,693.74
1892
1,070,228.65
1,455,848.75
2,526,077.40
1893
1,377,736.75
1,422,757.10
2,800,493.85
1894
1,501,818.96
1,464,097.48
2,965,916.44
1895
1,543,761.25
1,447,323.52
2.991,084.77
1896
1,734,768.91
1,465,130.93
3,199,899.84
1897
1,894,177.88
1,443,413.88
3,337,591.76
The funded city debt on January 1, 1898, amounted to $2,578, 750. The funded water debt on January 1, 1897, was $1,925,000. The total issue of water bonds amounts to $1,900,000.
The borrowing capacity of the city for 1896 was $265,462.39. Bonds to the amount of $265,000, bearing interest at 4 per cent. were issued in 1896 as follows:
January 1, 1896, Municipal Loan No. 1, 1896, due January 1, 1906, $28,000, credited to the appropriation for street awards.
March 1, 1896, Highway Loan No. 6, due March 1, 1906, $102,000, credited to the appropriation for highways.
April 1, 1896, Sewer Loan No. 12, due April 1, 1926, $75,000, credited to the appropriation for sewers. .
April 1, 1896, School house Loan No. 2, due April 1, 1916, $60,000, credited to the appropriation for new school houses.
In 1897 the burden of city expense was noticeably increased by the rebuilding of the entire interior of the City Hall. The building is now not only commodious and convenient for its several purposes, but is also most attractive in appearance.
Sewer and street improvements in recent years have been very ex- tensive and, on account of the prevalence of rock in the upper strata of the land, very costly. The appropriation for highways alone has ap- proximated $150,000 in a single year, while still larger sums have been expended on sewers. For this latter purpose $100,000 was appropri- ated in 1896, which sum was realized from a loan authorized by a
70
554
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
special act of the Legislature, to which sum $71,500 was added. Sewers were constructed in 1897 in twenty-four streets, among them being the Bedford street storm sewer, which cost $10,000.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER-INDUSTRIES.
In this chapter, at the risk of some unimportant repetition, an effort has been made to gather and present in such detailed form as the avail- able space would permit, an authentic account of each cotton mill and kindred industry in Fall River, with the addition of such other manufac- turing establishments as are important to this work. These brief sketches have, in nearly or quite every case, been submitted for revis- ion to officials connected with the mills, thus insuring comparative accuracy in their statements.
It need not be stated that the cotton manufactories have exerted an enormous influence upon the village and city in every conceivable re- spect, making it known throughout the globe and giving it precedence in this direction over every other city in the Union. Besides their in- fluence upon the development, growth and prosperity of the village and city, which has been set forth in preceding chapters, these great cotton manufacturing corporations have been an all-powerful factor in modifying the general character and nationality of the population as a whole, attracting a very large foreign element, through which churches, schools, dwellings, modes of living, and even the city government itself, have been directly and largely affected in many ways that are self-apparent.
In the early years of the industry nearly all of the mill employees were Americans; there were few foreigners in the village. The estab- lishment of the first large print works brought in a considerable ele- ment of English and Scotch. These continued to gradually increase, and after the great fire of 1843, the foreign element was augmented by the arrival of many Irish, who worked in the mills and the Iron Works, and as day laborers. In later years the number of foreigners of vari- ous nationalities rapidly increased, until now they are numbered by
555
THE CITY OF FALL RIVER.
many thousands, constituting a very large majority of the mill hands. This is a condition the desirability of which cannot be discussed here; it was a necessary outcome of the business. As a rule these operatives of foreign birth or descent have been amenable to municipal and fac- tory regulations and many have become respectable and useful citizens. While there have been a number of important strikes which temporarily checked and disorganized manufacturing operations, it is doubtful if they have been more numerous than would have been the case among as many American workmen. The wage rate in Fall River has gener- ally been kept as high, or higher, than in other large manufacturing centers, and the domestic and social conditions of the operatives have been correspondingly satisfactory. In very recent years the competi- tion inaugurated through the establishment of many great corporations in the South, where labor conditions are different, has had a marked effect here; the future of this competition is at this time difficult to forecast.
Fall River Iron Works .- The original purpose of this company was the manufacture of iron, as its title would indicate, but it began soon after profits were realized to take an interest in the cotton manufac- tures of Fall River. The first suggestion of this undertaking has been ascribed to Bradford Durfee and Richard Borden; there is little doubt, however, that Holder Borden co-operated effectively with them. This is indicated by the fact that he was agent and in charge of three large manufactories of Abraham and Isaac Wilkinson, at Valley Falls, in Rehoboth (Bristol county), and the Cove factory in Seekonk, and these two men subscribed one fourth of the capital stock of the new Fall River enterprise. The first meeting for the organization of the com- pany was held at Bradford Durfee's house April 23, 1821. There a constitution was adopted, fixing the capital at $24,000, divided into thirty-two shares; these were taken as follows: Abraham and Isaac Wilkinson, eight shares; Bradford Durfee, four; Joseph Butler, four; David Anthony, four; Richard Borden, four; William Valentine, four; and Holder Borden, four. David Anthony was elected clerk, Bradford Durfee agent, and Richard Borden assistant agent; the duties of treasurer were performed by the agent. It was agreed " to erect a rolling and slitting mill, 46 by 48 feet, and 14 foot posts, a nail factory, 30 by 40 feet, and 18-foot posts, and a store 24 by 30 feet, and 14-foot posts, for the purpose of rolling bar iron into hoops, nail and spike rods, and cut-
556
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
ting plates into nails and spikes, and such other business as may here- after be agreed upon." These buildings were at once erected, the rolling mill just below the dam; the nail factory on a level with the dam on the privilege now occupied by the Metacomet mill, and the store on Annawan street. The business rapidly developed, in spite of the fact that only $14,000 in cash was paid in and $6,000 of this was soon withdrawn by the Wilkinsons, who became financially embarassed. The partnership continued until February 4, 1825, when the Fall River Iron Works Company was incorporated, and the property of the old copart- nership was divided into thirty-two shares (following the division of that and the present day of interests in vessels) and the same pro rata ownership was afterwards made in steamboats. The charter of the company authorized a capital of $100,000. In October, 1826, Abraham Wilkinson was elected president; Bradford Durfee, treasurer and agent ; Holder Borden, clerk. The same officers were chosen May 7, 1827, excepting that Richard Borden was elected clerk in place of Holder Borden. At the next annual meeting William Valentine was elected president, and Richard Borden, clerk, treasurer and agent, beginning a term of service as treasurer and agent which continued forty four years and to his death. Major Durfee had declined re election as treas- urer and agent, having accepted a similar office in the Annawan manufac- tory, which was organized February 5, 1825, by the stockholders of the Fall River Iron Works Company, with Benjamin Rodman and others of New Bedford. A statement made at that meeting shows that there had been no change in the ownership of stock except that Holder Bor- den is said to be the owner of eight shares, while David Anthony's name is not on the list ; Mr. Anthony had probably sold to Mr. Borden. It is probable that this transfer was made soon after the organization of the company, and almost certain that it was before May 3, 1825. One-half of the stock of the Annawan Company was taken by the stock holders of the Fall River Iron Works Company. On the 12th day of June, 1829, the two Wilkinsons transferred their shares to William Wil- kinson and soon afterwards went into bankruptcy. April 6, 1831, Will- iam Wilkinson sold those eight shares to Samuel Shove, and on the 28th of the same month Mr. Shove sold to Holder Borden three shares; to William Valentine, one and a half shares; to Bradford Durfee, Jo- seph Butler and Richard Borden, one share each; and to Jefferson Bor- den, one-half share. On February 23, 1829, Richard Borden sold one share to Jefferson Borden. William Valentine was a Providene mer-
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