Fall Rivers' Industries

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uildings of the Massasoit Steam Mills , located on Davol street, and altered it ove r into a cotton waste plant. This purchase included a valuable wharf property and severa l tenement blocks east of the railroad. In 1892 the company leased the Oakdale mills property at Montville, Conn ., and equippe d the same as a bleachery for raw stock. In 1893 the capital stock was increased to $150, - 000. In 1895 the waste plant at the triangle formed by Pocasset, Anawan and Union streets, formerly owned by M. T. Barlow, was purchased . In 1903 the Eddy mill property of th e American Woolen Company, adjoining th e Union mills, was purchased and converted into a coarse yarn mill . The business conducted by the company has been contracting , converting and manufacturing cotton an d cotton waste. It has been prosperous, an d its trade has been extended throughout the United States, Canada and also exports t o many foreign countries. William H. Turne r was a director and the New York City representative of the company from the tim e of its organization until his death, September 7, 1902 . Messrs. Frank L. Palmer and Wendell E . Turner are also, respectively, president an d treasurer of the Swansea Dye Works, located just across the river in Swansea. The y purchased the property of the Swansea Bleachery in 1890, incorporating it under th e name of the Swansea Dye Works. The works have been entirely reconstructed an d equipped with modern appliances for th e business of printing, dyeing and finishin g cotton piece goods. It has been very successful in this line . The Kerr Thread Company, which since December 31, 1897, has been a part of th e American Thread Company, was organize d in 1888 by Robert and John P . Kerr, o f Paisley, Scotland, ,with an original capita l of $292,400, subsequently increased to $800, - 000. A brick mill, 100x131 feet, five storie s, was erected in 1890, with dye and bleac h houses, and equipped to make fine cotto n yarn and threads. In 1893 the mill was enlarged to 260x131 feet, with an ell 168x6 0 feet. The plant now contains 48,096 mul e and 12,840 frame spindles . It employs 1,00 0 hands. John P. Kerr was president till 1893 , when he was succeeded by his son, Jame s Kerr. Robert C. Kerr was treasurer durin g the separate existence of the corporatio n and Richard H. Cook superintendent unti l 1898, when he became general superintend- HISTORY OF FALL RIVER 9 1 ent of the American Thread Company. Th e present superintendent is Robert Almond , and Mr. James B. Kerr is agent. The Fall River Electric Light Compan y was incorporated in 1883 with a capital o f $40,000. Weaver Osborn was president, H . T . Buffinton clerk and treasurer, and Weaver Osborn, H . T. Buffinton, Edward Leigh, William B. Hosmer and W . H. Hathawa . The Edison Electric Illuminatin y di-rectors g Company was formed the same year, wit h $100,000 capital, and was the second company in the United States to install the Edison system. Albert F. Dow was president , Henry K. Braley clerk, William H. Dwelly, Jr., treasurer, and A. F. Dow, Frank S . Stevens, Jerome C . Borden, W. S. Whitney , Spencer Borden, James P . Hilliard an d William H. Dwelly, Jr., directors. The companies were consolidated July 1, 1896 . The capital of $350,000 was increased in May , 1905, to $600,000, to provide for the buildin g of a large plant on the waterfront at th e foot of Hathaway street, now under construction. Owen Durfee is clerk, Albert F . Do w treasurer, and E . L. Anthony, George A. Bal - lard, Rufus W. Bassett, Jerome C . Borden , F. O. Dodge, John D. Flint, Robert S. Goff, Oliver S. Hawes and James E . Osborn di - rectors . The Old Colony Brewing Company wa s formed in 1895, with a capital of $250,000 . The officers are the same as at incorporation , and are : President, Quinlan Leary; Vice- President, L. L. Holden ; Secretary, Cornelius Sullivan ; Treasurer, R. F. Haffenreffer, Jr. These, with Thomas F. Splaine , George Hindle and Charles Letendre, constitute the board of directors. The capacit y of the plant is 100,000 barrels per annum . The Enterprise Brewing Company was incorporated in 1893, with $21,000 capital, in - creased in 1898 to $150,000. Joseph J. Sex - ton, H . G. Myers, H . G. Possner and George Wilhelm were the first officers . The present officials are : President, Edmund J. Delahanty ; Treasurer, H . G. Myers ; Secretary , Nathan Miller ; Directors, Messrs. Delahanty, Myers, Miller and C. H. Sears. Th e plant has a capacity of 80,000 barrels per annum . The King Philip Brewing Company, also located here, is about the same size as th e others . The large Estes mills are noted at lengt h elsewhere in the biography of John H . Estes . Of plants not elsewhere recorded, whic h have been discontinued for one reason or
92 HISTORY OF FALL RIVE R another, one of the most important was th e Globe Print Works, established in 1829 i n the old cotton mill erected in 1811 . Potte r & Chadburn were the first owners, followe d by various others, including Holder Borden , until 1853, when the Bay State Print Work s Company was formed and operated the plan t till 1858, when it became the property o f the American Print Works Company . A boiler explosion, December 5, 1867, was fol - lowed by a fire which partially destroyed th e plant. It was at once rebuilt, and ran fiv e printing machines until 1876, when it wa s discontinued . The property was sold to th e Globe Yarn mills in 1880 . The Fall River Machine Company, incorporated in 1880 with $96,000 capital, on the division of the Fall River Iron Works interests, and a few years ago repurchased by the Iron Works and its buildings removed t o make way for new structures, was the out - growth of a machinery manufacturing fir m started as early as 1821 by Harris, Hawe s & Co., and conducted under various name s as Oliver S. Hawes, Hawes, Marvel & Davol , and Marvel & Davol, till it was absorbed b y the Iron Works in 1879. The first president after incorporation was Jefferson Borden, with Robert C. Brown treasurer. In late r years John S. Brayton was president an d George H. Bush and Samuel D. Lawton were treasurers. The Wyoming mills were established b y Augustus Chace and William B. Trafford i n 1845, and managed by Mr. Chace, and after his death by his son, Judson . The produc t was cotton twine, batting and cotton warp and, later, yarn. The plant was discontinued after a time, and about 1896 th e buildings were sold to James Marshall & Bros. for their hat factory . The Fall River Merino Company wa s formed in 1875, with a capital of $110,000 , and had a disastrous career. It was designed for the manufacture of knit good s and merino underwear, and erected a bric k factory in the eastern section of the city , but met with continued losses and was finally abandoned and the property sold . Th e building and land is now owned by a syndicate. Frank S. Stevens was president, Seth H. Wetherbee clerk and Charles E. Bea n treasurer, while Frank S. Stevens, Foster H . Stafford, Robert T. Davis, William Mason , Samuel Wadington, S. H. Wetherbee , Charles E. Bean, Matthew C . Yarwood , Jason P. Stone, Jr., and Charles Weil wer e directors. It had 2,160 spindles and 48 loom s , In early days there was a considerable tannery on Bedford street, near the post office, operated by Edmund Chase and his son of the same name for nearly fifty years afte r 1810. Some of the buildings are still standing, east of the post office. The Fall River Line is one of the thing s in which the residents of Fall River hav e always taken a great pride, on account o f the beauty and high grade of the steamers and the notably good record the vessels hav e made, as well as the thousands of passengers who pass through on these boats on their way from New York to Boston or return. The travel is always especially heav y tnrough the vacation season, but in winte r there is also a good traffic . Freight steamer s are run in addition to the passenger boats . The steamers now on the line or available when needed include the Providence, Puri - tan, Priscilla and Plymouth, which are supplemented by a number of freighters, th e largest of which is the new Boston . The line was started in 1847, when th e Bay State Steamboat Company was formed by the Borden family, with a capital of $300, - 000, and commenced trips between this por t and the metropolis. The company in cours e of time passed into the control of the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Company, and on the extension of the railroad t o Newport in 1864, that city was made th e eastern terminus of the line until 1869, whe n the steamers returned to this port and have since remained here. James Fiske, Jr., an d Jay Gould were then the owners of the line , and Mr. Fiske, through his striking personality, did much to draw attention to it . Abou t two years later it passed into the hands of the Old Colony Steamboat Company, con - trolled by the Old Colony Railroad Company, and remained so until 1905, when it was merged in the New England Navigatio n Company, a corporation formed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, for holding its marine interests . The lease of the Old Colony road to th e New Haven had for years made the line virtually a part of the New Haven system, s o that the change to the new company mad e no appreciable difference . A competing line known as the Enterpris e Transportation Company, started by Worcester capital, began running steamers to Ne w York from a wharf at the foot of Turne r street in June, 1905. The Frank Jones wa s the first boat put on the route, and was soo n followed by the Warren and the Kennebec .
Page 1: CHAPTER XI THE CITY'S INDUSTRIE S T
Page 4 and 5: proximately $25,500,000, and factor
Page 6 and 7: B. Borden, 1876 to date . No presid
Page 8 and 9: emoved to smaller buildings, where
Page 10 and 11: and William F. Draper directors. La
Page 12 and 13: April 2, with a capital of $550,000
Page 14 and 15: fine and medium counts . Mr. Flint
Page 16 and 17: C . Borden, 1896-1900. A. B. Sanfor
Page 18 and 19: tions of the world, to extract the
Page 22 and 23: The Joy Steamship Company has lease

Fall Rivers' Industries

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