Fall Rivers' Industries

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 .