History of Fall River, Massachusetts - Decline of The Textile Industry

Decline of The Textile Industry

The cotton mills of Fall River had built their business largely on only one product: print cloth. About 1910, the city's largest employer, the American Printing Company (APC), employed 6,000 people and was the largest company printer of cloth in the world. Dozens of other city mills solely produced print cloth to be printed at the APC. The city's industry truly had all its eggs in one very large basket.

World War I had provided a much needed demand for the textiles, and many of the mills of New England benefited during this time. The post-war economy quickly slowed, however, and production quickly outpaced demand. The northern mills faced serious competition from their southern counterparts due to factors such as lower labor and transportation costs, as well as the South's large investment in new machinery and other equipment. In 1923, Fall River faced the first wave of mill closures. In 1924, the American Printing Company opened a new plant in Kingsport, Tennessee, moving much of its operation these, and slashing many Fall River jobs in the process. Some mills merged and were able to limp along until the late 1920s. By the 1930s and the Great Depression, many more mills were out of business, and the city was bankrupt. A few somehow managed to survive through World War II and into the 1950s.

The worst fire in Fall River's history occurred on the evening of February 2, 1928, beginning when works were dismantling the recently vacated Pocasset Mill. During the night the fire spread quickly and would wipe out a large portion of downtown. City Hall was spared, but was badly damaged. Today, many of the structures near the corner of North Main and Bedford Street date from the early 1930s, as they were rebuilt soon after the fire.

The once mighty American Printing Company finally closed for good in 1934. In 1937, their huge plant waterfront on Water Street was acquired by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and soon employed 2,600 people. In 1941, just five weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor, a huge fire broke out in the old 1860s main building of the print works. The fire was a major setback to the U.S. war effort, as $15 million in raw rubber (30,000 lbs.) was lost in the inferno.

By 1940, there were just 17 companies still in operation, compared to 49 in 1917.

With the demise of the textile industry, many of the city's mills would be occupied by various smaller companies, including the garment industry, traditionally based in the New York City area, but attracted to New England by the lure of cheap factory space and an eager workforce in need of jobs. By 1940, nearly one-fifth of the city's workforce was employed in the garment industry. This industry would survive in the city well into the 1990s, but has also largely become a victim of globalization and foreign competition.