History of Fall River, Massachusetts - Early History

Early History

At the time of the establishment of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, the area that would one day become the city of Fall River was inhabited by the Pokanoket Wampanoag tribe, headquartered at Mount Hope in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island. The "falling" river that the name Fall River refers to is the Quequechan River (pronounced "Quick-a-shan" by locals). Quequechan is a Wampanoag word believed to mean "Falling River" or "Leaping/Falling Waters."

In 1653, Freetown, Massachusetts was settled at Assonet Bay by members of the Plymouth Colony, as part of Freeman's Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683 Freetown was incorporated as a town within the colony. The southern part of what is now Fall River was incorporated as the town of Tiverton, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1694, a few years after the merger with the Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island, along with Little Compton and what is now Bristol County, Rhode Island. The state boundary was placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street.

In 1703, Benjamin Church, a prominent veteran of King Philip's War, established a sawmill, a gristmill and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, including the water rights, to Richard Borden of Tiverton and his brother Joseph. (This transaction would prove to be extremely valuable 100 years later, helping to establish the Borden family as the leaders in the development of Fall River's textile industry.)

Native settlement during this time was confined to a reservation near what is now Notre Dame Cemetery. Later the reservation was shifted to the eastern shore of Watauppa Pond. The reservation fell apart in the early 20th century.

By the mid-18th century, Thomas Borden (son of Richard) operated a sawmill and a gristmill on the south bank of the Quequechan River, while Joseph Borden ran a fulling mill further upstream. Steven Borden operated a gristmill and sawmill on the north bank of the river. During this time, settlement also occurred in the northern part of modern-day Fall River, along what is now North Main Street. The oldest remaining house in Fall River, located on French Street, was built in 1750.

On May 25, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Freetown was fought when about 150 English soldiers, under the command of Major Ayers, sailed up Mount Hope Bay in the night and landed near the mouth of the Quequechan River. Spotted by a sentinel, the ship was fired upon by several local minutemen, their gunfire returned by cannon fire. Several British soldiers disembarked to lay siege on the village, burning the house, gristmill and sawmill of Thomas Borden, and taking his aged father, Richard, prisoner, burning his house as well. The prisoner was eventually released after several days, and the British retreated from Freetown altogether. The Freetown minutemen were aided by a colonist militia from the Tiverton outpost led by Captain Joseph Durfee, a war veteran recently returned from a battle at White Plains and son of Thomas Durfee Esq. of Freetown. The British suffered two casualties as a result of the light fighting. The colonists suffered no losses.

Later in 1788 during the Revolutionary War, the area was visited by the Marquis de Lafayette, the famed French war hero who was a guest of Joseph Durfee's father Thomas Durfee. The 1750s-vintage house is now located at 94 Cherry Street in Fall River, and is open to the public for tours. Today, Lafayette Park in the city's East End is named for the French war hero.