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101-718: The trail was built on the right-of-way of the Old Colony Railroad 's Woods Hole branch line , which was built in 1872. In 1893, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NH) leased the Old Colony and took over service on the line. Passenger service was discontinued in 1964, the NH merged with the Penn Central system in 1969, and Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970. The creation of the trail began in 1977, when

202-476: A cranberry bog and crosses the horse trails at Bourne Farm. In West Falmouth, it passes near Chapoquoit Beach and then runs through the Sippewissett Salt Marsh . After the salt marsh , the path turns southeast and climbs slightly into the village of Sippewissett and then turns southwest and enters downtown Falmouth. At this point, there is a connection across Route 28A to the southern end of

303-611: A 99-year lease on the Boston and Providence Railroad , one of New England's earliest railroads, which had been chartered in Massachusetts in 1831 and began service between Providence and Boston in 1835. This major agreement gave the Old Colony Railroad operating rights on the busy double-tracked main line between the two capital cities, along with other branches to Dedham and Stoughton . The deal also included use of

404-535: A City in 1854. In 1835, The Fall River Female Anti Slavery Society was formed (one of the many anti-slavery societies in New England) to promote abolition and to allow a women's space to conduct social activism. There was an initial group, which was wary of allowing free black full membership, so a second group (this one) was formed in response by Elizabeth Buffum Chace and her sisters, who were committed to allowing free black women membership. Sarah G. Buffman,

505-772: A delegate from the group, was sent to the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in Philadelphia in 1838. Buffman signed all three of the statements that the convention's delegates agreed on. In July 1843, the first great fire in Fall River's history destroyed much of the town center, including the Atheneum, which housed the Skeleton in Armor which had been discovered in a sand bank in 1832 near what

606-526: 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. By the 1930s and the Great Depression , many of the mills were out of business and the city was bankrupt. The once mighty American Printing Company finally closed for good in 1934. In 1937, their huge plant waterfront on Water Street

707-565: A line between Taunton and New Bedford , but the name was changed to the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad in 1839 before service began in 1840. This line would later become part of OC in 1879. John Sever of Kingston, Massachusetts , served as the first president of the Old Colony Railroad Corporation from 1844-1845. Nathan Carruth served as the second president of the corporation from 1845 to 1848. Carruth

808-550: A new, more direct route between Fall River and Boston via South Braintree on September 24, 1866. Part of the new route was over the Easton Branch Railroad between Stoughton and North Easton . In 1871 the Old Colony purchased the Easton Branch. A portion of the old Granite Railway line was acquired in 1870 and later extended to form a loop through West Quincy off the original Plymouth line. In 1872,

909-460: A public water supply, and sewerage system were constructed to meet the needs of its growing population. From 1896 to 1912, Fall River was the headquarters of the E. P. Charlton & Company , a chain of five and ten cent stores . Founded at Fall River in 1890 by Seymour H. Knox and Earle Perry Charlton as the Knox & Charlton Five and Ten Cent Store, E.P. Charlton operated fifty-eight stores in

1010-675: A rail connection between Boston and Plymouth . Construction of the line began in South Boston in June 1844 and the 36.8-mile (59.2 km) line opened to Plymouth on November 10, 1845. The extension from South Boston to the newly completed Kneeland Street Station in Boston opened on June 19, 1847. Kneeland Street also served as the headquarters for the OC until the 1893 consolidation. There had previously been an Old Colony Railroad formed in 1838 for

1111-589: A sewer. In the 20th century the mills were abandoned and some of them burned, exposing the falls once more. Because of highway construction in the 1960s, the waterfalls were buried under Interstate 195 , which crosses the Taunton River at Battleship Cove. Plans exist to "daylight" the falls, restore or re-create them, and build a green belt with a bicycle path along the Quequechan River. In the south end, Cook Pond, also formerly known as Laurel Lake,

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1212-412: A sheltered harbor at the edge of downtown. Fall River has two large lakes (originally one lake) and a large portion of protected woodlands on the eastern part of the city, which is higher in elevation, with the Quequechan River draining out of the ponds and flowing 2.5 miles (4.0 km) through the heart of the city, emptying out an estimated 26 million US gallons (98 × 10 ^  L) per day into

1313-401: A stronger defense against a British force. In 1803, Fall River was separated from Freetown and officially incorporated as its own town . A year later, Fall River changed its name to "Troy." The name "Troy" was used for 30 years and was officially changed back to Fall River on February 12, 1834. During this period, Fall River was governed by a three-member Board of Selectmen , until it became

1414-638: Is "We'll Try", dating back to the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1843. Nicknamed The Scholarship City after Irving Fradkin founded Dollars for Scholars there in 1958, mayor Jasiel Correia introduced the "Make It Here" slogan as part of a citywide rebranding effort in 2017. Fall River is known for the Lizzie Borden case , the Fall River cult murders , Portuguese culture , its numerous 19th-century textile mills and Battleship Cove , home of

1515-649: Is at the former site of the North Falmouth station on County Road in North Falmouth. For the first 1,000 feet (300 m), the path runs adjacent to active track used to haul trash off-Cape from the Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station on Joint Base Cape Cod . The path runs south roughly parallel to Route 28A through the villages of North Falmouth and West Falmouth . Between North and West Falmouth, it passes through

1616-637: Is located on the border of Dartmouth in North Dartmouth's Hixville section that borders Fall River. Copicut Hill, the highest point in Fall River, is located between North Watuppa Pond and the Copicut Reservoir. The hill has a summit elevation of greater than 404 feet (123 m) above sea level. The Quequechan River breaks out of its bed in the west part of the South Watuppa Pond, just west of The Narrows, and flows through

1717-548: Is named. In this distance the total fall is about 132 feet (40 m). and the volume of water 122 cubic feet (3.5 m ) per second. Originally an attractive feature of the landscape, the Quequechan has seldom been visible since it was covered over by cotton mills and the Bay Colony Railroad line in the 19th century. As the Quequechan became an underground feature of the industrial landscape, it also became

1818-477: Is now Bristol, Rhode Island . The "falling" river that the city's name refers to is the Quequechan River (pronounced "quick-a-shan" by locals) a 2.5 mi (4km) river which flows through the city before draining into the bay. Quequechan is a Wampanoag word believed to mean "falling river" or "leaping/falling waters." During the 1960s, Interstate 195 was constructed through the city along the length of

1919-515: Is now Newport County, Rhode Island . The boundary was then placed approximately at what is now Columbia Street. In 1703, Benjamin Church, a hero of King Philip's War established a saw mill , grist mill , and a fulling mill on the Quequechan River. In 1714, Church sold his land, along with 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

2020-495: Is now State Avenue, unifying both Fall Rivers as a city in Massachusetts (among other changes; see History of Massachusetts § Rhode Island eastern border ). The early establishment of the textile industry in Fall River grew out of the developments made in nearby Rhode Island , beginning with Samuel Slater at Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793. In 1811, Col. Joseph Durfee, the Revolutionary War veteran and hero of

2121-487: Is now the corner of Hartwell and Fifth Street. During this time, the southern part of what is now Fall River (south of Columbia Street) remained part of Tiverton, Rhode Island . In 1856, the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island voted to split off its industrial northern section as Fall River, Rhode Island. In 1861, after decades of dispute, the United States Supreme Court moved the state boundary to what

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2222-664: Is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and is not abandoned. The trail name is a reference to the patriotic song " America the Beautiful ". The author of the song's lyrics, Katherine Lee Bates , was born in Falmouth, and there is a plaque commemorating her poem near mile marker 2. The proposed Bourne rail-with-trail extension 6.5-mile (10.5 km) will paralleling the active railway from North Falmouth to Bourne, where it will connect with

2323-792: Is the North Watuppa Pond , the city's main reservoir. The southern pond is the South Watuppa Pond. The narrow strip of land where the two ponds meet is known as The Narrows. East of the North Watuppa Pond is the Watuppa Reservation, which includes several thousand acres of forest-land for water supply protection that extends north into the Freetown-Fall River State Forest , and east to the Copicut Reservoir . Copicut Pond

2424-622: Is the Sagamore Mills on North Main Street, which were constructed from similar rock quarried in Freetown and brought to the site by rail). Fall River rode a wave of economic prosperity well into the early 20th century. During this time, the city boasted a bustling downtown with several upscale hotels and theaters. As the city continuously expanded during the late 19th century, additional infrastructure such as parks, schools, streetcar lines,

2525-774: The Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line . The MBTA also currently operates commuter rail service over portions of the former Old Colony Railroad network, including its Providence/Stoughton Line and portions of the Needham Line . The MBTA also restored service on the Plymouth/Kingston Line and Middleborough/Lakeville Line in the 1990s, and the Greenbush Line (part of the South Shore Branch ) opened in 2007. Two portions of

2626-509: The Boston and Albany Railroad as a local freight office. It was demolished in 1918 after being deemed unsafe. By the 1930s, the New Haven's largest freight terminal and only steam locomotive shop were both on the ex-Old Colony system; more passengers entered Boston on Old Colony lines than entered New York on the New Haven. However, during its 1935–47 bankruptcy proceedings, the New Haven attempted to rid itself of unprofitable portions of

2727-456: The Brutalist style popular in the 1960s and 1970s, the new city hall drew complaints from city workers and residents almost immediately. In 1970, Valle's Steak House opened one of its landmark restaurants on William S. Canning Boulevard in the city's South End. The steak house was popular with Fall River residents, but economic challenges caused the chain to close all of its restaurants in

2828-658: The Cape Cod Branch Railroad with a line off the Fall River Railroad from Middleborough to Sandwich opening in 1848. Among the proponents of the Cape Cod Branch Railroad was Richard Borden of Fall River, who saw the new line as an opportunity to bring more traffic and business through his hometown. In 1853, the extension of the line to Hyannis was started, reaching West Barnstable on December 22, 1853. On February 22, 1854,

2929-627: The Cape Cod Canal path. The active portion of the railway line is identified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET) Connector Line. STRACNET includes 32,500 miles of rail line critical to move essential military equipment to ports around the country and 5,000 miles of track essential to connect corresponding facilities, including the Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station. The Shining Sea Bikeway's northern trailhead

3030-584: The MBTA . Since 1997, other former OC lines have been reopened to passenger service, including the MBTA's Old Colony Lines with service from Boston to Plymouth and Middleborough/Lakeville . In 2007, MBTA passenger service was restored on the Greenbush Line between Braintree and Greenbush Station in Scituate . The MBTA currently has plans to also restore passenger service to Fall River and New Bedford as part of

3131-626: The Middleborough and Taunton Railroad in 1874 and the South Shore Railroad in 1877, which it had once leased until 1854. A year later in 1878 it acquired the Duxbury and Cohasset Railroad which gave the Old Colony a connection with its original 1845 main line at Kingston . Beginning in 1874, the Old Colony operated the "South Shore, Duxbury and Cohasset and Plymouth Express" between Boston and Plymouth on this line. In 1875,

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3232-656: The South Coast Rail project. Other parts of the former OC system continue to be used for freight service by CSX Transportation and other short line railroads , including the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad which operates on Cape Cod and in southeastern Massachusetts. Parts of the former OC on Cape Cod are also still used to operate the Cape Cod Central Railroad tourist train from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay during

3333-672: The South Shore Railroad for a period of five years. By 1851, traffic on the line had increased enough to warrant the opening of a second track running between Boston and South Braintree . The OC and Fall River Railroad merged with a joint stock vote on June 20, 1854, forming the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad Company , which provided a two-pronged line from Boston to Plymouth and Boston to Fall River , splitting at South Braintree. Alexander Holmes from Kingston served as company president during this period, from 1854 to 1866. The Fall River Railroad had been formed on August 8, 1845, with

3434-472: The "Old Colony Division" of the huge "New Haven" system. During this period, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad enjoyed a virtual monopoly on all passenger and freight rail service in southern New England . Passenger service on the New Haven's Old Colony Division ended in 1959, except for the main line between Boston and Providence, which continues to be used for passenger service by Amtrak and

3535-496: The "Old Colony", the nickname for the Plymouth Colony . From 1845 to 1893, the OC network grew extensively largely through a series of mergers and acquisitions with other established railroads, until it was itself acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad under lease agreement on March 1, 1893, for its entire 617-mile (993 km) network. After this date, all trains, lines, and stations became known as

3636-492: The 1960s, the city's landscape was drastically transformed with the construction of the Braga Bridge and Interstate 195, which cut directly through the heart of the city. In the wake of the highway building boom, the city lost many of its longtime landmarks. The Quequechan River was filled in and re-routed for much of its length. The historic falls were diverted into underground culverts. A series of elevated steel viaducts

3737-575: The 1980s. Also during the 1970s, several modern apartment high-rise towers were built throughout the city, many part of the Fall River Housing Authority. There were two built near Milliken Boulevard, two on Pleasant Street in Flint Village, another on South Main Street, and in the north end off Robeson Street. Today, these high-rises mostly house the elderly. In 1978, the city opened the new B.M.C. Durfee High School in

3838-566: The Battle of Freetown in 1778, built the Globe Manufactory, a spinning mill at the outlet of Cook Pond on Dwelly St. near what is now Globe Four Corners in the city's South End. (It was part of Tiverton, Rhode Island at the time.) While Durfee's mill itself was not particularly successful, its establishment marked the beginning of Fall River's time as a mill city. The real development of Fall River's industry, however, would occur along

3939-592: The Borden family as the leaders in the development of Fall River's textile industry. During the 18th century, the area consisted mostly of small farms and relatively few inhabitants. In 1778, the Battle of Freetown , was fought here during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) after British raids badly damaged Bristol and Warren. The militia of Fall River, at that time known as Freetown, put up

4040-701: The Boston and Providence Railroad's Park Square Station in Boston. In 1891 the OCRR signed a 99-year lease of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad . In December 1892, the OCRR signed a 99-year lease of the Plymouth and Middleborough Railroad properties. In 1896 the OCRR acquired the Fall River Railroad (1874) , which it had been leasing since 1882. On March 1, 1893, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H) – commonly known as

4141-477: The Cape Cod Branch Railroad was renamed the Cape Cod Railroad Company. In the spring of 1854, construction continued, with the railroad reaching Barnstable village on May 8, Yarmouth Port on May 19, and finally Hyannis on July 8, 1854. Connecting steamboat service to Nantucket commenced from Hyannis in late September and would continue until 1872, when the railroad branch to Woods Hole

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4242-604: The Fall River Branch Railroad – which had been completed in 1845. On May 19, 1847, the first "boat train" left the OC's Kneeland Street Station in Boston bound for Fall River, where passengers would board a steamship for New York City. Over the years, the Old Colony Steamboat Express train would become the most famous line of the Old Colony Railroad, with the finest and most up-to-date engines, cars and attention to detail. In 1863

4343-540: The Moraine Trail, including Goodwill Park, Grew's Pond, and Falmouth Pumping Station . In Falmouth, the path runs through a Steamship Authority parking lot and passes the former Falmouth Railroad Station , which is used as a bus station . At Woods Hole Road, the path reaches its downtown parking lot, which was its northernmost trailhead until the 2009 extension. It then crosses Woods Hole Road and continues southwest past Salt Pond to Surf Drive Beach. At Surf Drive,

4444-631: The New Haven Railroad – leased the entire Old Colony system for 99 years, which by then included the leased Boston and Providence Railroad and everything substantially east of it, as well as long branches northwest to Fitchburg and Lowell. Along with the lease of the New England Railroad in 1898, the 1893 lease arrangement gave the NYNH&;H a virtual monopoly on rail transport in southern New England. On September 22, 1895,

4545-479: The New Haven converted all former Old Colony lines from left-hand running to right-hand running. On April 6, 1902, a new alignment was opened from Broadway to Crescent Avenue station , eliminating a grade crossing of Dorchester Avenue. The former right-of-way was later paved as Old Colony Avenue. With the opening of Boston's South Station in 1899, the Kneeland Street Station was taken over by

4646-587: The North End, replacing the historic Rock Street building that had become overcrowded and outdated for use as a high school. The "new" Durfee is one of the largest high schools in Massachusetts . Since approximately 1980, there has been a considerable amount of new development in the North End of the city. A significant number of new single- and multi-family housing developments have been constructed, particularly along North Main Street. In 2017, Fall River

4747-418: The OC network are also currently used for tourist trains during certain parts of the year, including the Cape Cod Central Railroad and the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad . Between 1986 and 2016, the Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum operated in Fall River. The museum had four train cars and exhibits. The following is a description of the Old Colony Railroad lines and branches at about

4848-421: The Old Colony & Newport Railway Corporation built the Shawmut Railroad as a connection between the Dorchester and Milton Branch and the main line to Boston. The Old Colony and Newport Railway merged with the Cape Cod Railroad on May 1, 1872, and the two companies were consolidated on October 1, forming a new Old Colony Railroad Company under the leadership of Onslow Stearns , who served as president of

4949-399: The Old Colony Railroad Company also operated steamboat and ferry lines, including those of the Fall River Line with express train service from Boston to its wharf in Fall River where passengers boarded luxury liners to New York City. The company also briefly operated a railroad line on Martha's Vineyard , as well as the freight-only Union Freight Railroad in Boston. The OC was named after

5050-403: The Old Colony Railroad acquired the Lowell and Framingham Railroad , which before 1871 had been known as the Framingham and Lowell Railroad . In 1887 the Old Colony Railroad acquired the Hanover Branch Railroad . On April 1, 1888, the Old Colony Railroad signed a 99-year lease agreement the Nantasket Beach Railroad with service to Hull . Several days later, on April 7, 1888 the OCRR signed

5151-550: The Old Colony Railroad began operating the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad , which had been formed in 1863 as a merger between the Warren and Fall River and Fall River and Warren Railroad Companies. The Old Colony would later acquire this line outright in 1892. In 1879, the Old Colony Railroad greatly expanded its network into Central Massachusetts by leasing the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad for 999 years, then purchasing it outright in 1883. The acquisition of this line provided important connections for

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5252-431: The Old Colony and Fall River Railroad acquired the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad Company, which it had been leasing since 1848. The Old Colony and Newport Railway was formed in July 1863 when the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad merged with the Newport and Fall River Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1846 to build a road from Newport, Rhode Island to the Massachusetts state line at Fall River. However,

5353-413: The Old Colony's "Northern Division", with headquarters in Fitchburg, while the older OCRR lines became known as the "Central Division" with headquarters in Boston. In 1882 the Old Colony Railroad signed a 99-year lease on a line between Fall River and New Bedford through the towns of Dartmouth and Westport owned by the Fall River Railroad (1874) – not to be confused with its 1846 namesake . In 1886

5454-406: The Old Colony, such as with the Boston and Providence Railroad at Mansfield , the Boston and Albany Railroad at South Framingham and the Fitchburg Railroad at Fitchburg , among others. This deal also gave the Old Colony Railroad direct access to the important industrial port of New Bedford. Upon this acquisition, the lines of the former Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad became known as

5555-419: The Old Colony. The New Haven's bankruptcy trustees rejected the Old Colony lease in June 1936, but were forced to continue operating it under court order. In the 88 stations case , the railroad abandoned 88 stations in Massachusetts and five in Rhode Island on a single day in 1938. The Supreme Court ruled in November 1939 ( Palmer v. Massachusetts ) that the railroad had not been given proper permission, and 32 of

5656-405: The Quequechan River. The portion west of Plymouth Avenue was routed underground through a series of box culverts, while much of the eastern section "mill pond" was filled in for the highway embankment. In 1653, Freetown was settled at Assonet Bay by members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of Freeman's Purchase, which included the northern part of what is now Fall River. In 1683, Freetown

5757-431: The South's large investment in new machinery and other equipment. In 1923, Fall River faced the first wave of mill closures. Several of the mills merged, allowing them to remain in business into the late 1920s. The worst fire in Fall River's history occurred on the evening of February 2, 1928. It began when workers were dismantling the recently vacated Pocasset Mill . During the night, the fire spread quickly and wiped out

5858-408: The Town of Falmouth purchased the section of the bankrupt line running from downtown Falmouth to Woods Hole for $ 329,000. In 2009, the trail was extended an additional 8 miles (13 km) from downtown Falmouth to North Falmouth. Freight service on this section ceased in 1989. The Woods Hole-Falmouth section of the former railroad is owned by the Town of Falmouth: the Falmouth-North Falmouth section

5959-436: The United States and Canada by the time of its merger with several other retailers to form the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1912. In 1920, the population of Fall River peaked at 120,485. The cotton mills of Fall River had built their business largely on one product: print cloth. Around 1910, the city's largest employer, the American Printing Company (APC), employed 6,000 people and was the largest company printer of cloth in

6060-426: The city (partially underground in conduits) where it falls to a channel leading to what is now Fall River Heritage State Park at Battleship Cove on the Taunton River. The Quequechan River originally flowed unconfined over an almost level course for more than a mile. In the last half-mile (800 m) of its progress it rushes down the hillside in a narrow, precipitous, rocky channel, creating the falls for which Fall River

6161-649: The city had one-sixth of all New England cotton capacity and one-half of all print cloth production. The Spindle City, as it became known, was second in the world to only Manchester, England in terms of output. To house the thousands of new workers—mostly Irish and French Canadian immigrants during these years—over 12,000 units of company housing were built. Unlike the well-spaced boardinghouses and tidy cottages of Rhode Island , worker housing in Fall River consisted of thousands of wood-framed, multi-family tenements, usually three-floor " triple-deckers " with up to six apartments. Many more privately owned tenements supplemented

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6262-407: The city has a total area of 40.2 square miles (104.2 km ), of which 33.1 square miles (85.8 km ) is land and 7.1 square miles (18.4 km ), or 17.68%, is water. Water power from the Quequechan River and natural granite helped form and shape Fall River into the city it is today. The Quequechan River once flowed through downtown unrestricted, providing water power for the mills and, in

6363-479: The city; it is located on Anawan Street. By 1845, the Quequechan's power had been all but maximized. The Massasoit Steam Mill was established in 1846, above the dam near the end of Pleasant Street. However, it would be another decade or so when improvements in the steam engine by George Corliss would enable the construction of the first large steam-powered mill in the city, the Union Mills in 1859. The advantage of being able to import bales of cotton and coal to fuel

6464-432: The company from 1866 to 1877. The 1872 merger formed a system with three main branches; Boston to Plymouth, South Braintree to Fall River and Newport, and a third splitting from the Newport branch at Middleborough to Hyannis . At this point, the newly acquired lines became known as the Cape Cod Division, with a new superintendent's office located at Hyannis. The Cape Cod Railroad Company had been established in 1846 as

6565-515: The company housing. During the 19th century, Fall River became famous for the granite rock on which much of the city is built. Several granite quarries operated during this time, the largest of which was the Beattie Granite Quarry, near what is now the corner of North Quarry and Locust Streets. Many of the mills in the city were built from this stone, and it was highly regarded as a building material for many public buildings and private homes alike. The Chateau-sur-Mer mansion in Newport, Rhode Island

6666-456: The consolidation of three companies; the Fall River Branch Railroad , the Randolph and Bridgewater Railroad and the Middleborough Railroad. The Fall River Railroad was led by Richard Borden , a prominent Fall River mill owner who wanted a direct route to Boston that did not require the use of the Boston and Providence Railroad lines. The line from South Braintree to Myricks in the town of Berkley opened on December 16, 1846, as an extension of

6767-426: The deep Mount Hope Bay/Taunton River estuary in the western part of the city. The city lies on the eastern border of Mount Hope Bay, which begins at the mouth of the Taunton River starting south from the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge . The greater portion of the city is built on hillsides rising quite abruptly from the water's edge to a height of more than 200 feet (60 m). From the summits of these hills,

6868-402: The early 1840s, the city of Boston had six major rail lines connecting it with other places including Lowell , Maine , Fitchburg , and Salem to the north, Worcester to the west and Providence, Rhode Island to the southwest. The southeastern part of Massachusetts had yet to be served by a rail link to Boston. On March 16, 1844, the Old Colony Railroad Corporation was formed to provide

6969-412: The early 1970s, Amtrak has provided passenger service from South Station in Boston over the former Boston and Providence lines of the Old Colony Railroad. Since December 2000, Amtrak has also used this line for the Acela Express high-speed passenger rail service to Washington, D.C. Between 1986 and 1996 Amtrak also operated regular passenger service between New York City and Hyannis on Cape Cod during

7070-399: The early engines were the Mayflower , Governor Carver , Governor Bradford , and Miles Standish . The new railroad company also built the Samoset Hotel near the end of its line in Plymouth. In 1847, the OC completed a short 6.2-mile (10.0 km) connector line from its main line at Whitman to the Fall River Railroad line at Bridgewater Junction. On April 1, 1849, OC signed a lease of

7171-404: The falling river from which it was named, about a mile north of Durfee's first mill. The Quequechan River , with its eight falls, combined to make Fall River the best tidewater privilege in southern New England. It was perfect for industrialization—big enough for profit and expansion, yet small enough to be developed by local capital without interference from Boston . The Fall River Manufactory

7272-655: The former Old Colony Railroad network, including lines in Taunton , Fall River, New Bedford and Leominster . Since 2008, the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad has taken over operation of the state-owned freight lines on Cape Cod from the Bay Colony Railroad. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) currently operates passenger service on portions of the network, including the Red Line rapid transit service to Dorchester , Quincy and Braintree, and

7373-510: The fortunes of the New Haven. The reorganization continued; the railroad was ultimately required to continue Old Colony passenger service unless losses exceeded $ 850,000 in a single calendar year. The New Haven emerged from bankruptcy on September 11, 1947, and fully acquired the Old Colony a week later; the B&;P was kept as a separate New Haven-owned company. Palmer v. Massachusetts had been just one of eight Supreme Court cases generated by

7474-716: The last 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.8 km) of its length, down a series of eight steep waterfalls falling 128 feet (39 m) into the Taunton River at the head of the deep Mount Hope Bay . Fall River and surrounding areas are located in the northeastern coastal forests, which make up the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome. Fall River was the only city on the East Coast of the United States to have had an exposed waterfall in part of its downtown area; it flowed less than 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.8 km) into

7575-519: The late 1950s. All service to Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford (which used the B&P rather than the Old Colony mainline) ended in 1958. All remaining year-round Old Colony Division service ended on June 30, 1959, after the completion of the Southeast Expressway , though limited seasonal service continued for several more years. The NYNH&H merged into Penn Central in 1969, which in turn merged into Conrail in 1976. Since

7676-644: The lower part of the Quequechan River . Durfee was a shipwright, and Borden was the owner of a grist mill. After an uncertain start, in which some early investors pulled out, the Fall River Iron Works was incorporated in 1825. The Iron Works began producing nails, bar stock, and other items, such as bands for casks in the nearby New Bedford whaling industry. They soon gained a reputation for producing nails of high quality, and business flourished. In 1827, Col. Borden began regular steamship service to Providence, Rhode Island . The American Print Works

7777-784: The path follows the beach for 0.5 miles (800 m) and then heads inland. Turning east, it passes through another Steamship Authority parking lot and ends at the Steamship Authority ferry terminal and the former site of the Woods Hole station in the village of Woods Hole. Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island , which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth , Fall River , New Bedford , Newport , Providence , Fitchburg , Lowell and Cape Cod . For many years

7878-524: The prosperity that followed. By 1868, it had surpassed Lowell as the leading textile city in America with over 500,000 spindles. In 1871 and 1872, a "most dramatic expansion" of the city occurred: 15 new corporations were founded, building 22 new mills throughout the city, while some of the older mills expanded. The city's population increased by 20,000 people during these two years, while overall mill capacity doubled to more than 1,000,000 spindles. By 1876,

7979-719: The reorganization. Losses on the Old Colony reached the critical value in October 1948; after threatening to discontinue all service, the New Haven cut back to a 26-train peak-only schedule on the Boston Group in March 1949. Under the 1951–1954 presidency of Frederic C. Dumaine Jr. , the New Haven increased passenger service, using new Budd Rail Diesel Cars to reduce costs. Boston service reached 86 trains in April 1954. As losses mounted, Boston-area railroads made major cuts in

8080-604: The road from Fall River to the Rhode Island state line was not authorized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1860. The newly formed and renamed Old Colony and Newport Railway Company completed the final section of the line from Fall River to Newport which finally opened for service on February 5, 1864. In 1865, the Old Colony and Newport Railway Company acquired the Dighton and Somerset Railroad . It completed

8181-501: The state . It abuts the Rhode Island state line with Tiverton, RI to its south. Located along the eastern shore of Mount Hope Bay at the mouth of the Taunton River , the city gained recognition during the 19th century as a leading textile manufacturing center in the United States. While the textile industry has long since moved on, its impact on the city's culture and landscape is still prominent. Fall River's official motto

8282-535: The stations were reopened in 1940. After several attempts to end Old Colony passenger service - including a 1939–41 plan to outright abandon the Boston-area lines - the New Haven continued to operate the service. Whether to incorporate the Old Colony into the New Haven, and whether the Old Colony should be required to continue passenger service, continued to be argued as part of the reorganization. Increased passenger and freight traffic during World War II lifted

8383-437: The steam engines to Fall River's deep water harbor (and ship them out from the same) made Fall River the city of choice for a series of cotton mill magnates. The first railroad line serving Fall River, The Fall River Branch Railroad, was incorporated in 1844 and opened in 1845. In 1847, the first regular steamboat service to New York City began. The Fall River Line , as it came to be known, operated until 1937, and for many years

8484-610: The summer and fall months. Another tourist railroad, the Old Colony and Newport Scenic Railway operates on part of the former OC from Newport on Aquidneck Island . Several abandoned portions of the OC have been converted into multi-use rail trails . These include the East Bay Bike Path in Rhode Island , as well as others in Lowell, Mansfield , Fairhaven , and the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Cape Cod. By

8585-558: The summer months. With the establishment of Conrail, freight service continued over various portions of the former Old Colony network after 1976. Beginning in 1982, the Bay Colony Railroad provided freight service on various lines which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had purchased from Conrail, including lines on Cape Cod and in Middlesex County . Since 1999, CSX has provided freight service over several portions of

8686-448: The terrain extends back in a comparatively level table-land, on which a large section of the city now stands. Two miles (3 km) eastward from the shore lies a chain of deep and narrow ponds, eight miles (13 km) long, with an average width of three-quarters of a mile, and covering an area of 3,500 acres (14 km ). These ponds are supplied by springs and brooks, draining a watershed of 20,000 acres (81 km ). The northern pond

8787-467: The time of the 1893 lease to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , and shortly thereafter. [REDACTED] Media related to Old Colony Railroad at Wikimedia Commons Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts , United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census , making it the tenth-largest city in

8888-668: The very tip of Cape Cod, opening on July 23, 1873. In 1874, Old Colony founded the Martha's Vineyard Railroad , built across nine miles (14.5 km) on sand of the island of Martha's Vineyard , running from the Oak Bluffs steamer wharf to Mattakeeset Lodge in Katama , Edgartown . The locomotive Active (later renamed the South Beach ) was the sole operating train. This branch existed until 1896. The Old Colony Railroad acquired

8989-574: The world's largest collection of World War II naval vessels (including the battleship USS  Massachusetts ). Fall River has its city hall located over an interstate highway . At the time of the establishment of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, the area that would one day become Troy City was inhabited by the Pocasset Wampanoag tribe, affiliated with the Pokanoket Confederacy headquartered at Mount Hope in what

9090-493: The world. Dozens of other city mills solely produced cloth to be printed at the APC. World War I had provided a general increase in demand for 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 lower labor and transportation costs, as well as

9191-567: Was a successful businessman and enthusiastic supporter of the expansion of railroads in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England . With the opening of the Old Colony line through Dorchester in 1845, Carruth became actively involved in the development of the area. He built an estate on the east side of Dorchester Avenue called Beechmont/Beaumont which would become one of the first railroad suburbs in America. All OC locomotives were named until 1884, after which they were simply numbered. Among

9292-482: Was acquired by the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company and soon employed 2,600 people. A handful managed to survive through World War II and into the 1950s. In October 1941, just a few weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor , another large fire broke out in the main building of the printworks. The fire was a major setback to the U.S. war effort; 30,000 pounds (13,607 kilograms) of raw rubber worth $ 15 million

9393-409: Was constructed from Fall River granite , known for its greyish-pink color. While most of the mills "above the hill" were constructed from native Fall River granite, nearly all of their counterparts along the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay were made of red brick due to the high costs and impracticality associated with transporting the rock through the city and down the hill. (One notable exception

9494-673: Was constructed to allow access the new bridge. Many historic buildings were demolished, including the Old City Hall, the Troy Mills, the Second Granite Block (built after the 1928 fire), as well as other 19th-century brick-and-mortar buildings near Old City Hall. Constructed directly over Interstate 195 in the place of it predecessor, the new city hall (known as Government Center) was opened in 1976 after years of construction delays and quality control problems. Built in

9595-557: Was established by David Anthony and others in 1813. That same year, the Troy Cotton & Woolen Manufactory was founded by a group of investors led by Oliver Chace of Swansea. Chace had worked as a carpenter for Samuel Slater in his early years. The Troy Mill opened in 1814 at the upper end of the falls. In 1821, Colonel Richard Borden (along with Maj. Bradford Durfee) established the Fall River Iron Works at

9696-639: Was established in 1835 by Holder Borden, uncle of Col. Richard Borden. With the leadership of the Borden family, the American Print Works (later known as the American Printing Company) became the largest and most important textile company in the city, employing thousands at its peak in the early 20th century. Richard Borden also constructed the Metacomet Mill in 1847, which today is the oldest remaining textile mill in

9797-483: 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 Plymouth Colony. In 1746, in the settlement of a colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island , along with Little Compton and what

9898-525: Was lost in the inferno. With the demise of the textile industry, many of the city's mills were occupied by smaller companies, some in 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. The garment industry survived in the city well into the 1990s, by which point it had fallen victim to globalization and foreign competition. In

9999-545: Was opened. The Cape Cod Central Railroad was incorporated in 1861 as a branch from the Cape Cod Railroad, running from Yarmouth east and northeast to Orleans , and opening in 1865. The Cape Cod Central was purchased by the Cape Cod Railroad April 21, 1868, and the two railroads were consolidated on July 28, 1868. The newly formed Old Colony Railroad extended the line to Provincetown , at

10100-550: Was ranked the 51st most dangerous city in the United States. It was also the third most dangerous city in Massachusetts and fourth most dangerous city in New England. On January 20, 2019, a cannabis dispensary opened in Fall River, becoming only the sixth dispensary in Massachusetts and the first in Southeastern Massachusetts to open to anyone 21 years or older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau ,

10201-491: Was the preferred way to travel between Boston and Manhattan . The Old Colony Railroad and Fall River Railroad merged in 1854, forming the Old Colony and Fall River Railroad. In 1854, Fall River was officially incorporated as a city; it had a population of about 12,000. Its first mayor was James Buffington. Fall River profited well from the American Civil War and was in a fine position to take advantage of

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