![Charles M. Braga, Jr. Memorial Bridge over the Taunton River, Fall River, Mass.[Credits : T.S. Custadio]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/99/117499-003-C863E1E3.gif)
city, Bristol county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on the east shore of Mount Hope Bay, at the mouth of the Taunton River, 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island. Its site was included in Freeman’s Purchase, a tract of land bought from Native Americans in 1659 by Plymouth colonists and settled in 1686. Originally part of Freetown, it was separately incorporated as the town of Fallriver in 1803. Renamed Troy, it reverted (1831) to its earlier name (derived from the Algonquian term Quequechan, meaning “Falling Water”). Abundant waterpower, a fine harbour, and a moist climate encouraged textile milling in the town as early as 1811, and by 1871 the city was a leading cotton-textile centre. It was the scene of numerous labour strikes, and its millworkers played a prominent role in the American labour-union movement. In 1892 Fall River was the site of the notorious ax-murder trial of Lizzie Borden, who was acquitted of hacking her father and stepmother to death.
In the 1920s and ’30s many of the area’s textile mills were closed, but despite continued trends of mill relocations away from the area, the textile and clothing industries remain the city’s largest source of employment. Also important are services (including health care, insurance, and business services) and the production of chemicals, electronics, and food products.
Battleship Cove harbours as historical exhibits a World War II destroyer, a submarine, a replica of the sailing ship HMS Bounty, the battleship USS Massachusetts (the state’s official war memorial), and other ships; the Marine Museum is also there. Adjacent to the cove is Fall River Heritage State Park (1984). Bristol Community College was established (1966) in Fall River. Inc. city, 1854. Pop. (1990) city, 92,703; Providence–Fall River–Warwick MSA, 1,134,350; (2000) city, 91,938; Providence–Fall River–Warwick MSA, 1,188,613.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Fall River" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.