2.17.2026 Historical Commission

Okay, good evening everyone. Oh, this is really a pleasantl looking crowd here.

I've got a few things to go over and then we'll open the meeting. It says, "Good evening. I'm Rick Mancini, chairman of the historic commission for the city of Fall River. It's Tuesday, February the 17th, and we're meeting at one government center on the first floor hearing room. Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting

through any medium. Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made, whether perceived or imperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

This evening is being televised and recorded by Craig of the Forever Government TV. And present this evening are commissioners Jonathan Lima, Connie Soul, Joyce Rodri, Carolyn Aubin, and Brian Klene, and myself, Rick Mancini.

Uh, all petitions have been properly advertised, and all interested parties have been notified in accordance with the rules and regulations of the historical commission for the city of Fall River. I hereby declare Tuesday the February 17th of the regularly scheduled meeting of the historical commission for the city of Forever open for such business and will resume now. Oh, and we have Ashley Duna also commissioner.

All righty. Uh, I'd like to welcome Mayor Coogan, forever city mayor, and the vice the president of the city council, Cliff Ponte. And we also have city councelor uh, Michael Camuel. And I think we have some presentations to be made this evening.

We do there, uh, Dr. Mancini, we do. Um, obviously setting the historical boundaries and limits to the far river waterfront cultural district was tackled by Roger Williams uh with their lovely professor Elizabeth Styles who came over and helped us. Um, and we can't thank you enough. Um, I know council president Ponti and Michael Canuel and actually all the members of the council always

appreciate it when we can get students involved in a project that's this noteworthy and uh, makes the city of for a better place to live, gives us all a better idea of what we're talking about and helps us uh, going forward in the future. Now, the council has citations and the mayor has citations, but I do know that uh, councelor Ponty wanted to say a few things before we got into it

because we'll bring you up one at a time. We'll both give you a citation.

Council Ponte.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the board, thank you for uh letting us be here. I just want to on behalf of uh my colleague Mike Canuel and the rest of the city council, as the mayor indicated. The commitment that you guys have shown, the hard work with your leadership of your professor and everything that you guys have done isn't lost on on the council and isn't lost on the community. The impact that you had

might not feel as powerful as it is, but it really is. So, on behalf of the city council, I want you guys to know that we appreciate everything that you do for the city. know you have done uh and this is exciting times ahead and you you've been an very important part of that. So, thank you on behalf of the city council.

Tremendous. Tremendous. So, we both kind of have the same message. So, we agreed that we I'd read one, maybe he read the next one or whatever, but we want to make sure we uh bring you up one at a time and give you two citations. One from the city council, one from the mayor's office. And the first one goes to Professor Elaine Styles with a PhD in honor and recognition of your efforts in

accurately researching and documenting the historical aspects of the Fall River Waterfront Cultural District. Dr.

Styles, thank you very much.

Sure. All right, sounds good. So on behalf of the forer city council, let it be resolved that the city council hereby extends its commendation to Sarah Baker from Roger Williams University in recognition of your research and documentation of historically significant structures within the former cultural district.

There you go.

I would get a tough name.

Yeah, I know. in in honor and recognition of the efforts in accurately researching and documenting the historical aspects of the far waterfront culture district. Sophia Basinella.

Not bad, RIGHT?

Congratulations to you. Thank you.

Oh, good. There's a tradeoff.

Umi.

So on behalf of the city council again, Sulange Gonzalez from Roger Williams, welcome back.

Nice meeting you. Thank you for your help.

Okay, I got a good one. Um, in honor and recognition of their efforts to accurately research and document the historical aspects of the Far Waterfront District, Haley Hill. Oh, she couldn't be with us.

Could be with us. Okay, we'll put those.

Thank you. We have resolved that the city council hereby extends its commendation to Samuel Powers for your research and documentation of historically significant structures within the fall water front cultural district.

And finally, in honor and recognition of your efforts to accurately research and document the historical aspects of the far waterfront district, Jimmy Var.

Thank you, Dr. Styles. We'll leave that one there.

But I do want to just before we leave again, I want to thank you guys very, very much. But I'm always curious, where are you from? Jersey. New Jersey.

New Jersey.

I'm from Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago, we're already afraid. Go ahead.

I'm from Sant Massachusetts.

Nice.

I'm from Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico. Very nice.

Richville, Connecticut.

I like I like to see a diversity of people coming to our city. We can't thank you enough. I hope you come back, go out to eat one night. We'd love you to spend some money in our restaurants.

And again, thank you very much for coming.

Thank you. Yeah, that's it. Thank you guys.

Thank you guys very much.

Mr. Mayor and President Council and Mr.

City Council, thank you very much.

Okay, this is real good. Uh, what I'd like to do is open with a roll call uh meeting. Could we have a roll call, please?

Ashley Dunan, Jasine Lima, present. Connie Soul, Joyce Rodri, Caroline Auben, Ryan Klein, and Rick Mancini.

Okay. Would I have a motion to move on uh new business item number one to be on the agenda? First on the agenda for the motion to move up new business item number one.

Second.

Second. First and seconded. Do we have a motion approval? A roll call? I'm sorry.

Ashley, yes. Jonathan, yes.

Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Yes.

And Rick Mancini, yes. Professor, and I noticed I don't see Oh, Dave. All right. We have the U chair of the cultural district here and his name is attorney David Dennis. And I'd like him to introduce the professor and the students.

So, I I've had the pleasure of already seeing this presentation and I can't thank Professor Styles and the students for the extraordinary work that they've done uh on this presentation. It is extremely valuable to the city of Full River. uh the opportunities uh that it will provide on the waterfront, the historic uh uh sort of the perspective that it that it provides. Uh I think we

don't realize just what our waterfront was at one time, how what an economic driver it was for the city and what an economic driver it can still be for the city. And these students did an extraordinary extraordinary job and I want to personally thank you on behalf of crater network the waterfront district and obviously I don't thank you on behalf of the city. Obviously you've been recognized by the mayor and and the

city council. So thank you for your great work. You should be extremely proud of it. Professor thank you for working with the city of Florida. It's going to be of tremendous tremendous benefit. This is not one of those projects that you just did for a grade.

tr trust me it is something that's going to be long lasting and provide a lot of economic historic uh and other opportunity for the city of Florida. So thank you very much we appreciate it.

I'll invite the students to come on up and get if that's okay get settled while I talk a little bit. Um, well, hi everyone. I'm, as you've heard, I'm Elaine Styles and I have the honor and pleasure of directing the preservation studies program at Roger Williams. Um, really want to thank the commission for inviting us here to present and we're really grateful to have had Mayor Coogan

here, both representatives from the city council and all of you for being here.

Um, so just a little bit of background.

Every fall I teach a course in historic building documentation and research methods for architecture and preservation students and we've been fortunate to work with um excellent community partners in Fall River now for three years um in a row. So this is the third year that I've had students coming and looking at cultural resources um in Fall River. And we really want to thank our partners on the commission, our

partners at the Historical Society for, you know, being great host to the students as well as um our newest partner that we're working with this year, which is the creative arts network. They've been just so enthusiastic and support of the students and their and their work, and it means a lot. Um so our focus this year, as you can see, is expanding and updating information about historic resources

that are in um the waterfront cultural district here in Fall River. um which was really an interesting kind of it was an interesting um for all of us to learn more about it um because it's the site of the city's first steam mills when they transition from water power to steam as you'll see the Bordon family's multi-industry empire is centered here in this part of the city um but also a

really important early settlement sites for French Canadian and Portuguese um immigrants to the city as well so these historic resources and the resources and all the stories behind them are really a vital part um of the potential for the district like providing that you know connection between past and future in this in this area. So the students in this um falls class they researched and

documented these uh resources in according to Massachusetts Historical Commission guidelines. You know that that's what we're training them to be able to do. Um but they also uncovered lots of new information about the interwoven landscapes here. So today you'll hear about nature, you'll hear about industry, you'll hear about labor and transportation and commerce. And as always, every year when I work in Fall

River, I just come away so impressed and appreciative of the rich history of the city and its people. Um, it's really um something that I think needs a lot more attention. So um one of the things that the students have done that won't make it into the presentation today but I think is important for everyone to know about is that they've also developed a set of interpretive panels to take this

work out of sort of the archival methods work that we do for you know sort of planning purposes um and that those can be installed in the district so with with help from creative arts network.

And so we're hoping that this will bring some much neededed attention and celebration to some of the um really important resources and spaces um at the confluence of these two rivers, but also a lot of really important um Fall River histories and stories. Um so I was going to introduce the students, but you've already had a little introduction to them. Um but I'll just say they're a

fantastic group. Um one of them, Haley Hill, isn't here with us tonight, but representing um sort of all areas of the coming school of architecture at Roger Williams. um undergraduate, graduate architecture and preservation students.

Um so I'm gonna ask Jimmy if he'll switch seats with me and I'll run down here.

So I'm going to turn it over to the students now and they are going to uh share with you what they've been working on.

I I would like to ask the uh commission to let's move forward and we can sit in the gallery. It might be easier for the presentation.

All right. Mr. like if you like.

No, I think I can hear out there. Sure.

So, so during the fall 2025 semester, our class surveyed eight historic properties and areas in the Fall River Waterfront Cultural District. Our presentation will cover our survey and research of the eight sites as well as our recommendations for further study.

Our work utilized existing documentation from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Register of Historic Places. We also conducted archival research at the Fall River collection at the Fall River Public Library and the Fall River Historical Society, including secondary sources, Fall River City Diction uh directories, the Fall River held news archives, historic maps, and photographs in the US

census.

We will discuss the properties we investigated based on uh four historic contextual and interpretive themes. The first being Colombia Street and Portuguese immigration. Um the second being the Bordon family empire, the third being World War II homeront production, and the fourth being transportation and waterfront commerce.

Great. So while Fall River began its early foundations in the 18th century, its most definitive development period was between the mid to late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of the American industrial revolution. The American Linen Company was the key was the keystone in developing an expansion of Columbia Street from a small upperass neighborhood to worker housing for the

local mills, specifically Portuguese, French Canadian, Nova Scotian immigrants.

Columbia Street is still a culturally enriched center for Portuguese cuisine, culture, and community, and can continue and can connect its own foundations to Fall River's earliest industrial developments.

The first recorded instance of Columbia Street was an 1850 map of Fall River just as manufacturing interests were beginning to move their mills south and west from the Ken Kushan, sorry. River Falls with the advent of steam power. Columbia Street stands at the edge of what used to be the dividing line between Fall River and Timon. Being at the outskirts, the street was relatively vacant with a few

buildings along each side, some of which remain there today. By 1883, there is visible expansion of mills and railroads with the erection of the American Linen Company along Ferry Road and the Fall River rail line passing along the western side of the street.

Clear expansion occurs when mill workers, many of which who were French Canadian and Portuguese origin, began to arrive to work in the riverfront mills and live on and around Columbia Street.

The street began to develop tenement housing, many of which continue to provide rental housing today. Breweries, restaurants, markets, and liquor dealers were also present along the street, reflecting the workingclass nature and mixeduse character of the street.

The expansion is also clear in the 1883 map with the large number of schools present along the street. The John J.

Duran School's original building on Columbia Street has been torn down, but the replacement built in in the early 1900s remains at 101 Fountain Street.

Where Stories Church now stands at 240 Columbia Street, a mission school once stood. Further down Columbia Street to the east, the Robson School once stood on the Columbia Street parking lot. The map of 1933, which was altered in 1961, shows the decline of mill work in Fall River, and the evolution of the street afterwards. The street had become denser since 1883, and previous buildings have

been altered and/or torn down. Some of the older buildings were adapted to become retail stores, grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, among others.

Many of these changes were done by the Portuguese community, which had officially called the street home. They began implementing parts of their culture to the street, such as material usage on some of the newer buildings, color, and brick work.

A physical feature which adorns Columbia Street are the decorative sidewalks, roads, and crosswalks. Developed as a means to beautify the street, the intricate details are inferred to be of influence by the Portuguese community.

Many of these elements have been lost over time being removed and patched over with asphalt. The street is currently being slated for reconstruction and based on what's what has been publicized, it seems this feature will be eliminated.

One of the earliest noticed populations along Columbia Street on mass is that of Petite Canada or Little Canada. Located predominantly at the west end of Columbia Street, the French Canadian immigration, primarily of Nova Scotian and Quebec descent, showed early vested interest in Fall River as a New England industrial powerhouse.

Further, pardon me, uh, further global immigration included Polish, German, and English descents.

English uh, Irish immigrants also came to Fall River in droves, especially with the existence of Corki Row Historic District.

However however arguably the largest immigrant population to date would be that of Portuguese descent, primarily from the Azors. English merchant ships would stop halfway between the Atlantic and England um and bring immigrants from the Azors to New England cities, particularly those rapidly developing industrial complexes.

One of the key drivers of development of Columbia Street was the American Linen Company. The American Linen Company was founded in part by Richard Bordon and temporarily housed its headquarters in the nearby American Print Works until the completion of the dedicated mills in the mid 1850s.

As of the 19 as of 1909, the company had over 900 employees and at its peak had approximately 85,000 spindles and 2,000 looms.

While the original building has since been demolished, its vast impact on local immigrant populations as well as new approach to workplace housing still last to this day.

What set the American Linen Company apart from other local manufacturers was its dedicated worker housing. While only two of the original rowhouse buildings exist to this day, their presence speak to an intentional intervention of purely commercial basis into a domestic support for its workers. The block between Broadway and Eagle Street and Colombia with Hope Street is believed to be the

only known brick company worker housing in Fall River.

Due to the general nature of the remaining brick structure on Broadway, uh while it is speculative to say this would most likely have been managerial housing, regular housing was often noted as tenementss on Fall River Sandborn maps.

However, this row house um regarding its style of company housing have been quite popular and similar to other European developments particularly in England. We can also see similar developments um of bricktown houses such as that at the loot and amoske mills.

The second worker housing unit is a little bit more ambiguous and is more akin to that of tenementss along Eagle Street that used to exist along uh paralleling the um proposed managerial housing. The American Linen Company uh pardon me. Uh this is a stick built structure with dedicated second floor living space with the ground floor seemingly designated for partial retail occupation.

Over the years, various stores have been in the corner store um between Columbia and Eagle Street, spanning from a Saab dealership depicted in the 1980s to a children's clothing store to this day.

Throughout this research process, it has also been noted the American Linen Company was located with other developments on the west end of Fall River. Um this includes a development between William and Division Street.

While the company experimented with townhouse style living, the company seemed to move forward with traditional Fall River triple- deckers for company mass housing.

There have also been a few scatterings of other architectural forms with the American Linen Company.

Overall, we can see on this map the sort of breadth of housing with the green lot depicting the original American linen company. The yellow is the original um old colony Fall River Railway which connected to Newport. And the areas in blue are noted as um official or regulated American Linen Company housing. And the area in purple off to the right was once affiliated with the American Linen Company, but it doesn't

particularly know in what capacity that those um parcels were used for.

Located at 240 Columbia Street in Fall River, Storisto Church is one of the oldest and most historically significant Portuguese Catholic communities in the United States. It is also the first ethnic parish in Fall River. Established specifically to serve Portuguese immigrants who had come to Fall River finding work. The site that the church occupies has supported three different church buildings over time. First, a

wooden frame structure purchased from the First Baptist Congregation in 1889.

Then, a masonry and wood church built in 1907. And finally, the present- day masonry structure constructed between 1927 and 1948. The current church is designed in a late Gothic revival style and is characterized by its tan brick masonry, limestone and caststone detailing, red tile roofing, and an impressive four-level corner tower with an open belfry.

The church is registered in the National Register of Historic Places due to its distinctive style, workmanship, intact quality, and important place in the Fall River Church history. Together with the parish rectory and parish center, the property forms a cultural and architectural anchor for the Columbia Street neighborhood.

This timeline shows the major milestones and stories development. The parish began as a Portuguese mission under the name of Mission of St. Anthony in 1876 to serve the large number of immigrants from the Azors arriving in Fall River to work in the mills and waterfront industries. The mission held services in different locations in Fall River such as the Hiberian Hall, St. Mary's

Cathedral, and St. Louis and St. Joseph Catholic Churches. In 1889, the mission purchased the first Baptist church building on Colombia and Canal Streets, giving the community a permanent location for worship. By June of 1892, the mission gained full parish status under the name Seor Storistoes, meaning the holy church, the holy Christ of the miracles. Over the next several decades, the parish expanded both

physically and socially. As mentioned before, the church went through three different buildings at the same location. The construction of the current building was slowed by the Great Depression in World War II, finally opening in 1948.

The parish property continued to grow through the acquisition of two properties in the 1940s for the rectory garden and parking lot, the purchase of a neighboring warehouse in 1982 for the use of a parish house and completion of a major restoration of the church building in 2013.

The church served not only as a house of worship, but also as a focal point for the community identity. Throughout its 150 years of existing on the site, the church's physical development paralleled the growth of the Portuguese community and Fall River. As Portuguese immigration increased in the late 19th and early 20th century, Columbia Street became the center of pro of Portuguese

commercial, social, and religious life.

Portuguese cultural elements were integrated into each phase of parish construction through material choices such as masonry, tile, and woodwork, though artistic features such as stained glass and tracery and through the daily use of the church as a hub of communal gathering. Parish feast such and festivals such as the annual feast of Storisto and the feast of the Holy Ghost bring Portuguese culture to the larger

audience.

The American Linen Company was just one of the many enterprises along the Taton River. Established by the Bordon family in the mid to late 19th century, the Bordon family engaged in and dominated many of the industry industries present throughout the city of Fall River's history, defining much of the development that built the city into the indust industrial capital that it was.

Colonel Richard Bordon, a veteran of the War of 1812, would make a significant contribution to the growth of the Bordon name and fortune. In 1821, he founded the Fall River Ironworks, an iron manufacturing company on the waterfront at the mouth of the Quesan River. He founded other companies under ownership by the Iron Works, including the Fall River Gas Works, the American Print

Works, and the Bayate Steamboat Company, fully converting the waterfront into a Bordonrun multi-industry complex by the mid 1850s.

In 1880, Colonel Richard Bordon was forced to separate his industries into legally differentiated companies. The Fall River Iron Works, the American Printing Company, the Bayate Seambo Company, and the Fall River Gas Works.

Each of these completed one step of the textile manufacturing and distribution process contributing to a vertical integration of the industry. The American printing company is highlighted in orange. Metacomat mill was built in 1846 and the fabric printing companies which printed on iron works textiles were constructed between 1880 and 1900.

Um the Fall River Gas Works highlighted in blue began service in 1846 providing gas lines to light the Fall River um iron works and expanding through the shift of the textile production. Um boarding in Remington which is highlighted in yellow was founded in late 1830s to supply bleaches and dyes for local textile manufacturers and service the Bordon textile complex as it grew. The Bay State Steamboat Company,

also highlighted in blue, later changed to the Fall Riverline um and it began operations in 1847. and distributing completed fabrics from the Bordon complex.

After the split of the companies in 1880, the iron works, highlighted um in blue, stopped producing iron as it was no longer profitable. In 1886, the colonel's son, Matthew Challenger Dery, or MCD Bordon, inherited the company and converted it into textile manufacturing, keeping the original name. Under MCD Bordon's guidance, five new textile weaving mills were constructed on the Iron Works property between 1889 and

1902, producing primarily cotton. By 1905, it was the largest textile manufacturer in Fall River by both size and production.

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company um bought and retoled the mills into rubber factories. The company was involved with the US military developing technology um for tanks in the early 30s, but in Fall River, the plant focused on manufacturing latex. When the US entered the war, Firestone started a non-for-profit contract with the army to produce a total of 7.4 million gas masks over the course of the war operating out

of Fall River. When a large fire struck in 1941, the community mobilized and the company rebuilt to maintain its production for the war efforts. The Fall River Firestone Plant continued to operate until 1971 when the company abandoned the site. Two years later, nearly the whole complex burned in another ma massive fire and was bought by Tillitin, a private developer.

Crab Pond was initially a saltwater inlet at the mouth of the Cookshan River and was acquired by Colonel Richard Bordon when he bought the land for the iron works. He added a bridge across the ri the water extending water street and separating the pond into an east side and a west side. He also redirected an inlet of the quickest to the pond converting it to a freshwater reservoir as part of the textile bleaching and

dying process.

Crab pond was a beautiful piece of an industrial complex bringing a natural element to the environment. It served this purpose in addition to its functionality for the manufacturing of textiles and proved itself useful in another way when in 1867 the print work suffered a fire. Crab pond was used as an additional water supply in fighting the fire. The pond was no longer in active use by 1889. However, it rem

maintained its form and its ability to naturalize the harsh environment. In 1941, about a decade after Firestone bought the site and converted it to a rubber plant and well into wartime production, Crab Pond served as a firefighting resource again.

During the American printing company's most successful years, they constructed three mill buildings along the north side of the of An Street between the year years of 1880 and 1900. Here fabrics were received by the iron works to be printed completing the final manufacturing step in the Bordon textile complex. By 1924 the company relocated and the mills were divided into office and manufacturing spaces for various

companies.

Yeah. The Fall River Gas Works Company was founded by the Bordon family in 1846 due to the urgent need for illuminating gas for in the fall river ironbergs company. In 1867, um line extensions began in order to supply gas to other corporations serving over 3,000 customers extending for 30 miles. They also served as um as Swansea and Sebrook's main gas distributor. From the company's founding until the 1960s,

the Gasber's company owned and maintained seven buildings across the city. Um production at boarding in Remington's um support boarding in Remington supported the textile industry consisting of bleaching powders, dyes, fabric finishes and mill maintenance machinery with the textile industry collapsing in 19 in the 1930s as well as the production of fine textiles moving south and world war 2 efforts ramping

up. Bordon and Remington adapted its operations to chemical production for cleaning supplies. Bordon and Remington is still in operation having relocated to the waterfront at 63 Water Street making Bordon and Remington the oldest privately owned um chemicals distributor in the country country.

The Metacomatic Mill and American Printing Company buildings highlighted in orange are listed on the national register on under criteria A which is association with the um industrial development of Fall River. We believe the area form can be expanded to include other bordon or other bordon industries.

Um the miccomt may also be eligible specifically under criterion c for its innovative design. Um the fall river gas works and bordon and rumington companies are also eligible for inclusion as contributing components of the board textile complex. Um they have retained much of their integrity including excluding integrity of use. However, the form location and appearance of these companies are largely unchanged. The

Fall River Iron Works, highlighted in red, is ineligible for inclusion in this area. Nearly half of the Iron Works buildings were lost to the 1973 fire.

Um, and in the past 30 years, the remaining historic buildings have been demolished, leaving no visible impression of the property's historic use. Um we would also recommend Bay State Steamboat Company later um called the Fall River Line um pier be used further research to determine if it may have eligibility for inclusion by its association with the industrial development of Fall River.

Another branch of the Bordon family was also active in the waterfront industrial zone. The mechanics mill was founded by issue of a charter by the state of Massachusetts in 1868 and was awarded to the distant cousins of Richard Bordon, Thomas and Lazarus Bordon, as well as their associate associates to incorporate as a new company in Fall River. After a year of discussion where designs changed, the newly completed

mechanics mill was found along the banks of the Taon River in 1869. This is significant because it was the beginning of a movement within the city to expand northward away from Fall River proper and increase the workable area of the city. To do this, Mechanics Mill employed wells that would draw river water to power the machines through steam, letting the mill move away from the fast waters of the Ketchan River and

all the other mills of the city required. Due to the mill's isolation from the rest of Fall River, the Mechanics Mill was constructed with constructed with 126 tenement houses for their employees near the mill. These tenants would be the start of a larger mill village that would become to be known as Mechanicsville, which stretches from current day President's Avenue to North Main Street. The Mechanics Mill

ceased operation soon after World War II. It is thanks to the influence of Mechanics Mill on the early cycle of industry in Fall River that has earned a spot on the National Historic Register in in 1981. And since then, the mill building would be taken over by many different companies before being adaptively reused as apartments in 2010.

We found that two industries in Fall River were engaged in wartime production. Textile manufacturing and rubber manufacturing. In a way, World War II production postponed the collapse of the textile industry. Before US entry to the war, the mill workers in Fall River were planning a strike, but it was canceled to commit all efforts to wartime production. Retooling of the mills to focus on wool, nylon, and

cotton, ensured employment for workers through the war. Rubber production, specifically the manufacturing of gas masks, and the storage of the US government's rubber supply was done by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

They were one of three companies to help produce a total of 1 million masks in the first six weeks of the war. Even when the plant suffered a major fire in 1941, production continued through the end of the war.

And now for the fun one.

Okay, we will now fast forward in time to the late 20th century when the Fall River waterfront district shifted to a more recreational use. um including the presence of a muchloved historic resource, the Fall River Carousel. Um the Fall River Carousel or PTC number 54 is a classic wooden carousel produced in 1920 by the Philadelphia Tobogen Company. Um the carousel is distinctly

true to the original artistic intent and it maintains all the original parts of the carousel that were crafted when it was first constructed. Um this integrity is rarely found in many of the wooden carousels of the day, most of which have been disassembled, parted out, or destroyed.

Um the carousel itself has a 46 foot um wood platform with three rows of carved wooden horses which are arranged in an organization typical that of that of a brass ring carousel um with the standing horses located around the outermost row.

However, um it has historically never utilized this feature. Four of these 20 outermost horses are armored and the inner rows are occupied by 20 jumping horses as well as two chariots. Um the two chariots of the carousel varying in carving. Um the first is detailed um with a Columbia or Miss Liberty flag and an eagle, whilst the other is a maiden or a skyborn nymph with a cherub. The original band organ, which is now

currently nonoperational, sits along the center panels facing outwards from the east side of the carousel, which sits which most likely would have utilized wooler 150 um millimeter rolls.

Um, the carousel's manufacturer, the Philadelphia Tobogen Company, was originally founded in 1904 and is a wooden carousel and a roller coaster manufacturer based out of Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Um, the company would have originally been u be formed to construct roller coasters, hence the debogen within its name. Um, but they would begin to construct carousels as well starting in 1907. They would continue to

manufacture wooden carousels all the way until 1960 when the last of them would be constructed and sold by the Philadelphia Toboten Company. Um during this 53-year period, the company would manufacture a total of 87 wooden carousels. Um currently only 35 are still active today. Comparatively they would um construct a total of 147 wooden roller coasters, 82 which are still active today. In the current day, they

have shifted shifted operations to manufacturing exclusively reproduction or replacement parts for wooden roller coasters.

Okay. Um the Fall River Carousel was originally commissioned in 1920 by the Lincoln Park Amusement Park. Um a former amusement park that was located southeast of the city of Fall River in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Um the carousel was chosen to replace a the park's preceding LOF carousel with a brand new larger carousel. Um the Philadelphia Tobogen Company would complete the carousel within that same

year, subsequently earning the label of PTC number 54. Um after it was completed, it was transported to the park and officially open to the public for the first time at the beginning of the 1922 park season and rem would remain there as the deemed crown jewel of the amusement park until the park would begin to fail in 1986.

In the midst of the initial failure of Lincoln Park, its owners put the carousel um up for sale um as well as some of its other major attractions for auction. Um with the help of a group of Fall River business leaders at the time, the city of Fall River would purchase a carousel for $693,000 in 1986. At the time, this was the highest price a carousel has been sold in at auction. Um, community fundraising

would raise a additional $250,000 for the carousel to be restored by the carousel works of Mansfield, Ohio. Um, Fall River would construct a large pavilion building to pro um, house the carousel as part of a plan for redevelopment and beautifification of the waterfront district. Um, and would officially open to the public on May 22nd 1992.

Uh from railways to steamship lines, Fall River was one of the most well-connected places in the northwestern United States from the mid-9th to the early 20th centuries and was an important regional stopping and waypoint for trips around the region.

The Fall River waterfront connected New York and New England through a combination of passenger ships and rail lines linking the industrial heart of the Northeast to Boston, New York, and Newport through luxurious travel on both land and at sea.

Fall River was the most commonly used steamboat port for the Fall River Line, a combination steamboat and rail line that ran from Boston to New York City.

From 1847 to 1937, the Fall River Line grew between grew into the standard route for business travelers, wealthy vacationers, and social elites. The line's night voyages became iconic, departing from Fall River, reaching Newport, circling past Goat Island and Fort Adams, then gliding gliding silently across the sound until dawn broke along the shores of Long Island.

The steam ships of then were also important employers for large numbers of black service workers who filled the positions of waiters, cooks, bartenders, and porters among others.

By the early 20th century, the rise of automobiles led to the decline and eventual end of steamboat travel. Still, the line endures in regional memory as a symbol of technological innovation, cultural glamour, and the unique maritime heritage that once connected Fall River, Newport, and New York in a nighttime nightly ritual of elegant travel.

The old colony and Fall River railroad was a staple of New England rail transit stretching along almost the entire steep seabboard of the east coast from Newport to just north of Portland Maine.

Fall River was a centralized hub the branch between Boston, Providence, Newport and Cape Cod.

Further railway developments moved the hub closer to Boston around Middbor, but Fall River maintained an almost exclusive hub to Newport, Warren, and Bristol, Rhode Island. Between, besides the main station, there were also at least two other smaller railroad stations in Fall River, one by the former American Linen Company and one closer to the hill. Ultimately, the old colony and Fall River Railroad was

absorbed into the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company, which became largely defunct in the 1960s.

I think you're Oh, for Norton. Oh, yes. Sorry.

Um Norton Pier um located at 600 Jav Street along the Taton River occupies a site that played a significant role in Fall River's early industrial expansion.

The 5acre warf was originally part of the Fall River Iron Works Company infrastructure.

The site's uh far history began in 1833 when Cook Bordon moved his lumber operations um from Lindsay Pier to this location.

For more than a century, the pier functioned as the base or one of Fall River's major lumber and building building material firms. Before the arrival of the railroad, all lumber was received by boat and the company even operated its own screwers between 1850 and 1880.

Between those same years, Cookboard and Co. expanded rapidly, supplying lumber, shingles, molding, and by 1860, it was essentially the large the city's largest the city's it was essential to the city's booming textile mills. Their clients included major industrial firms such as American Printworks, Fall River Print Works, Bayate Print Works, and the W Watetta Woolen Mills. the companies

across New England and New York.

By the late 19th century, the company increas increasingly served builders and contractors as Fall River underwent major urban and industrial expansion.

After the death of Cook Bordon in 1880, the next generation of Bordens took over. Under their leadership, new offices and storage buildings were added in 1890, and the business broadened its services to including framing and chimney construction.

Around 1910, the shift from horsedrawn deliveries to motor trucks signaled the firm's adaptation to changing technologies alongside the transformative impacts of the railroad and telephone.

Despite its long success, Bordon's fortunes declined as Fall River's textile industry collaped in the early 19 in the early 20th century.

As the mills closed or moved south, demand for lumber and related products fell dramat uh drastically.

By the 1960s, the business closed, the buildings deteriorated, and the parcels sold off, and the pier itself was largely abandoned for decades.

However, in 2013, the Fall River Redevelopment Authority moved to restore and reclaim this portion of the waterfront. The location was formally dedicated as the Senator Thomas Norton City Pier, honoring a long-erving state legislator and advocate for the city of Fall River and the Fall River community.

After years of environmental cleanup and planning, the pier finally opened to the public as the Norton City Pier in November of 2022, becoming one of the city's newest recreational and green spaces. Today, little remains of the site's long industrial history aside from the pier itself. Yet, the location reflects nearly two centuries of Fall River growth industry decline and revitalization.

Norton Peter possesses a rich and meaningful history tied to Fall River's industrial growth, lumber trade, and textile textile era economy. However, because the physical evidence of the history has almost been entirely lost, the property lacks the integrity required for the National Register listing, either individually or that as part of a historic district. While its historical associations are important to

the city's development, the site no longer meets require uh no longer meets requirements for national register standards.

Located on President's Avenue off Daval Street, bicesentennial veteran Veterans Park was created by Providence landscape architect Albert Vy. Vary was known for his other works in Providence, most famously the Roger Williams National Memorial in India Point Park. It was designed in 1975 to be unveiled for the 200th anniversary of America's independence. Before the land was used for the anniversary park, it was owned

and used by Bowenville Coal Company as a storage yard for their coal deposits.

Being on a warf along the bank of the Taon River allowed for the distribution up and down the river. Not much is known about the company aside from the fact that it was part of the Boneville area of Fall River, named after Jo James Bowen and the Bowen Coal Company.

Through our research this semester, we found that there is more that could be explored on a deeper level to tie to the entire area um and paint a clearer picture of the city's history. Um following is our recommendations for further research, survey or designation.

Um firstly, Columbia area um Columbia Street area um to determine the presence of a historic district. Um looking at the John J. a Doran public school off of Columbia Street. Um looking at surviving company built worker housing by American Linen Company and other textile firms.

Um the inclusion of the Fall River Gas Company and any remaining resources associated with the Fall River line in the Bordon complex area. Um looking at Fall River Fall River in the second half of the 20th century, particularly um in regards to the urban renewal area. Um looking at Ful River's contributions to World War I and World War II in the home from production. Um looking at the area

surrounding Kennedy Park or South Park designated by um Frederick Law Homestead.

I think we had just a little summary here of of some of the other recommendations for National Register eligibility uh including the carousel.

All right, that concludes our presentation. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I want to conclude this evening. Um we're going to continue with our meeting. We're going to take 15 minutes of recess. There are light refreshments out there. So you could all go out there and enjoy and and have some refreshments and commits here and speak with the group and ask all the questions that you might have. You have any questions at this moment?

I do.

Okay.

Um, why did you differentiate the carousel as an object rather than as a structure?

Um, most like pretty much just because the carousel itself is the historic object, not the building itself. Since the building was only constructed in 1980, it's not even um considered for the national registry. So, okay. Thank you. Was there any discussion of the fact that cultural assets including structures like the former Fall River City Pier are um protected under the Wild and Scenic

Rivers Act as holding special st I mean um sorry the W wild and scenic Taton River which is under the National Rivers Program of the of the um well DCR it's part of the National Park Service. It's run by them. There's a stewardship council. Anyone look at the leverage that that gives us to preserve some of these historic structures like there was a mention that there isn't anything left of the iron works but the

marine museum which name was never changed at the secretary of state to maritime that was um that's a building from the iron works that entire structure.

So um most the city now owns most of the gas works pro buildings facilities if not all of them which means we pay through the nose to buy toxic assets of America's largest from you know North America to South America largest power producers with gas.

Liberty Energy is part of Nbridge which is a huge conglomerate but we bought them as a city from the company that was stuck cleaning them up which ated scope of work and so on. Anyhow, we now own them, but the things that do survive, I'd love to see preserved. The American print work should never have been, you know, destroyed as it was, etc. And it's a draw for tourism.

So, I'm grateful that you all spoke about this, but I hope at some point part of the dialogue about the value will be that cultural assets are protected. We should never have turned the pier into what we have now. the environmental remediation really didn't happen and the whole the whole room of it was removed and sold to places like Mass Dot for benches at the Hyannis Transportation Tour.

If you want to see what the stone would look like, it's in front of Somerset High School.

So that was an $850,000 disappearance.

It would be nice to see some of this preserved as some I worked for the World Monuments Fund in New York and it's all about cultural identity and pride in the community and appreciation. These were the fastest and more luxur most luxurious and largest passenger vessels in some cases like the Commonwealth in the world. The dollar princesses went to Europe and said, "This is how you

travel." And so they started upgrading with wines like Cuba.

That was a response to these Americans coming over and saying, "Where's the champagne menu?" So we have this whole history here that we should be proud of that we excelled in technology, we excelled in commerce, we excelled in manufacturing because of that junction.

And we had an amazing waterfall just like Manchester, New Hampshire. One of the mills you cited is on an amazing water waterfall. It's the heart of the downtown.

We had a chance to daylight the falls and we didn't do it. We put highway off.

So I love seeing people coming in and talking about the wonderful assets here.

We had the Underground Railroads. We had whailing. We routed the red coats with Minutemen. It was a PR debacle with King George. We've had all kinds of exciting things happen. the Fall River length. It was a Navy port. This was a a US Navy base fall river. So, it's all kinds of history here on the waterfront.

There is much history here. We fully realize that. And there are going to be this is part one of our waterfront cultural district revival. Part one.

Exciting. Thank you for helping us launch. So all the things that you're mentioning at this point, they these these students and students of Professor Styles will be back again to do more and deeper research as was stated earlier.

So we don't want to get too far-fetched tonight from what we were discussing.

Your points are well taken, but you're going to see part two and part three of this investigation as years go ahead.

Thank you.

Yes, Jim.

My name is Jim Lopes. I'm from P for Heritage State Park. I want you to know that I'm working on three walking tours of the water culture district and I fully intend steal from you people.

Wonderful presentation and there was so much nuance and so many anecdotes in there that it makes me want to go back and do my homework. Okay. All of you are welcome to come to the park to see our film, The Fabric of Fall River. And the I've got eight sets of slides from that film. I've been authorized to get rid of six of them. So, if there's a home for slides, historical slides of Fall River

with you, let me know. But you're welcome to come by. We have a film on the Fall River line, one on the one on the um the uh one on the line, one of the one of the textile mills. But my three my three walking tours basically the same walking tour. Three things immigration, industrialization, and the military history forward. So get your notes.

Yeah, Sarah was our military historian and definitely a lot of work to do uh in terms of documenting that. It really is very impressive.

Yes, this is Did you ever talk to the curator from uh the the archist from DCR at all? Because DCR a full study of the waterfront.

Okay.

And there's also cultural resources department and they have they have miles of files. So, yeah. Yeah, I can make those connections for you.

Sure.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Well, thank you very much.

Questions are done. That's great. Let's go out and have some nourishment, some light refreshments out there. And again, that's what she said.

I saw her Sarah.

Thank you. Well done. Thank you so much.

Make a motion to return to the minutes item one.

All right. And do we have a second? We have a second.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, boy.

All right. We have a motion and a second to return return to our meeting.

All right. First order of business will be the minutes. Want to get a review and approval of the September 30th meetings which got lost.

We need to vote on that motion that's on the table.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Ashley, yes.

Yes.

Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Yes.

Ryan, yes.

And Rick, yes. So sorry. I'm trying to move it. It's getting way. I'm sorry. I apologize.

Point of order.

Okay. Point of order. Good point.

Yes.

All right. We'd like to review and approve the September minute meetings of 2025 September 30th.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Okay. Roll call.

Ashley? Yes.

Jonathan? Yes.

Connie? Yes.

Yes.

Caroline? Yes.

Ryan? Yes.

Rick?

Yes.

All right. And I'd like to review and approve the minutes of the November 18th.

I'd like to make a motion to approve um second uh I mean the minutes of number two, number three of November 18th and December 16th all at once.

Take item two and three together.

Thank you.

We have a second. All right, we have a roll call.

Ashley. Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Rick Manceni. Yes.

All right. We have to elect officers at this particular meeting. Uh so I'd like to have a nomination for chairs of the historical commission.

I make a nomination to uh for Rick Mancini to be the chair of the historic commission.

I'll second that.

All right. I'll accept. Do I have any other nominations for chair?

I'm not quite sure what the other Okay, let's have a roll call.

Ashley, yes.

Jonathan, yes. Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Ryan, yes. And as a chairperson and as a committee member, I can Yes. And vote. So, I vote yes.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much. And I accept. Thank you for the confidence.

Uh, I would also like a nomination for a co-chair.

Do we have a nomination for a co-chair?

Well, I think I would nominate Connie Saul.

Oh, no.

Uh, sorry. I would decline. I would decline at this time, but I would like to nominate John Lima for co-chair.

I will second that.

We have a first and a second. Do we have any more nominations?

Do we have a roll call?

Ashley, yes.

Jonathan, yes.

Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Ryan, yes.

And Rick Mancini, yes. Okay.

Congratulations. All right. Good. All right. Uh, let's see. Under citizens input, there was a violation of the open meeting law filed against the for historical commission. So, could I have a motion to refer to corporate counsel?

I'll make a motion to refer to corporate counsel the um the uh viol open meeting law violation open meaning viol. Yeah, but that that was filed by someone, right?

It was filed by someone.

Okay. So, um I assume it's an allegation.

Well, exactly. Not a violation. Yes.

That's why it was I was getting tongue tied.

Allegation. Okay.

Do I have a second?

I'll second it.

All right. Do I have a roll call?

Ashley, yes.

Jonathan, yes.

Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Ryan Klein, yes.

Rick Mancini, yes. All right. Very quickly, uh the building department called. They had a uh demolition request on a trailer on Dwelli Street and it does not fall under the significant structures law nor uh structures list nor under the National Historic Register list. Uh and it had no historic value.

So it was approved. So the building was uh taken down.

Any comments, questions?

Okay. uh correspondence uh gentleman from the Mass Historical Commission, Mr.

Ben Haley. Uh there was a letter written by the Jewish community uh wanting to know if the two gem uh Jewish cemeteries in the city were listed under the significant structures list or were they listed under the National Register and neither are or neither are at this point. Uh the car the the the the Massachusetts Historic Commission Ben Mr. Ben Haley referred them to us. I have not heard anything back at this

moment, but if we do, we could certainly put them on the significant structures list. Okay.

I would love to help if you ever need a volunteer because some some of my people are buried there. I'd love I'd love be glad to help.

Okay. I will I will give you a call in the very near future and we can discuss.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Uh there was a request by Patrick Higgins. He requested minutes of the historical commission uh for years 2024 and 2025.

They were supplied.

Okay. Uh there was a piece of property on Florence Street and they requested um let's see this one was uh yeah they want to change the sighting on the building.

Again it's not on the significant structures list um and it's not on the historical register. So the request was approved.

Uh again on Belmont Street there were renovations that were taking place. this house or building. It's a multif family building. It is listed on the significant structures list and on the national historic register. Uh it's a nice queen an it was built in 1893.

Beautiful building. But as far as rehabbing inside the property, we have no jurisdiction. So the building department was given the approval to allocate the building request. Um there has been a request for 233 235 South Main Street. That was the old I guess Price Right uh or right a drugstore and it's vacant and there is an individual at this time attempting to negotiate uh the purchase and uh he did

call. Was it on the significant structures list or the historic register? No, it is not. Uh, I took a good look at the building and it I believe that it should be and I know that Caroline is looking into it.

Yes.

Yes, I'm currently working on working on that right now. So, that's one that'll be coming up I believe to put on the significant structures list.

That's good.

Okay. Any questions on any of this? All right. New business. Uh, we had the presentation. That was good. And then uh item number two on new business, the city council requested uh this was the real estate committee requested that the chair of the historical commission be put on a subcommittee to investigate the disposal of the deval school. Uh this was back in early January and I did look

at the building and we had to fill out a matrix. Uh it was all decided as you're well aware the building was purchased.

It's going to be rehab. Uh it's going to be a any even and then there anywhere from I'm moving too quick here. Let me slow down. Anywhere from 12 to 16 apartments is what's tentatively approved. The interior of that building's got some beautiful staircase and the center portion. Have you seen it? Beautiful building.

A school there.

Yeah.

Oh, did you? Good. Well, they're going to save that whole centerpiece of stairwell. And so that's really nice.

Yeah. Beautiful building. Are they going to be applying for tax credits and stuff?

Uh, at this moment I don't know.

Okay.

Uh, I have not had anything coming up uh on that. So, uh, let's see. Any questions? Uh, is there any new business that any commissioner wants to bring up? None at the moment. Okay. Old business. uh received correspondence from public archaeology laboratories about the form B documentation for the 40C expansion.

Uh I sent through the latest and greatest copy of the issue that you were given a month or two ago is now obsolete. This is the most up to date.

Uh it looks like March the 2nd they're going to provide uh comments for the first batch of inventory forms. I believe I've sent all those out. Uh so you should have those. Uh on 316 they're going to provide a draft on the second batch of inventory forms. That's how close we're getting to the uh the end of the project. Uh 416 is going to be time for the uh team to provide comments.

We'll also provide comments here because we're part of this whole team. Uh that'll occur. And then April's going to be a check-in meeting to finalize the report. Again, once we get that exact date, we'll all be invited to attend that particular meeting. We might try and have it here, which might be a a good focus point also.

Does that meet with your approval?

Good.

Okay. Uh let's go to the certified legal government. As you're aware, we're a certified legal government uh funding authorization. U and what we did is we submitted to for the Bank Street Armory.

Uh I did get a call back from the state and it looks like all of the paperwork that we presented is was in adequate shape and and looked good and we met all the requirements to date. We've got the preliminary approval for it to go before their board for final review and that's going to transpire on March the 13th.

Okay. So, that was a request for $20,000 that would be issued. Again, the historic commission is going to be overseeing this and this project. Okay.

Uh any questions? Moving along.

On on this um Bank Street Armory, once that funding is secured, what are we going to get for that? I mean, what is that? Another survey?

It's going to be an in-depth survey.

There's also monies that have been allocated through the CPC for this particular project. And what it's going to do is give us a a some money, a sizable sum of money to hire a firm to go in and evaluate the building, look at it structurally, uh look for its deficiencies, what it would take to restore it back to its originality, and then also uh the best use of the building. Right? So they will

me recommend usage and best usage for the property. So that's what we're going to get out of that.

Any other questions from the board? Any comments?

Okay. The next would be the waterfront cultural district. Um, again, that's this particular situation that we had tonight, all of this uh this the district that we went out and uh CPC funding has been applied for. Uh CPC funding was awarded uh uh a few weeks back. So that this is if we get this particular grant for 28,000 it's going to be matching and again uh it's co it's going to coincide with all of the work

that the Roger Williams people have put together and what the what the money is going to use primarily for or again to address some of the areas that have not been scrutinized but also to start to look at best use of the waterfront cultural district property. You know, we know that Columbus Street is thriving and doing well, but when we start getting along Water Street, Ferry Street, and and we look at the mill

complexes and and uh that back area, the Cook Pond, all of that area, uh the gas works, you know, what's the best use for those pieces of property. So, again, that'll all be addressed with this funding.

Any particular questions or No, no comments.

All right. Uh 162 French Street. That was the property that we looked at about the porch. Uh has anybody been driven by there and looked at it?

I have.

No. All right.

I have.

And any comments or I haven't driven by it.

Comments? Yes.

No, I haven't seen the painting. It's painting.

No, it's they're going to be the spindles aren't painted yet because it's the treated material.

Oh, I've seen the final. Yeah, it looks pretty good. It's almost done.

He's going to dress the bottom.

Yep.

Uh with lattice, which is not done yet, but the lattice is going to be recessed in a couple of feet.

Mhm.

Uh so it should look really nice. It's good.

It uh it looks good. Was a good good decision on the committee's plot here to approve that addition. Yes. uh the little theater. I received a call from Miss Powers and uh what they're doing is they're going to replace the asphalt shingles. I'm not slate, sorry, the slate shingles with slate shingles rather than removing all of the slate and putting the synthetic shingles up there. So, this is a a good thing. Uh

and hopefully the cost will be a little less than the original. Any comments?

Okay, the next meeting is scheduled for March the 17th here in this meeting room again six o'clock.

That would be the second a third Tuesday. March the 17th.

Is that St. Patty's Day?

Oh no. Is it?

Yes.

Yeah. Yes.

I will not be here.

Okay. You will not be here.

Yeah. That's going to be a complicated.

Who is not going to be able to make March the 17th?

We got one.

Do we have a quorum?

So, should I keep it on the 17th?

I think we should look for an alternate date.

I think I agree.

All right. I will I will look for an alternate date. Okay. Thank you for the comments. I will get back to you within a few days.

Uh, okay. Do I have a motion to adjurnn?

A motion to adjurnn.

Second.

All right, let's take a roll call.

Ashley, yes.

Jonathan, yes.

Connie, yes.

Joyce, yes.

Caroline, yes.

Ryan, yes.

And Rick Nanceni, yes.

Joining the meeting at 7:26 on February the 17th. That's 7:26 p.m.

Meeting adjourned.