Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River
Fall River city center in September 2007
Fall River city center in September 2007
Flag of Fall River
Official seal of Fall River
Nicknames: 
"The Scholarship City", "The River", "Spindle City", "Where the River Falls"
"The City of the Dinner Pail"[1]
Mottoes: 
"We'll Try"[2]
Location of Fall River in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Location of Fall River in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Fall River is located in Massachusetts
Fall River
Fall River
Location in Massachusetts
Fall River is located in the United States
Fall River
Fall River
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 41°42′05″N 71°09′20″W / 41.70139°N 71.15556°W / 41.70139; -71.15556
Country United States
State Massachusetts
CountyBristol
Settled1670
Incorporated (town)1803
Incorporated (city)1854
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • MayorPaul Coogan
 • City council[3]Joseph Camara
President

Linda Pereira
Vice President

Shawn E. Cadime
Michelle Dionne
Bradford L. Kilby
Laura-Jean Washington
Andrew Raposo
Leo O. Pelletier
Area
 • Total40.24 sq mi (104.22 km2)
 • Land33.12 sq mi (85.79 km2)
 • Water7.12 sq mi (18.43 km2)
Elevation
72 ft (37 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total94,000
 • Density2,837.91/sq mi (1,095.73/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes
02720–02724
Area code508/774
FIPS code25-23000
GNIS feature ID0612595
Websitewww.fallriverma.gov
Welcome sign in Fall River
Fall River municipal flag over City Hall

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census,[5] making it the tenth-largest city in 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 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.[6]

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 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.

  1. ^ Appears to have first been coined in Thayer Lincoln, Jonathan (1909). The City of the Dinner-Pail. Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press; Houghton Mifflin Company.
    • Coburn, Frederick William (1920). History of Lowell and Its People. Vol. I. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 345. For Fall River's rapid rise...the labor union movement has been much more vigorous in 'the City of the Dinner Pail' and at New Bedford than it ever has been in Lowell
    • "The Dinner Pail". American Heritage. Vol. XLVII, no. 2. April 1996. Fall River has been called the City of the Dinner Pail. Although I haven't seen a dinner nail [sic] in many years, I remember it well. It was made of galvanized tin, had three nesting compartments, and a bail handle.
  2. ^ Chapter 2-1, Current City Charter Archived September 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, rev. 1995 under ordinance 1995-42.
  3. ^ "Video: Paul Coogan takes over as mayor of Fall River". The Herald News.
  4. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "A Rallying Cry for the Dream Chasers, A Mantra for the Hard Workers: Fall River Case Study". Figmints Digital Creative Marketing. February 17, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017.

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