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Fall River :

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Profile

The City of Fall River is an industrial community on the banks of the Taunton River in Bristol County with a long and fascinating history. The first settler was Benjamin Church, a hero of King Philip's war, who built a sawmill in 1690. The city's geography determined its destiny; as historians have pointed out, the significant fact about Fall River is that it had water power and port facilities together, making it both a transfer point for passenger and freight traffic to New York and the site of intense industrial development. Its diverse residential population is made up of immigrants from Great Britain, Portugal and Canada drawn to the mill jobs available in the city. Fall River's industrial history began in 1811 when Colonel Joseph Durfee opened the Globe Manufactory. By 1830 the city had seven textile mills, a steamboat to Providence and Newport and its own newspaper. A staggering population and industrial boom made Fall River one of the textile capitals of the nation with more than 100 cotton mills housing four million spindles, employing more than 30,000 people, and generating a weekly payroll of over $500,000. The city boasted an international market and 130,000 people when its prosperity peaked during the First World War. This was a closely knit industrial complex in which raw materials came into the port of Fall River to be processed into manufactured goods and then shipped out again from the port. When textile manufacturing began moving south in the 1920's, the city's decline began, accelerating during a devastating fire, which destroyed the central business district, and the Depression. By 1930 the city declared bankruptcy and its Having learned its lesson, the modern city maintains a highly diversified industrial profile with chemical operations, electrical and food products along with the garment and textile industries. It also maximizes tourism with the largest factory outlet district in New England and a World War II memorial which opens a variety of American warships to visitors at the State Pier in Fall River. The city retains a variety of handsome historic public buildings.*

General Info

  • Official Town Site
  • FY2008 total valuation:
    • Residential value - $4,814,438,740; residential tax rate - $7.18
    • Commercial value - $670,169,194
    • Industrial value - $358,998,000
    • Personal property value - $116,441,550
    • Commercial, industrial & personal property tax rates - $16.37
  • 2000 population: 91,938
  • Area: 34 square miles

Emergency Phone Numbers

  • Police: 911
  • Fire: 911
  • Ambulance: 911

Services

  • 100 percent of city served by municipal water, sewer and trash pickup

Elected Officials

  • Mayor: 324-2600; Edward M. Lambert Jr.
  • City Council: 324-2232
    • President William F. Whitty
    • Vice President Alfredo P. Alves
    • Leo O. Pelletier
    • Joseph D. Camara
    • Alfredo P. Alves
    • Patricia A. Casey
    • Raymond E. Hague
    • Thomas Kozak
    • Bradford L. Kilby
    • Linda M. Pereira

Appointed Officials

  • City Clerk, Carol A. Valcourt, 324-2220
  • City Planner, James Hartnett, 324-2563
  • Community Development Director, Steve Long, 162 N. Main St., 679-0131
  • Economic Development, Executive Director, Kenneth Fiola Jr., 324-2620
  • Assessors' Office, 324-2300, Administrator of Assessing, Pam Davis
  • Fire Chief, David Thiboutot, 324-2740
  • Health & Human Services, Michael Coughlin, 324-2401
  • Director of Municipal Services, Jim Smith, 324,2600
  • Police Chief, John M. Souza, 676-8511

Schools

  • School Committee
    • Edward M. Lambert, chairman
    • Brian Bigelow
    • Shawn E. Cadime
    • Mark Costa
    • Kevin Aguiar
    • Marilyn Roderick
    • Timothy McCoy
  • Administration: 675-8420, connecting all departments and schools, extensions listed below
    • Fall River Public Schools Administration Building, 417 Rock St.
    • Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Fischer, 675-8420 Ext. 404.
    • Assistant Superintendent of Administration, James R. Tickle, 675-8420.
    • Director of Business Administration, 675-8444.
    • Assistant Director of Business Administration, Maureen P. Cote, 675-8425.
    • Office of Instructional Technology, Coordinator, Raymond Medeiros Jr., 675-8298.
    • Early Childhood Development, Coordinator, Barbara Allard, 675-8376.
    • Special Education Director, Pamela Romano, 675-8410.
    • Special Education, Coordinator Assistants, Robert T. Mercer supervisor, 675-8396 and Anne Sullivan, 675-8393.
    • Title 1 Project Life, Director, Antony Neves, 675-8381.
    • Magnet Education Program, Parent Community Liaison, Dr. Odete Amarelo, 675-8367.
  • High School
    • B.M.C. Durfee High School, 360 Elsbree St.; 675-8130; Principal Donald Rebello; Vice Principals, Beverly Cambra, 675-8172; Normand Phenix, Paul Coogan, 675-8175; Robert Sousa, 675-8131; Director of Vocational Education, Donna Valente, 675-8178; Director of Athletics, Thomas Burns, 675-8144.
  • Middle Schools
    • Matthew J. Kuss Middle School, 290 Rock St., 675-8335. Principal Nancy Mullen.
    • Henry Lord Middle School, 151 Amity St., 675-8208. Principal, Robert Hasson.
    • James Madison Morton Middle School, 376 President Ave., 675-8340. Principal, James Murano.
    • Edmond P. Talbot Middle School, 125 Melrose St., 675-8350. Principal Karol Coffin.
  • Elementary Schools
    • Hector L. Belisle School, 40 Clarkson St., 675-8285. Principal, William Forbush.
    • N.B. Borden School, 45 Morgan St., 675-8260. Principal, Timothy Lifrak.
    • Spencer Borden School, 1400 President Ave., 675-8202. Principal, Marie Woollam.
    • Charles V. Carroll School, 117 Hood St., 675-8235. Principal, Edward W.Campion.
    • William Connell School, 650 Plymouth Ave., 675-8266. Principal, Adrien Bourassa.
    • Coughlin School, 1975 Pleasant St., 675-8220. Principal, Diane Dugal.
    • Davol School, 112 Flint St., 675-8215. Principal, Michael Garofalo.
    • John J. Doran School, 101 Fountain St., 675-8225. Principal, Margaret Christ.
    • Fowler School, 286 Sprague St., 675-8315. Principal, JoanDarcy.
    • William S. Greene School, 409 Cambridge St., 675-8325. Principal, Vivian Kuss.
    • Harriet T. Healy School, 726 Hicks St., 675-8280. Principal, Elizabeth Karam.
    • Laurel Lake School, 152 Orswell St., 675-8295. Principal, Marilyn Harris.
    • Osborn Street School, 160 Osborn St., 675-8275, Principal Ana Riley.
    • Letourneau school, 323 Anthony St., 675-8290, Principal Leonard Aguiar.
    • Lincoln School, 439 Pine St., 675-8306, Teacher-in-charge Barbara Terrio.
    • Frank M. Silvia School, 1899 Meridian St., (508) 675-9811, Principal Denise Ward.
    • Slade School, 200 Lewis St., 675-8300. Principal Frederick Cippolini.
    • Ralph M. Small School, 140 London St., 675-8210. Principal, James Borges.
    • Stone H.O.M.E. School, 1207 Globe St., 675-8376. Director/Teacher in Charge, Barbara Allard.
    • James Tansey School, 711 Ray St., 675-8206. Principal, Elizabeth Almeida.
    • Samuel Watson School, 935 Eastern Ave., 675-8240. Principal, Kimberly A. Sefrino.
    • Westall School, 276 Maple St., 675-8230. Teacher-in -charge Cheryl O'Neil.
    • Susan H. Wixon School, 263 Hamlet St., 675-8270. Principal, Nancy Hollis.
    • Thomas Chew Boys' Club, 803 Bedford St., 675-4730. Teacher-in-Charge, Robert DeCoste.
    • Fall River Alternative Program, 2585 North Main St., 675-4650. Teacher-in-Charge, Walter W. Witengier.
  • Charter School
    • Atlantis Charter School, 2501 South Main Street.
  • Private Schools
    • Bishop Connolly High School, 473 Ellsbree St., 676-1071.
    • Espirito Santo School, 253 Alden St., 672-2229.
    • Holy Name School, 850 Pearce St., 674-9131.
    • Notre Dame School, 34 St. Joseph St., 672-5461.
    • St. Jean The Baptiste, Lamphrey Street, 673-6772.
    • St. Peter and Paul School, 240 Dover St., , 672-7258.
    • St. Stanislaus School, 37 Rockland St., 672-9344.
  • Colleges
    • Fisher College, 1658 President Ave., Dr. Charles C. Perkins, president, 675-0171.
    • Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree Street, President, Dr. John Sbrega, 678-2811.
    • UMass Dartmouth Professional and Continuing Education Center, 139 South Main St., Center Director, Dennis Paquette, 678-3636.

Libraries, Parks, Beaches, and Museums

  • Libraries
    • Main Library, 104 N. Main St., 324-2700.
    • East Branch, 1378 Pleasant St., 324-2709.
    • South Branch, 1310 S. Main St., 324-2708.
  • Parks and Beaches
    • Britland Memorial Park, 15th St., 16 acres, basketball, bicycling, general play, picnicking, target archery, tennis.
    • Thomas Chew Playground, Globe St., 324-2757.
    • JFK Memorial Park, Bradford Ave., 324-2753, 54 acres, baseball/softball, basketball, bicycling, cross-country skiing, general play, hiking, ice skating, pool swimming, tennis.
    • Kennedy Park, Healy Pool, Bradford Ave.,324-2754.
    • Maplewood Park, Stafford Street, 324-2758, baseball/softball, basketball, bicycling, general play, hiking, picnicking, tennis, walking/jogging.
    • North Park, North Main Street, 324-2759, 25 acres, baseball/softball, basketball, bicycling, cross-country skiing, general play, hiking, ice skating, organized event, picnicking, tennis.
    • Ruggles Park, Pine Street, 324-2756, baseball/basketball.
    • South Watuppa Pond, 1,920 acres, fresh water swimming and motor boating.
    • Fall River Country Club

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* Described by Massachusetts Historical Commission.