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{{Short description|Defunct steamboat line}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{for|the current train|Fall River/New Bedford Line}}
{{Infobox company
| industry = [[Maritime transportation]]
| founded = {{Start date|1847}}
| defunct = {{End date|1937}}
| fate = Liquidated during [[labor strike]]
| area_served = {{Unbulleted list|[[Hudson River]]|[[Long Island Sound]]|[[Narragansett Bay]]}}
}}
[[Image:The magnificent new steamer Puritan, built of steel and iron- one of the fleet forming the "fall river line" the great Long Island sound route between New York & Boston via Newport & Fall LCCN2002709989.jpg|thumb|The Puritan]]

The '''Fall River Line''' was a combination [[steamboat]] and [[railroad]] connection between [[New York City]] and [[Boston, MA|Boston]] that operated between 1847 and 1937. It consisted of a railroad journey between [[Boston]] and [[Fall River, Massachusetts]], where passengers would then board steamboats for the journey through [[Narragansett Bay]] and [[Long Island Sound]] to the line's own [[Hudson River]] dock in [[Manhattan]]. For many years, it was the preferred route to take for travel between the two major cities. The line was extremely popular, and its steamboats were some of the most advanced and luxurious of their day.

==Origins==
The origins of the Fall River Line can be traced back to [[Colonel Richard Borden]], a businessman from [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]] who had established his fortune in the iron and textile industries. He had operated steamboats between Fall River and [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] as early as 1827. In 1846 Richard Borden completed the [[Fall River Railroad (1846)|Fall River Railroad]], which enabled a land route between Fall River and other cities such as [[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], Providence and [[Boston]]. A direct rail line to [[South Braintree, Massachusetts|South Braintree]] would also be added.

Observing the success of the steamboat line which ran between New York and [[Stonington, Connecticut]], Richard Borden began regular steamboat service between [[New York City]] and Fall River in 1847, establishing the Bay State Steamboat Company, with its first steamer, the ''Bay State''. The following year, the ''Empire State'' was launched. The Fall River Line was an immediate success. By 1850, it had paid six percent dividends per month, for ten consecutive months. In 1854, the ''Metropolis'' was added.<ref>{{cite book| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uauYBOCKCS0C&pg=PA374-IA1| chapter=Richard Borden| title=History of Bristol County, Massachusetts| editor-first=D. Hamilton| editor-last=Hurd| location=Philadelphia| publisher=J.W. Lewis & Co.| year=1883| via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1863 the line was sold to the Boston, Newport and New York Steamboat Company, and the railroad was extended between Fall River and [[Newport, Rhode Island]]. For a short period after this, the rail connection was made at Newport for the trip to Boston. During this period, the new steamers the ''Old Colony'' and the ''Newport'' were added to the fleet. This was also a time of increased competition from other steamboat lines to New York City, including the Neptune Line to Providence as well as the Stonington Line. For a short time, [[Bristol, Rhode Island]] was also used as the ending point of the boat journey from New York.

In 1867, two new steamers, the ''Bristol'' and the ''Providence'', were introduced. Jim Fisk became president of the company, and would declare himself "admiral".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/phillips2-19.pdf |title=Philips History of Fall River pg.178 |access-date=2008-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225085036/http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/phillips2-19.pdf |archive-date=2009-02-25 |url-status = dead}}</ref> In 1869 the line was sold to the Narragansett Steamboat Company.<ref>[http://www.rihs.org/mssinv/Mss300.htm Rhode Island Historical Society]</ref> With Fisk still president, he returned the line's terminus to [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]], where it would remain until the line's demise in 1937, although there were several winters where the connection through [[Narragansett Bay]] was not possible due to ice, so Newport was used instead.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/fallriverlinebegan.pdf |title=Fall River News article, 1978 |access-date=2008-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225085027/http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/fallriverlinebegan.pdf |archive-date=2009-02-25 |url-status = dead}}</ref>

The [[Montgomery & Howard]] [[shipyard]] in Chelsea, Massachusetts, built passenger [[steamboats]], [[pilot boat]]s, and [[Ferry |ferryboats]]. They built for the [[Winnisimmet Ferry|Winnisimmet Ferry Company]], Old Colony Steamship Company and the Fall River Line.<ref>{{cite book|last= Gillespie |first=Charles Bancroft|date=1898|url=https://archive.org/details/cityofchelsea00gill/page/136/mode/2up?q=Montgomery+%26+Howard |title=The City of Chelsea|location= Chelsea, Massachusetts |publisher= Chelsea Gazette|page=137}}</ref>

==Maturity==
[[Image:Steamer Pilgrim.jpg|thumb|left|The Pilgrim]]
In 1872 the Fall River Line was completely reorganized and became part of the [[Old Colony Railroad]], under the name Old Colony Steamboat Company.

In 1883, the ''Pilgrim'' was launched. The first modern liner of the fleet, she featured a double-hull for increased safety, was 370 feet long, and had sleeping quarters for 1,200 passengers. At the time of its launch it was the largest steamboat in the world. The ''Pilgrim'' could make the 176 mile trip between Fall River and New York in about 8.5 hours.

The ''Puritan'' was added in 1889, and would serve the line until 1908 when the ''Commonwealth'' was introduced.

Trains originally used the Old Colony Railroad's terminal at Kneeland Street in Boston. The Old Colony leased the [[Boston and Providence Railroad]] (B&P) in 1888. On May 26, 1890, the Boat Train began operating via Stoughton and using the B&P terminal at Park Square in Boston.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fall-river-daily-evening-news/170114560/ |title=Old Colony Railroad |newspaper=Fall River Daily Evening News |date=May 26, 1890 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1894, the Fall River Line launched the ''Priscilla'', which at the time was the largest side-wheeler afloat, capable of accommodating 1,500 passengers.<ref name=Philips181>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/phillips2-19.pdf |title=Philips History of Fall River, p 181 |access-date=2008-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225085036/http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/phillips2-19.pdf |archive-date=2009-02-25 |url-status = dead}}</ref>

Maritime historian Roger Williams McAdam referenced the ships as "floating palaces." The interiors of the vessels were extremely ornate and luxurious. Introduced in 1908, the ''Commonwealth'' was the last and largest of the fleet, measuring 456 feet in length and 96 feet wide, and was 5,980 gross tons. She provided 425 staterooms for passengers and boasted a grand staircase, a dining saloon, barber shop, writing room, and a dance floor.

During its history, the Fall River Line was travelled by several U.S. presidents including Grant, Harrison, Cleveland and both Roosevelts, as well as dignitaries such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Belmonts and Rockefellers. One Boston editor declared, "If you went on a trip to New York and didn't travel the Fall River Line, you simply didn't go at all."<ref name=Philips181 />

Although much of high society traveled with the Fall River Line, the middle class were also able to experience the gilded age of travel that the line had to offer. The romantic aspect of the ocean voyage was the subject of a popular 1913 song called "[[On the Old Fall River Line]]."

==Decline==
[[File:Pier 14, North River, from West and Fulton Streets, Manhattan (NYPL b13668355-482834).jpg|thumb|The Fall River Line's Ferry depot at Pier 14 on the Hudson River, 1938]]
[[File:Puritan compound beam engine.jpg|thumb|Even by 1891 Puritan's was the largest [[beam engine#Rotative beam engines|vertical beam (i.e. walking beam) engine]] ever constructed.]]
In 1889, the [[Thames River Bridge (Amtrak)|Thames River railroad drawbridge]] opened at [[New London, Connecticut]], enabling direct, through rail service between Boston and New York City for the first time, marking the first serious threat to the existence of the Line.<ref name=Philips181 /> In 1893, the Fall River Line became part of the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]] upon its lease of the entire [[Old Colony Railroad]] network. In 1906, the line became a division of the New England Navigation Company.

The affordability of the railroad and the onset of the mainstream automobile, as well as the creation of the [[Cape Cod Canal]] were also factors that the Fall River Line could not grow to withstand. After its employees went on strike in the middle of 1937, the company chose, in the face of ongoing losses due to land transportation, to liquidate rather than negotiate with the union.<ref>{{cite book | title=Shipwrecks Around New England | publisher=The Lower Cape Publishing Company | author=Quinn, William | year=1979 | location=Orleans, MA | pages=126 | isbn=0-936972-05-X}}</ref>

The remaining vessels (''Plymouth,'' ''Priscilla'', ''Providence'' and ''Commonwealth'') fetched only 88,000 dollars when put up for sale. They were towed to Baltimore and were scrapped. The freighter ''[[City of Taunton (ship)|Taunton]]'' was simply scuttled on the southeastern coast of [[Somerset, Massachusetts]], in full view of its former pier. It can still be seen today.

Today the [[Marine Museum at Fall River]] has numerous artifacts and exhibits on the history of the Fall River Line.

Fleet, 1847-1937:<ref>All paddle steamers. Source: George W. Hilton, ''The Night Boat'', pp. 21-33. Berkeley, Calif.: Howell-North Books, 1968</ref>
* ''Bay State'' (1847)
* ''Massachusetts'' (1847)
* ''Empire State'' (1848)
* ''State of Maine'' (acquired 1849)
* ''Metropolis'' (1854)
* ''Old Colony'' (1865)
* ''Newport'' (1865)
* ''Bristol'' (acquired 1869)
* ''Providence'' (acquired 1869)
* ''Pilgrim'' (1883)
* ''City of Fall River'' (1883; package freighter)
* ''City of Brockton'' (1886; package freighter)
* ''Puritan'' (1889)
* ''Plymouth'' (1890)
* ''[[City of Taunton (ship)|City of Taunton]]'' (1892; package freighter)
* ''Priscilla'' (1894)
* ''Providence'' (1905)
*''Commonwealth'' (1908)

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" >
File:Priscilla (steamship).JPG|''Priscilla''
File:Priscilla (steamship) main saloon looking aft from main staircase.JPG|''Priscilla'' main saloon
File:Priscilla (steamship) dining room on main deck.JPG|Dining room of ''Priscilla''
File:Puritan (steamship).JPG|''Puritan''
File:Puritan (steamship) gallery saloon aft, looking forward.JPG|''Puritan'' saloon
File:Plymouth (steamship) main stairway and bulkhead, grand saloon aft.JPG|''Plymouth'' main stairway
File:Plymouth (steamship) kitchen.JPG|Kitchen on the ''Plymouth''
File:Pilgrim (steamship).JPG|''Pilgrim''
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Colonel Richard Borden]]
*[[James Fisk (financier)|Jim Fisk]]
*[[Fall River, Massachusetts]]
*[[Fall River Navigation Company]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.americanheritage.com/content/old-fall-river-line The Old Fall River Line, 1954 article]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030405112652/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/Davis/newport/leisure/fallriverline.html The Fall River Line and Other Steamers]
*[http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/SS%20Plymouth.html Fall River Line Night Boats]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225085027/http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/fallriverlinebegan.pdf Herald News Article, June 10, 1975]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=EqxCAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA51 July 1884 advertisement]
*[https://archive.org/details/fiftyphotographi00fall Fifty photographic views of the steamers of the Fall River Line]

{{FallRiverMA}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Old Colony Railroad]]
[[Category:Fall River, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Shipping companies of the United States]]

Fall River Line - Revision history

imported>Pi.1415926535: /* Maturity */ +cite