Barnard Mills is an historic textile mill at 641-657 Quarry Street in
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...
. Developed beginning in 1874, it was the first mill to use ring spinners instead of mule spinners, and was a major local employer until its closure in 1939. The complex has been redeveloped as a commercial retail space called Tower Mill. The mill was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1983.
Description and history
The Barnard Mills complex occupies a highly visible location, set between Quarry Street and the
Quequechan River
The Quequechan River is a river in Fall River, Massachusetts, that flows in a northwesterly direction from the northwest corner of the South Watuppa Pond through the heart of the city of Fall River and into the end of the Taunton River at ...
, just northwest of
Interstate 195 at its western junction with
Massachusetts Route 24
Route 24 is a freeway south of Interstate 93 (I-93) in southeastern Massachusetts, linking Fall River with the Boston metropolitan area. It begins in the south in Fall River at the border with Tiverton, Rhode Island, and runs north to an i ...
. The main building is a five-story granite structure, long and wide, with a tall centrally positioned Italianate tower. Attached to the southern corner of the main building is a two-story granite weave shed.
The mill corporation was organized in 1872, but the mill was not built until 1874. It was constructed in native
Fall River granite
Fall River granite is a Precambrian bedrock underlying the City of Fall River, Massachusetts and surrounding areas along the eastern shores of Narragansett Bay. It was formed 600 million years ago, as part of the Avalon terrane.
During the 19th ...
for the manufacture of cotton cloth during the city's post-
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
textile building boom. It had an initial capacity of 28,000 spindles, which was later increased to 66,000 spindles with the construction of the attached weave shed in 1896. L.I. Barnard served as the first president of the company, and N.B. Borden was treasurer. It was the city's first mill to print cloth wider than . In its later years, it diversified into the production of tweeds and twills.
[ The company was liquidated in 1939.
During the 1980s the mill was converted into a retail outlet center, known as Tower Place.City of Fall River tourism link]
It is now known as Tower Mill, housing a variety of commercial and retail enterprises.
See also
*
*
List of mills in Fall River, Massachusetts
The city of Fall River, Massachusetts once had over 120 cotton textile mills and was the leading cotton textile center in the United States during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
There are currently about 65 historic textile mills re ...
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Textile mills in Fall River, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Fall River, Massachusetts