Fall River Navigation Company was

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ex ...

company founded in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...

, in 1927, as a subsidiary of the William C. Atwater & Company. Willaim C. Atwater & Company was a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...

and

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bu ...

merchant founded on April 15, 1898, by William C. Atwater. The Great Fall River fire of 1928 damaged the Fall River Navigation Company building. Fall River Navigation Company was active in supporting the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

effort. William C. Atwater & Company merged into the

Pocahontas Fuel Company Pocahontas Fuel Company operated mines in the state of Virginia in Boissevain and Amonate, and in West Virginia at Jenkinjones, Bishop, and Itmann. Pocahontas Fuel Company founded the Pocahontas Consolidated Collieries Company in 1907. In 1956 ...

in 1958.

William C. Atwater

William C. Atwater was born on July 4, 1861, and graduated from Amherst College in 1884. He Became a selling agent for coal from the

Pocahontas Coalfield Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County, West Virginia, Mercer County/McDowell County, West Virginia, McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell County ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, which did very well during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. William C. Atwater & Company also operated the subsidiary Atwcoal Transportation Company from 1935 to 1950, delivering coal on

barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

. In 1950 Atwcoal Transportation Company became the American Costal Line. From 1922 to about 1934 he was active in the Pocahontas Producers Association. William C. Atwater's sons: William C. Atwater and Jr., John J. Atwater became active and took over the firm after his death on February 22, 1940.

World War II

Fall River Navigation Company fleet of ships were used to help the World War II effort. During World War II Fall River Navigation Company operated Merchant navy ships for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. During World War II Fall River Navigation Company was active with charter shipping with the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 19 ...

and

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. Fall River Navigation Company operated

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

s for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Fall River Navigation Company crew and the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

s to man the deck guns and radio.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M

/ref>

Ships

Ships owned by Fall River Navigation Company: file:Liberty ship at sea.jpg,

of World War II *William C. Atwater, built at River Rouge MI by Great Lakes Engineering Works sold in 1936 and renamed E. J. Kulas *Atwater was purchased in 1927, built by the Ecorse yard in 1919 as Coulee, in 1943 taken for war effort for as target practice. *Yankkee Star was the Galen L. Stone, a Liberty Ship purchased in 1947. *Yankke Dawn, was the Empire Wandle, operated 1948 and 1949, built in 1935 * Coastal Highflyer was USS Sebastian (AK-211) purchased in 1947, On 29 July 1947, she ran aground at the east end of Cayo Moa, Grand Shoal, Cuba.
**World War II operated by Fall River Navigation Company (post war work): **Liberty Ships: *Galen L. Stone, operated in 1946, purchased in 1947. *William H. Wilmer, operated 1946 to 1949, *Cecil N. Bean, operated in 1946 to 1949

References

{{Liberty ships Defunct shipping companies of the United States American companies established in 1927 1927 establishments in Massachusetts Fall River Navigation Company

William C. Atwater

World War II

Ships

See also

References