Colonel Richard Borden (1795–1874) was an American businessman and civic leader from

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 H ...

. He co-founded the

Fall River Iron Works The American Printing Company, located in Fall River, Massachusetts grew to become the largest producer of printed cotton cloth in the United States by the early 20th Century. The company grew as an offshoot of the Fall River Iron Works, establishe ...

in 1821, and later built several early cotton mills, as well as the

Fall River Line The Fall River Line was a combination steamboat and railroad connection between New York City and Boston that operated between 1847 and 1937. It consisted of a railroad journey between Boston and Fall River, Massachusetts, where passengers would ...

, Fall River Gas Works Company, the Fall River Railroad, banks and other businesses. The Borden family would dominate the economic and civic life of Fall River into the early 20th century.

Early life

When the Town of Fall River was established in 1803, the Borden family had been well established in the area for over a century. In 1714, Colonel Richard's ancestor (also named Richard) purchased land along the falls of 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 Mou ...

from Benjamin Church, along with a saw mill, a grist mill and a fulling mill. Eventually the Borden family would acquire the water rights of the entire Quequechan River valley, and its tremendous potential. Borden began working in a grist mill at age fifteen. Most of the area's corn was ground at his mill. He became adept in the task of sailing and boating in the Narragansett Bay, as part of the grist mill business. He also operated a saw mill adjacent to the grist mill during these years. Borden acquired the rank of "colonel" in the local militia in 1828. In 1828, Borden married Abby Walker Durfee. Together they had seven children; two daughters and five sons. Three of their sons would continue in their father's footsteps and become involved in the Fall River textile business; Thomas James Borden (1832–1902), Richard Baxter Borden (1834–1906) and Matthew Challoner Durfee Borden (1842–1912).

Industrial pioneer

In 1821, Borden established the

, along with Major Bradford Durfee, and several others at the lower part of the

. Bradford Durfee was a shipwright, and Richard Borden was the owner of a grist mill. After an uncertain start, in which some early investors pulled out, the Fall River Iron Works was incorporated in 1825, with $200,000 in capital. The Iron Works began producing nails, bar stock, and other items such as bands for casks in the nearby

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

industry. They soon gained a reputation for producing nails of high quality, and business flourished. By 1845, the company was valued at $960,000. In 1827, Borden began regular steamship service to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. The Iron Works would continue play an important role in the early development of the textile industry in Fall River. Richard Borden later constructed the Metacomet Mill in 1847, which today is the oldest remaining

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in the City, located on Anawan Street.

Other businesses

Borden also established the first railroad line to serve Fall River, The

Fall River Branch Railroad The Fall River Branch Railroad was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1844, to provide a rail link from the emerging textile town of Fall River to the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad at Myricks Junction. It began operating in 1845 with 12 miles of ...

, was incorporated in 1844 and opened in 1845 to Myricks Junction, with a connection to Boston via Mansfield via the

Taunton Branch Railroad The Taunton Branch Railroad was one of the earliest railroads to be established in Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered by the state in 1835 as a branch of the Boston and Providence Railroad (which opened in 1835) running between Man ...

. However, wanting a more direct route to Boston, Borden opened a new line in 1846 connecting with the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall Ri ...

at South Braintree via

Middleborough Middleborough (frequently written as Middleboro) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,245 at the 2020 census. History The town was first settled by Europeans in 1661 as Nemasket, later changed to M ...

and Bridgewater. The Fall River Branch Railroad was merged with the Middleborough Railroad Corporation and the Randolph & Bridgewater Railroad Corporation to become the Fall River Railroad Company. In 1847, regular steamship service to New York City began as the Bay State Steamboat Company, later known as the

. It was America's most luxurious steamship line connecting rail travelers from Boston to Manhattan. It would operate until 1937.

Legacy

Three of Richard Borden's sons would carry on their father's tradition in the family's businesses. In 1871, his eldest son, Colonel Thomas James Borden (1832–1902) would build the Richard Borden Mill, as a tribute to his father, and succeed his uncle Jefferson as agent of the Print Works, as well as numerous other concerns. Richard Baxter Borden (1834–1906) would serve as either president, director and treasurer of several mills, banks and insurance companies. Matthew C.D. Borden (1842–1912) would eventually take over the American Printing Company in 1887.The Run of the Mills, Steve Dunwell, 1978

References

External links

Article on Richard Borden
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borden, Richard 1795 births 1874 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople People from Fall River, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Massachusetts People from Freetown, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople