Portuguese Village: A Proposal for Fall River, Massachusetts

The ships of Battleship Cove lie under the the Braga Bridge carrying I-195 across the Taunton River in Fall River. The round building to the left is the Carousel. The building in the foreground is the Fall River Heritage State Park Building housing exhibits. To the right is the start of the riverfront trail extending two miles to Bicentennial Park. Photo from cityoffallriver on facebook.com.

A lot of good things are happening in Fall River. After several decades of population decline, the city’s population rose from about 89,000 in 2010 to 94,000 in 2020, according to the Census Bureau. There are major infrastructure projects nearing completion that will impact the city for decades to come. In Spring of 2025, the city will be connected (actually re-connected) to the greater Boston MBTA commuter rail system. Sometime in 2026, the massive Route 79-Davol Street reconstruction will be completed and that will enhance transport connections to the city’s waterfront and to the South Coast Rail Station.

This may be the time to reconsider an often-proposed idea to recognize an underutilized treasure the city has: Fall River’s large and vibrant community of Portuguese Americans. The community got its start in the mid-nineteenth century because of whaling. Whalers stopped at the Portuguese Atlantic islands of the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde to take on deck hands.

While the Portuguese initially concentrated in New Bedford, as whaling declined, Portuguese immigrants quickly moved in to dominate employment first the textile industry and then in the apparel industries that were booming in both Fall River and New Bedford. Immigrants from mainland Portugal joined the stream of immigrants from the Islands.