Alfred J. Lima presented his most recent book, A River and Its City: The Influence of the Quequechan River on the Development of Fall River, Massachusetts, on January 13, 2008, at the Fall River Public Library. His book traces the part played by the Quequechan River in Fall River from colonial times. His talk concentrated on the period of the Industrial Revolution, exploring the ways in which the river was crucial to making 19th century Fall River the largest cotton textile manufacturing center in the country and the largest in the world after Manchester, England. The talk followed the annual meeting of the Friends of Fall River Public Library. Mr. Lima is active in Green Futures, a local environmental group that is working to create a greenbelt along the river and to daylight the falls that lead into Mt. Hope Bay. Click here for historical photos of the City. Click here for photos of the Quequechan art exhibit. Click here for the rapid ecological assessment project, and here for the plan produced by the Urban River Visions project. Click here for photos of one of the river clean-up projects. Click here for photos of one of the Quequechan River Festivals. Click here for the Fall River Reconnaissance Report by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
 

(Top row, left and right) Mr. Lima opens his talk with a brief description of the River over the past 10,000 years, and then described the development of manufacturing along the River over the past two centuries. (Middle row, left) Mr. Lima holds up a button supporting the "daylighting" of the Quequechan. (Middle row, right) Mr. Lima points out the transition to steam power that permitted construction of mills above the falls. (Bottom row, left) Friends of the Library board member John Mayo congratulates Al on his talk and the publication of his book while Board President, Eleanor Mayo, listens. (Bottom row, center) The Quequechan River falls are visible today behind the Mill building at the corner of Pocasset and Davol Street (behind Work Out World). (Bottom row, right) Part of the standing-room-only crowd applaud Mr. Lima at the conclusion of his presentation.