The Preservation
Society of Fall River, Green
Futures and the Fall
River Bicycle Committee sponsored a bicycle ride on October 1, 2011 along North Main St
in Fall River and Assonet with stops to learn about the unique history of
the area. Local historian Al Lima and Everett Castro described the early
settlement of the Steep Brook area in the 18th Century as well as the
adjacent Assonet Village in Freetown. The tour began at
the corner of North Main Street and Baldwin Street, which is the former St.
Vincent Home, now owned by Hess LNG, and covered 12 miles with stops
for discussions on the unique architecture, shipbuilding, farming and
stagecoach line that ran from Boston to Newport. The role of waterpower in
the area and the operation of the Underground
Railroad prior to the Civil War were also covered. The ride concluded
through the northwestern edge of the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve
with stops to discuss the history of that area. City Councilor Eric Poulin
came at the start of the ride to see the group off. Click
here for photos of the East Bay Bike Path trip. For more information,
contact Fall River Bicycle Committee Chairman Brian
Pearson. (Photos courtesy of Brian Pearson)
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(Top row) Al
Lima and Everett Castro tell the riders the history of the area.
(Middle row) Members of the
group included Al Lima,
Everett Castro, Jim Cusick, Roger and Liz Garant, Rev. Jim Hornsby, Frank
Menenzes, and Brian Pearson, among others.
(Bottom row) The group rode North
Main St north to Copicut Rd, and then took Bell Rock Rd to Wilson Rd, over the
causeway on the North Watuppa Pond and then returned to the start, but had to
briefly take shelter from the rain along the way.
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