#fall river line

[adventures-of-the-blackgang]

Postcard for the Fall River Line of the New England Steamship Company, showing the steamship "Commonwealth" (undated)

[steamship-historical-society]

Life at Sea, Past & Present

Looking to break out of the winter blues? Come join us for the latest presentation in  our speaker series as we explore the history of the Fall River Line and learn about the life of an engineer aboard a current vessel.

When: Saturday, March 25,  1:30 p.m.

Where: Ship History Center,  2500 Post Road, Warwick, RI

Register: [email protected], 401-463-3570

The program will feature presentations from both Andy Lizak, an SSHSA volunteer and 45-year member, and Andy Beauchemin, an engineer in the U.S. Merchant Marine.

Lizak will give a visual presentation on the bygone days of the Fall River Line, which ran  some of the largest steamboats in the world between Fall River,  Massachusetts, and New York City. In addition to highlighting some of the  ships that made the line famous, Lizak will feature port facilities in Fall River, New York City and Newport, Rhode Island.

A 2005 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Beauchemin sails to many different U.S. and foreign ports in his role as a member of the engine department aboard a diesel-powered car carrier. He will share photographs from some of the ships he has served on, transit locations such as the Suez and Panama canals, and ports in the Middle East, Northern Europe and Alaska.

The lecture is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Light refreshments will be served. This is a great chance to visit the Ship History Center if you haven't been here for a while and to meet with some of your fellow ship lovers. Register now by calling SSHSA at 401-463-3570 or emailing [email protected].

[adventures-of-the-blackgang]

Timetables for the New England Steamship Company's Long Island Sound lines, featuring Boston to New York routes including the Fall River line, Providence line, New Bedford line, New London line

[adventures-of-the-blackgang]

art by Monkey Fist

[steamship-historical-society]

While organizing our postcard collections, volunteers found a few of trade cards like this.  Trade cards were collectible advertisements that often featured a color image on one side and an ad on the reverse.  They gained traction after the Civil War, and with the popularization of lithography in the 1870′s, trade cards like these as well as colorful postcards became widespread. 

This card advertises Fall River Line services in cooperation with the Old Colony Railroad for transportation between New York and Boston through Narragansett Bay.  Jay Gould is listed as the president in the lower left corner, which dates this card to as early as 1872. 

SSHSA’s Image Porthole includes pictures of these ships and some of their interiors, such as the ladies’ saloon aboard the Providence:

Below is another trade card advertising the same ships, the Bristol and Providence, and their grand saloon.

Learn more about the Steamship Historical Society and browse our digitized photo collections in our Image Porthole.