Fall River’s Odd Motto ‘We’ll Try’ Isn’t As Silly As It Sounds
When most people hear Fall River's town motto for the first time, they typically react with ridicule.
Dating back to 1843, Fall River's town logo has proudly displayed the motto "We'll Try" and apparently some folks think this is pretty darn funny.
There are actually entire Reddit feeds about Fall River's motto, with many calling it "hilarious," "ridiculous" and even the "worst town motto." Yet its origin is not nearly as wimpy or pathetic as people nowadays make it out to be.
The reason "We'll Try" became the motto for all of Fall River was because the city faced massive devastation after the Great Fire of 1843: 291 buildings, including 100 trade shops, three churches, two banks, two hotels, a custom house and a post office burned to the ground, leaving 1,325 people (255 families) with nowhere to call home.
The fire raged for nearly six hours and the whole area between Main, Franklin, Rock and Borden streets was a wall of flames. Priceless artifacts including the mysterious Skeleton in Armor burned away to nothing.
Yet in the face of all that destruction, with thousands of residents rendered homeless and business-less in a matter of hours, the city vowed to put things back together.
The motto was of the people being willing to try and put things back together. City officials wanted to try and rebuild the industrious city. Despite the long and challenging road ahead, everyone wanted to try their best to get back the Fall River they loved.
So really, "We'll Try" speaks to the strength of a city that saw some really terrible times. There is nothing "hilarious" or "ridiculous" about never giving up and always being willing to try again another day.
Luckily, Mayor Paul Coogan seems to agree with this long-standing sentiment. Despite the plan from 2017 to change the town's motto to "Make It Here," Coogan's administration is choosing to stick with what has worked for 180 years and although there is a search for a new town logo, the motto will stay the same.