Borden School in Fall River set to be demolished

The owner of the Nathaniel B. Borden School on Morgan Street, the former elementary school of Lizzie Borden, has filed for a permit to demolish the historic building.

According to the Preservation Society of Fall River, the property’s six-month demolition delay has been triggered, starting the countdown until this piece of Fall River history is no more.

The owner is set to appear at the June 18 Historical Commission meeting at the City Council Hearing Room. Residents can attend.

The Preservation Society of Fall River is opposed to this demolition and has released the following position statement explaining why:

The Preservation Society of Fall River objects to the planned demolition of the Second Empire-style Nathaniel B. Borden School, c. 1867, at 45 Morgan Street by its current owner.

Although we understand that there’s no method to stop the demolition besides the city’s six-month demolition delay ordinance, we believe it’s important that city officials, the general public, and the property owner be aware of our stance and why.

The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and meets various criteria for preservation, including its architectural style and importance to the community, having served as Lizzie Borden’s elementary school.

The city sold the historic school for only $5,000 in 2012 and, although it did not carry a preservation restriction on its deed, the initial proposal was for reusing the building. However, decay and the warehousing of trash as seen through its windows suggests that the owner never intended anything other than demolition and an inflated mortgage reveals that the equity in the building was wasted on something other than the property itself.

Nevertheless, the decision to demolish is up to the owner, but we hope that a lesson learned going forward is that the city not engage in sales of historic properties without expecting a preservation restriction and/or reverter clause on the deed.

Sincerely, Jim Soule The Preservation Society of Fall River, President