Based on research conducted for the Preservation Society by scholar in residence Kenneth Champlin, the past of seven historic homes from different neighborhoods across Fall River is revealed through simple stories about regular folk that are weaved together with unique local history.

The research exhibit was on display at the Greater Fall River Art Association at 80 Belmont Street throughout the whole month of February 2019.

This project is sponsored in part by Mass Humanities and is a collaboration with the Greater Fall River Art Association (GFRAA).

Borden-McMahon House
158 Fourth Street

Built in 1870, this was the house of Cook Borden and his family. Cook helped found the Tecumseh and the Chace mill corporations, which helped give rise to the Corky Row neighborhood. It was Cook’s older sister Hannah who discovered the mysterious “Skeleton in Armor” in a gravel pit nearby the house’s location in 1832.

King Philip Mill Settlement House
334 Tuttle Street

The King Philip Mills, incorporated in 1871, was one of the largest single textile corporations in Fall River. By 1900, more than a thousand residents of the South End were employed at the King Philip Mills and some of them lived in four tenement “mill blocks” of corporation housing. Amidst terrible infant mortality rates in the South End, the Fall River District Nurses Association persuaded King Philip Mill management in 1913 to grant it use of a vacant four family mill tenement for what would become the original community health clinic.

Peloquin-Moore House
617 Highland Avenue

This house was built by Peter “Pierre” Peloquin in 1883. Peloquin came to Fall River from Quebec in 1872, eventually establishing his own grocery store. Peloquin served on the School Committee from 1897-1903 before winning the 11th Bristol District seat to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving from 1902-1906. The house’s second owner, Daniel Moore, was a carpenter who was hired by Lizzie Borden for numerous renovations at her French Street residence known as “Maplecroft.”

Robert Thompson House
431 Prospect Street

Built in 1862, this Greek Revival-style house is noticeably different from others on the street. The owner, Robert Thompson, was a local retail grocer and he lived there with his wife and their 11 children. The Thompsons were one of six Fall River families to form the United Presbyterian Church in Fall River in 1862.

Dr. John Lindsey House
881 Madison Street

This house was built in 1926 by the regionally known Fall River contracting firm A.H. Leeming and Sons for Dr. Lindsey, who was a major in the U. S. Army Medical Corps during World War 1. After a residency at a Washington D.C. institution that specialized in tuberculosis treatment, Dr. Lindsey was a practicing physician in Fall River for more than 20 years and presided over the Fall River Anti-Tuberculosis Association at the time of his death in 1933.

A.B. Chace Rowhouses
655-685 Middle Street

These apartments were built in 1877 and the original owner, Arnold B. Chace, was the son of Rhode Island abolitionist Elizabeth Buffum Chace. The Middle Street rowhouses were among the first residences built around South Park, now named Kennedy Park

Dr. Isaac Fiske House
263 Pine Street

Built in 1833, Dr. Isaac Fiske and his family moved into the home in 1845, which he also used as a doctor’s office to introduce homeopathic medicine to the city. Dr. Fiske was involved in anti-slavery activity in Fall River and used his home as a station on the Underground Railroad.