The building was built as a donation from Mrs. Mary B. Young to the people of the city of Fall River, in memory of her son Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee, who had died at a young age in 1872, leaving a sizable inheritance.[2]
George A. Clough, a Boston architect was chosen to design the building. Ground was broken in August 1883. The first story of the school is constructed of native Fall River Granite, while the stone of the upper portions is from Mason, New Hampshire. The new high school was formally dedicated to the city on June 15, 1887. [3]
The building occupies a commanding position atop a hill in the city's Highlands neighborhood, and is visible from miles around. Even today, the school's sports teams are known as the "Durfee Hilltoppers".
Recent historyedit
In 1978, the city opened a new, much larger high school in the north end, also named "B.M.C. Durfee High School". The old high school remained vacant until the early 1990s when it was taken over by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for use as a Probate Court House. The restoration was completed in the mid-1990s. The Southeast branch of the Massachusetts Housing Court is located in the building as well.
Telescopeedit
The building features a rare 4-foot telescope with an 8-inch lens, built by the Warner & Swasey Company in 1887.[4] The observatory sat idle for decades, until volunteers began work restoring the telescope and clock mechanism in 2009.[4] The telescope opened for public viewing for select nights in 2015.[4]
^ abcGagne, Michael (April 29, 2015). . Fall River, Massachusetts: Herald News. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
January 01, 1970
durfee, high, school, 1886, building, durfee, high, school, historic, former, high, school, building, rock, street, fall, river, massachusetts, school, built, 1886, added, national, register, historic, places, 1981, 1978, replaced, current, durfee, high, schoo. B M C Durfee High School is an historic former high school building at 289 Rock Street in Fall River Massachusetts The school was built in 1886 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 In 1978 it was replaced by the current B M C Durfee High School building The old building was restored in the early 1990s and is now operated as a probate and family courthouse by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts B M C Durfee High SchoolU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtContributing propertyShow map of MassachusettsShow map of the United StatesLocationFall River MassachusettsCoordinates41 42 20 N 71 9 8 W 41 70556 N 71 15222 W 41 70556 71 15222Built1886ArchitectGeorge A Clough Norcross Bros Architectural styleRenaissancePart ofHighlands Historic District ID83000677 NRHP reference No 81000109 1 Significant datesAdded to NRHPJune 11 1981Designated CPFebruary 16 1983 Contents 1 Historical background 2 Recent history 3 Telescope 4 See also 5 External links 6 ReferencesHistorical background edit nbsp Durfee High School 1920 The building was built as a donation from Mrs Mary B Young to the people of the city of Fall River in memory of her son Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee who had died at a young age in 1872 leaving a sizable inheritance 2 George A Clough a Boston architect was chosen to design the building Ground was broken in August 1883 The first story of the school is constructed of native Fall River Granite while the stone of the upper portions is from Mason New Hampshire The new high school was formally dedicated to the city on June 15 1887 3 The building occupies a commanding position atop a hill in the city s Highlands neighborhood and is visible from miles around Even today the school s sports teams are known as the Durfee Hilltoppers Recent history editIn 1978 the city opened a new much larger high school in the north end also named B M C Durfee High School The old high school remained vacant until the early 1990s when it was taken over by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for use as a Probate Court House The restoration was completed in the mid 1990s The Southeast branch of the Massachusetts Housing Court is located in the building as well Telescope editThe building features a rare 4 foot telescope with an 8 inch lens built by the Warner amp Swasey Company in 1887 4 The observatory sat idle for decades until volunteers began work restoring the telescope and clock mechanism in 2009 4 The telescope opened for public viewing for select nights in 2015 4 See also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in Fall River Massachusetts Highlands Historic District Fall River Massachusetts B M C Durfee High School present External links edit1889 Dedication Brochure for the B M C Durfee High School Building includes full remarks of the dedication ceremony building floor plans and more References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Durfee High School Fall River National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 Article on Donation of School Commemorative Book on BMC Durfee High School a b c Gagne Michael April 29 2015 Durfee hosting public viewings with restored telescope Fall River Massachusetts Herald News Archived from the original on May 3 2015 Retrieved April 3 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title B M C Durfee High School 1886 building amp oldid 1181879852, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
