Labore Vincemas

“Labore Vincemas.” – You win with hard work.

B.M.C. Durfee High School, named in honor of Bradford Mathew Chaloner Durfee (1843-1872), son of Major Bradford Durfee (1788-1843) and Mary Brayton Durfee Young (1814-1891), was erected in 1887 by his mother, at a cost of $1,000,000.00 – a staggering sum at the time.

The school, built mostly of Fall River Granite, was equipped with a clock tower and an observatory that were, according to a local newspaper, “two of the most distinctive features of the beautifully-designed… High School.” Surely that must have been a sight to behold and remains so still.

An article written by William Moniz for the Standard Times in 2014 explains how the largest bell in the tower was inscribed: “In memory of Bradford Matthew Chaloner Durfee, only child of Bradford and Mary Brayton Durfee, Born in Fall River, June fifteenth, A.D. 1843, Died here, September thirteenth, A.D. 1872. This building was erected and this chime of bells placed in its tower, and the same presented to the city of Fall River, A. D. 1887.” Did you know that every morning the bells would chime twenty-nine times to represent the age at which B.M.C. passed?

The graduation booklet for the class of 1890 was printed by Almy & Milne, Printers and Stationers, of Fall River. The leatherette textured pasteboard with a deckled edge is embossed with flowers bearing printed green leaflets and is adorned with a silk tassel. The donor, Benjamin Bryant Earl, was a member of this graduating class.