The Estes building, erected circa 1908 by J. Edmund Estes (1867-1935) – treasurer of the Estes Mills – is commonly referred to in Fall River as the “Flat Iron” building. Located at the junction of Second Street and Plymouth Avenue, this building housed shops on the first floor and was residential on the second and…
Edwin Forest Gay married Emily Victoria Borden on November 5th, 1863, and their wedding announcement was quite unusual. Betrothal cards varied from couple to couple, but traditionally they were adorned with names, a border, and little else. It was not customary in the mid nineteenth century to have photos on their announcements. The cards were…
Reverend Edwin Augustus Buck* (1824-1903), who lived at 114 Prospect Street, was the Pastor of Central Congregational Church on Rock Street, a “missionary of the Pleasant Street Mission in 1867,” and the President of the Boys Club. The Buck residence was built circa 1875 and was located on “the Hill,” which was the more fashionable…
Central Congregational Church on Rock Street was dedicated and opened to the public on December 13, 1875. The property the church was built upon was secured early in 1872 and by May, 1874, the contract to build was made with the firm of Hartwell & Swasey. On July 22, 1874, a local paper covered the…
The Victorian mourning traditions are today considered morbid, outdated, and even strange. However, there is one mourning custom that society decided to hold onto – mourning cards, now referred to as “memorial cards.” Not much about the style of the cards has changed since the 1800s, save for the removal of the black border. Notice…