PRIME LIVING
Saving society Deborah A llard Dion
Curator Michael Martins knows the provenance of every artifact on display at the Fall River Historical Society – from the 1870s hairpins in their decorative pasteboard box to the travel journal that toured Europe in the hands of Lizzie Borden in 1890.
But there is no guide or model from the past that can help determine the uncertain future faced by the keeper of Fall River’s history during the COVID-19 pandemic, or how technology might shape the very near future for the nonprofit museum. “It’s definitely going to be a difficult year for us,” Martins said. “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how we’re going to get through this.” In early April, the Historical Society would have opened from its winter hiatus for tours, and with plans for a summer concert series, lectures, book signings, and a sale in the Museum Shop to make space for new merchandise for the Christmas season. But the mansion and shop are closed
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until re-openings are allowed in phases in Massachusetts. Martins said it will be difficult to re-open with social distancing guidelines, masks, and gathering sizes. “The rooms here are not huge rooms,” he said. “It makes it more difficult.”
Step back in time The sprawling 12-room house is spread over three floors and more than 8,000 square feet. But many of the rooms are made smaller by retail merchandise, or rendered inaccessible by velvet rope barriers placed to protect artifacts from human hands. The mansion dates to 1843. It was built on a two-acre piece of land on Columbia Street – a wedding gift from Andrew
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Robeson to his son and daughter-in-law. In the 1850s, it became a stop on the Underground Railroad where slaves were invited through a false bookcase (that still exists) and hidden in the wine cellar. The house was moved to 451 Rock Street in 1869 and founded as the Fall River Historical Society in 1921. Besides historic furniture and household items from Fall River families, it houses the largest-known collection of Lizzie Borden memorabilia. That collection of memorabilia, along with its superb period architecture, makes the museum a highly visited destination around the anniversary of the Borden murders each August. But, Martins is unsure how guided tours of the Borden room, as well as the other rooms, will be conducted. “We’ll have to do small groups,” he said. “Maybe by appointment with walk-ins as space allows.” The lack of air conditioning in the historic structure will be a burden for masked guides and visitors when the summer heats up. Another obstacle is that many of the
