Osborn House

Description of the property

The Durfee-Carr-Osborn House occupies a lot at the southwest corner of Rock and Maple Streets in "the Hill" section of Fall River. An elaborate example of Greek Revival style architecture, thehouseismade upof a three-story main houseandone-and-one-half story rear ell, both of wooden construction. The main house is nearly square in plan (45'X 50') with four interior end-wall chimneys. The structure rises from a foundation of hammered granite ashlar to a low hip root. All elev- ations are faced with matched boarding, the horizontal joints of which have been scored. The corners of the main house are framed by Doric pilasters which support a wide frieze and a dentilled cornice. except for the first story windows of the facade (south elevation) which contain floor-to- ceiling 6/9 sash.

Centered on the roof of the main house is an octagonal cupola, each face of which contains a four-pane casement window. The cupola is enclosed by a nearly flat roof, which projects far out over the body of the cupola to form a dees cornice. The facade (south elevation) is perpendicular to Rock Street and is approached from a circular driveway. It is symmetrical, having at its center a monumental Corinthinian portico of three bays' length and one bay's depth. Where this portico is joined to the facade, it is supported by Doric pilasters. Set behind the portico's center bay, the house's main entry is framed by Doric pilasters and an entablature. Standing in antis are two fluted columns with acanthus and palm-leaf capitals.

The door itself, is surrounded by rectangular sidelights and a rectangular transom. Fenestration of the facade consists of four windows at the first story and five at the second. The east elevation faces Rock Street and contains four évenly spaced windows at both the first and second stories.

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Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Russell Warren of Providence, architect The Durfee-Carr-Osborn House possesses integrity of location, design, setting and materials as well as historical associations with several of Fall River's leading nineteenth-century industrialists and with the establishment of "the Hill" as a wealthy residential district during the mid-nineteenth century. One of three houses designed by Russell Warren and built for members of the Borden-Durfee family in th early 1840's, the Durfee-Carr-Osborn House is the last of the three extant and remains Fall River's most elaborate example of Greek Revival architecture.

As one of the first houses built on "the Hill" (referred to as "the Highlands") overlooking Fall River's center, the Durfee-Carr-Osborn House was sited so that its facade faced a terraced lawn and, more distantly, Fall River center and Mt. Hope Bay. At present, the house remains in nearly original condition, both inside and out. The house's original owner, for whom it was designed, was Joseph Durfee, whose Massasoit and Wamsutta Mills; in addition, he served on the boards of directors of daughter, Elizabeth, and her-husband, Willian Carr, who occupied the property for more that fifty years. After 1880, the house was also occupied by the Carr's daughter and her husband, James Osborn.

Osborn was prominent in the City's textile (1896-1898) and treasurer of the Merchant's Manufacturing Company; the latter two his daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Leeds Burchard. In 1951, the house was sold and converted to aparish house for the adjacent Presbyterian Church. In 1977, the property was sold to its current owners who con- verted it back to a single-family residence. The house is currently being restored based, in part, on the Durfee-Carr-Osborn family photographs and on some original furnishings which have been found in storage in the house.