This house might not look like much to you and me, but to the Southborough Historical Society it’s a diamond in the rough.
You might recognize it as the Nichols House that sits near the Fayville Dam off Route 30 (map). The Historical Society hopes to make it the future location of the Stony Brook Museum — a museum that would feature Southborough historical memorabilia along with resident Pete DePina’s large collection of Buffalo Soldier memorabilia.
The house is currently owned by the MWRA and the town has been in talks to take it over for about a year now. At last year’s town meeting, voters allocated $50K towards preliminary plans for the property. The idea was those plans could be used to apply for grants to fund the renovation of the property which is listed on the National Historic Register.
At their meeting this week, selectmen said they were “trying to bring negotiations to a head” with the MWRA. Prior to being approached by the town, the MWRA had plans to demolish the building.
More information as I get it. For some background, check out these stories from 2008:
- Home for history (Boston Globe)
- Community Preservation projects on TM warrant (Wicked Local Southborough)
