Preservation Society buys a fourth property. They'll save this 1887 Fall River tenement.
FALL RIVER — The Preservation Society of Fall River has added to its growing real estate portfolio of historic houses, buying a type of home not typically celebrated as historically significant: a triple-decker.
The nonprofit, which advocates for the saving of local history and architecture, recently closed on the purchase of a tenement at 155 Linden St., which it is calling the Lockingen House after its original owner.
Property transfer records show the society bought the home last month for $560,000. The building contains three units with three bedrooms each.
“We’re excited to announce the acquisition of our fourth old home,” Preservation Society President Jim Soule said. “The Lockingen House will be our second property purchased for affordable/workforce housing in collaboration with Michael Dion of the CDA and support from Mayor [Paul] Coogan.”
Historic house plaques and more: What does the Preservation Society do? Six things to know
As part of the deal, the Preservation Society will rent the apartments as affordable/workforce housing for at least 15 years.
“The Preservation Society will rehabilitate the currently vacant, three-unit property into affordable/workforce housing with an emphasis on preserving the building’s historical characteristics and, by extension, the neighborhood around it,” read a statement from the society.
What other properties does the Preservation Society own?
In the past five years, the society has purchased four rental properties. Besides the Lockingen House, the society owns and manages:
The Dr. Isaac Fiske House, 263 Pine St.: built circa 1833, a multi-unit apartment building known to have been a station on the Underground Railroad. The society is planning to open a museum in the building’s basement.
The John Read House, 95 June St.: built circa 1845, which completed renovations earlier in 2023 and is currently being rented as four low-income apartments.
The William Valentine Carriage House, 166 Purchase St.: built circa 1865, a former carriage house that also contains two apartment units.
A living legacy: How Preservation Society's Jim Soule built a foundation for Fall River beyond his lifetime
How is the Lockingen House different?
The apartment building is in the Bank Street neighborhood, like the Preservation Society’s other properties, but stands closer to Ruggles Park and the former Sacred Heart Church. The house is the newest the society has purchased, built circa 1887.
Unlike the society’s Fiske and Read houses, which are examples of federal, Greek revival and colonial style architecture, the Lockingen House is a simple unassuming three-decker.
Who is the Lockingen House named for?
The house is named for Francis P. and Ellen Lockingen. Francis was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1857 and moved to Fall River when he was 8 years old. According to newspapers and city directories from the time, Francis was a barber with a shop on Bedford Street for many years. For the last 23 years of his life, he was an insurance agent with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
Francis and Ellen had five children. She died in 1895. He remained a widower for two decades until his passing in 1917 of pneumonia. Both are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Obituaries for the two noted that they were devoted members of Sacred Heart Parish, whose church stood a block away. Francis was superintendent of the parish’s Sunday school, and was considered "universally liked” and “ever ready to befriend those in need.”
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Preservation Society of Fall River buys more low-income housing
