A piece of Fall River history was revealed on July 29, 2006, when The Trustees of Reservations led a walking tour of the former Spencer Borden estate that sits on a peninsula at the north end of Watuppa Pond. At the entrance to the property, walker had a chance to examine the ruins of the Cook & Durfee Ice House, built in 1864, that once provide ice for the city cut from the North Watuppa Pond. At the end of a nearly mile-long cart path, the group found the foundation of Borden's farm house as well as the ruins of another farm house. Borden, who graduated from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1872, returned to work with his father in Fall River where he started the profitable Bleachery Mill, located near Dave's Beach on South Watuppa Pond. While Borden was developing the estate into a farm on which he could raise his prized Arabian horses, the City was working to acquire the Watuppa Pond as a water supply. The property is now gated and off-limits to the public, though the Trustees are allowed to conduct a guided tour of the area once a year. This year, for the first time, fourteen members of the Borden family joined the tour. Some of Borden's great grandchildren had not been on the property since the 1930s when the property was sold. For more information about the Trustees, call 508.679.2115 x10 or e-mail them at bioreserve@ttor.org.
 

(Top row, left and center photo) Bill Goncalo (lower left and center right) describes the stone Cook & Durfee ice house. Mr. Goncalo, who now teaches English At Diman, researched the history of Interlachen in preparation for a tour sponsored by the Trustees of Reservations. (Top row, right) Mr. Goncalo describes the foundation of a caretaker house that once stood on the site and was later moved to Bark Street nearby. (Middle row, left) Walkers pause at one of the vistas of the North Watuppa pond that once served as a boat launch. (Middle row, center) An old photo shows Col. Spencer Borden on one of his prized Arabian horses that he raised on the property. Born in 1864, Borden lived on the land throughout his life until his death in 1921.(Middle row, right) Fall River Historical Society Vice-President Robert Kitchen points out some tiles that once graced the porch of the house that stood overlooking the Pond. (Bottom row, left) William Mason, a great grandson of Col. Borden looks over photos of the original house and farm with other members of the Borden family. (Bottom row, center) Borden family members Janny and Harry Hadley, William Mason, Charles and great granddaughter Elizabeth Possidente, Len Colt, Rosemary Colt, Joan Colt Hooper, Joy and John Luke, Hope Hetherington, Nan Carter and Cynthia Mason pose in front of the foundation of the Borden home that was demolished in 1938. (Bottom row, right) The view from a camp on the water's edge with the remains of a fireplace and duck blind still standing.