08/26/2026
THE EVOLUTION OF "THE CORNER LOT"
“Many interesting bits of reminiscence could be told of this old building before the days of railroads, when everybody gathered at the “store and post-office” to learn the news and gossip from neighboring towns upon the arrival of the one mail a day.”
Long before the Bank Block (1895), there once stood a small, old wooden building at the corner of South Main and Center Street, dating back to 1814. It was built by Major Levi Peirce, and was affectionately called “the old store” by people who had always known it to be there. It was a two-story, hip-roof, wooden structure, about 35 feet square. Peirce used it as a general store with a workshop on the second floor. Levi was also appointed postmaster that same year, and the first post office at what is today Four Corners operated from his small shop facing onto Center Street. Up until then, people in town had to receive their mail either at the Green, or further west in what is today Lakeville. Now, they had another choice -- at Four Corners. This is but one way that the Peirce family caused that particular part of town to develop into what we all know as downtown.
For however long the “store and post-office” operated, it was a locus of much activity in the nascent hub of Four Corners. People would gather there to receive mail, which arrived once a day, but also to gossip and hear the news from other towns.
After the Peirce business left that location, the small wooden building was rented out by numerous businesses, such as clothiers, a restaurant, an upholstery business and a harness manufactory. However, the historic old Levi Peirce store at Four Corners went up in flames in October, 1866. At the time, the town only had a “little old red tub of a hand engine, and the only available water supply (was) a cistern upon the Jenks place on Main Street.” Alas, that historic original building and “most of its contents” were lost forever.
While the old store was never replaced, another, new building was erected here about 1867, standing “without a rival upon this prominent corner” for almost thirty years. This new 20x20 yellow building served many functions, including as an enlistment office, and also as the location of some important Middleborough town offices for years -- including those of the selectmen, clerk and treasurer. It was also a pension office, and the location of the Fourth District Court. At one time, this medium-sized building housed the district court, an express office, selectmen and assessors, town treasurer and collector, broker’s office, pension agency and cobbler shop all at once.
Furthermore, it was also the location of a sensational robbery in 1871.
This was the time when the town had some of its important offices here, including “the town safe.” Here the town (and other parties) kept a considerable amount of cash, important documents and securities. However, during the cold wee hours of Saturday, December 15, 1871, thieves managed to get inside the building as well as the safe and make off with quite a good haul.
When the intrusion was discovered, the town clerk was summoned. They had entered through the rear of the building. A hole had been drilled through one of the doors of the safe, and some powder was put inside. The door blew open, and off its hinges landing eventually about ten feet away, destroying a large hard wooden desk and a stove. The safe door had been 1/8th inch of iron. The town ultimately lost a little under $500, but Mr. Tucker, it is written, lost $12,000, and others who had held items in the safe had lost $8,000. For frame of reference, $12,000 in 1871 dollars comes out to $328,000 in 2026. It was said that the thieves did not stop for small bills.
The Gazette opines that there were three burglars involved, two of whom came on Friday night by train, yet could not be identified. They also broke into a nearby drug store that night, before getting to the town safe, finally finishing their burgling activities about 3:00am. They then proceeded to steal a horse and carriage from Mr. Everett Robinson, before making good their escape by darkness of winter night to Taunton, where they caught an early train to New York City and disappeared. The horse and carriage were recovered there, but the thieves were never apprehended, nor were the securities recovered. A number of the bonds were paid, however, “showing that the perpetrators of the burglary were experts at the craft.”
The town moved out of there, and into the commodious new town hall down the street in 1872-1873 (only to ultimately move a number of important town offices back to the same corner lot more than 120 years later!)
This lot remained mostly vacant, even with the 1864 structure there. A large and prominent billboard was put up here, and for many years it was hard to avoid seeing its advertisements for circuses and theaters. It appears that this centrally located green space also served as an informal park at the Four Corners area.
From about 1885 to 1894, there was a band stand here too. It was a medium-sized square wooden platform, with rails, and four posts, each one capped with a large kerosene lamp, and a short stair facing Center Street. In pictures, it looks something like an early wrestling ring. It is fun to imagine there being bands and shows here during summer nights in the 1890s, lit by the glow of the kerosene lamps. These summer band affairs were referenced as one thing that would be missed in 1895, when work was already underway on the new Bank Block. The need for a public park in a time when we had none and another location for the band stand were also mulled over by the author. They also opined that “no part of the town has changed so little during the last 25 years as the four corners.” But that changed in 1894-1895, as the decidedly more prominent, and massive, Bank Block rose. It served initially as the location of the Middleborough Savings Bank -- hence its name. Today it serves the town by hosting a number of important town offices.
B.C.
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-Weston, Thomas. History of the Town of Middleborough. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906.
-”The Evolution of the Corner Lot,” The Middleborough Gazette (Middleborough), January 25, 1895, 1
-The Macris Database. “Savings Bank Building.” Accessed 26 August 2026, https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=MID.380
