Kraft-Owned House Declared Historical: Public Hearing Pending

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The Kraft Group plans to demolish the 215-year-old Amos Morse house, according to the town's historical commission, but the board is taking action to save it.

The historical commission met on Saturday and voted for declaring the home "historically significant." This could delay a potential demolition for the house, which is partly responsible for the straw industry becoming an economic force for Foxborough into the 20th century.

Commission Chairman Mark Ferencik told the Sun Chronicle the next step is holding a public hearing on the matter. The historical commission has until Feb. 23 to have the hearing, he said. Following a public hearing, the commission may vote to impose a six-month moratorium on the house's demolition.

Ferencik said a delay gives the Kraft Group time to explore other options besides demolition. He said the owners could sell the home to someone willing to preserve it or donate the property.

"You can't just knock it down without a public hearing," Ferencik told Patch. "The idea of the hearing is to try to get them to do something besides knock it down."

The Kraft Group said it will await public hearing before taking any action.

"This is the next step in the process, spokesman Jeremie Smith said. We’ll wait for the public hearing and then go from there."

The Kraft Group's process has always involved other options besides demolition, Smith told Patch. In a statement, he said:

"We are trying to find a satisfactory solution for the Amos Morse House, including gifting or selling the house to someone interested in relocating and preserving it in town, or salvaging significant pieces of the house so that it can be preserved and later reused elsewhere in town. We have received some inquiries over the last few years expressing initial interest in one or more of these alternatives, but sadly none have been willing to make the commitment necessary to move any of these options forward. It has now been determined that the house is unsafe and needs to be taken down. We will continue to work with the Historical Commission through this process and if someone comes forward with a reasonable plan, we will certainly do our best to work with them. If not, then the house should be removed from the property for safety reasons."

Photo used with Permission from the Foxborough Historical Commission