In the last quarter of the 20th century, this property, which had belonged to the Knights of Columbus (under the name Cavanaugh Hall), figured in the supermarket rivalry between Stop & Shop and Shaws. The Star Market on River Street was acquired by Shaws which purchased the property at the corner of Washington and River Streets. Stop & Shop had purchased several properties including the Stoughton School building and land to bolster its effort to build a supermarket. When Shaws won out, Stop & Shop refused to sell the parcels that it had acquired, keeping the Stoughton School building vacant. This forced Shaws to go underground to accomodate parking for the new 44,191-square-foot supermarket opened in July, 2003, at the Washington and River Street intersection.
Sources:
Chaffee, John R. The History of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts. Boston: The Pilgrim Press, 1917, p. 43.
History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Boston, 1859.
Orcutt, William Dana. Good Old Dorchester: A Narrative History of the Town, 1630-1893. Cambridge: The University Press, 1908 [c1891].
Picture 3607 Stoughton School vignette from edge of bird’s-eye view entitled Milton Lower Mills, Massachusetts. Boston: O.H. Bailey & Co., Lith. & Pub., 1890.