[1] The school was named after Bradford Durfee (1788-1843), a leading early Fall River industrialist.

A three-year program in General Cotton Manufacturing was also offered along with two courses in Designing and Weaving and in Chemistry and Dyeing.

In 1958, the name of the school was again changed to the Bradford Durfee College of Technology.

This also occurred because non-degree schools which granted degrees in less than four years were known as technical institutes.

[1] The complex on Durfee Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.