Borden Acres Collection, 1932-1975

Located off of what is now known as Wilmont Drive in Berryhill Township (referred to as “Wilmount Road”) in Charlotte, NC, Borden Acres was home to the Borden family 1932-1975. Major Frank R. Borden owned the property, and after his death, the property was deeded to his wife and sons (see deeds in collection for details). Wilma Borden, widow of Major Bayard B. Borden, sold Borden Acres in 1972.

Ads in the Charlotte Observer describe Borden Acres in 1969 as “For sale located in Berryhill Township, this estate with lovely old home and two guest houses, plus 96 acres of prime development land. Near Charlotte city limits.” Henry Bissell purchased Borden Acres in September 1972. He paid in six installments of approximately $12k. Details of the transaction may be seen on page 126 of Ledger 2. Advertisements in the Charlotte Observer list the asking price for Borden Acres at $140k-150k.

The Bordens were a military family. Major Frank R. Borden (1875-1962) and wife Kathryn Petrick (1879-1962) had two sons: Bayard Borden (1904-1963) and Mitchell P. Borden (1907-1965). Major Frank Borden and Kathryn resided in both Randolph Field, Texas and at Borden Acres in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was stationed in Texas as an active army surgeon, and later became one of the first army medical officers to attain rank as Flight Surgeon.

Major Bayard B. Borden served as a Flying Officer in Cincinnati, Ohio assigned to the 29th air base group and detailed as base athletic officer succeeding Lieutenant Num R. Ham, Jr. Bayard graduated from the Air Corps Flying School simultaneously with his brother, Mitchell, in 1928. Bayard also served in Baton Rouge, Louisiana stationed at Army Air base. He married Wilma Jeffries and had a daughter, Ann Bernadette Borden. The couple lived at Borden Acres in between being stationed at military bases elsewhere. Their daughter Ann married Air Force veteran Everette Mozingo in December 1970.

Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell Borden, Sr. joined the armed forces in 1924 and completed pilot training at the Air Corps Flying School in 1928. He was named Commander of the 62nd Air Base group and Base Operations Officer at Lawson Field in Fort Benning, Georgia in December 1941. He retired in 1953. On July 17, 1935, he married Edith Margaret Holt in York, South Carolina. The two divorced on July 10, 1942, with “desertion” listed as the cause. Edith remarried to Raymond Lawrence Zavasky in January 1947. Mitchell later married Jean O’Connor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 1, 1944 in the post chapel at Morris Field. He was stationed at Marshall Field, Fort Riley, Kansas, where he and Jean made their home for about a year, until he spent some time serving in North Africa. They had two children: Mitchell P. Borden, Jr. (1936-?), and Cynthia Jean Borden (1946-?). His son served as Airman First Class with the US Air Force in Georgia.