Last modified: Sunday, May 14, 2006 11:48 PM EDT EDITORIAL: Want great old home for $1? Foxboro Town Historian Jack Authelet says he believes two stately and spacious homes will become available for the price of $1. There's a catch, though. While the price would be right, the 1865-vintage E.P. Car penter House and the neighboring 1874vintage L. Porter Faught House -- better known as the Van Dora Nursing Home -- will have to be moved off their current sites. That could prove to be a prohibitively expensive endeavor and, at present, there is no site available to put them on. Still, this would be the best resolution to a con troversy facing Foxboro. Both buildings are targeted for demoli tion to make way for a CVS store. That has some historical preservation advocates steaming. Carpenter, a highly influential figure in the straw hat industry through which Foxboro made its name, has been identi fied by the town's historical commission as the most influential individual in the town's history, and Fraught was also a mid-19th century industry. Beyond that, residents tend to become attached to build ings that have been part of the streetscape for 140 years. But, while officials are musing about tightening up the regulations for use of historically significant property, the town has no way to stop the sale of the property -- nor should it. As Authelet summed it up, `` we cannot stop somebody from tearing down their property. We can appeal to reason to explore the alternatives -- hopefully to move the buildings.'' Given Foxboro's noteworthy record in other preservation efforts, we expect town officials will be taking a hard look for potential sites. With luck, news of this situ -ation could also reach the ears of a devel oper with a soft spot for history and a site for two century-and-a-half-old homes. Downtown Foxboro needs to move for ward with new development like the CVS, we believe. At the same time, the best out come would involve saving these pieces of history on another site.