FALL RIVER SIGHTS

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast / Museum
The most important stop you can make while in Fall River would be the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast / Museum at 92 Second Street. There is no greater opportunity to study the case, explore the world of Lizzie Borden, or to step back in time and experience the actual house in which the drama unfolded on the morning of August 4th, 1892. Book a room in this first-class Bed and Breakfast, and spend the night; you will not regret it.

After the Borden sisters sold the house, it was a private residence for many decades until 1996, when it was opened to the public as a full-service B&B. The house offers many artifacts and displays related to the Borden family, their life at 92 Second Street, and the murders themselves and so became an instant hit and major American tourist attraction. Day tours include a walk-through of the house and retelling of the events that unfolded there, and evening tours (for overnight guests only) provide a three-hour comprehensive exploration of every floor and a casual follow-up discussion afterwards with informed staff members.

Overnight guests are welcome to stay in either the Lizzie/Emma suite (which is comprised of the two bedrooms kept by the Borden sisters up until the murders); the Andrew / Abby suite (which is comprised of Andrew's bedroom and Abby's dressing closest converted to a bedroom); or the John Morse room (which is the actual bedroom where Abby Borden was killed). There is also a choice of three rooms in the attic, one of which was the bedroom used by Bridget Sullivan.

Special events are held at the house, including re-enactment scenarios held on the anniversary of the murders; psychic readings and séances; and meetings of groups such as the Mutton Eaters, the Fall River Chapter of the Lizzie Borden Society. Weddings have even been known to occur on the premises, and many people have found the residence an attractive stop-over for Valentine's Day.

The management also boasts of a full range of paranormal phenomenon and visitations. Stories of haunting and ghostly apparitions have fueled tremendous interest in the house, and the B&B is often showcased on many paranormal and television talk shows. If you come on the right night, you can even take part in a séance, and decide for yourself if Andrew Borden does still walk the house.

Recently, the house completed its restoration by taking down an obstructive print shop that had been constructed adjacent to it, by opening up the backyard as a parking area, and by building a recreation of the barn to host a gift shop and management office.

You can book a room here and stay the weekend, using it as a base camp to explore Fall River, New Bedford, Fair Haven, Somerset, Swansea, and other Lizzie Borden points of interest. The immediate area around the house itself is sadly declined, but you can still see some of the houses, churches and buildings which Lizzie would have seen had she taken a stroll for herself.

But perhaps the biggest benefit of visiting the Bed and Breakfast is the amazing insight to be gained from being in those rooms, living life the way the Bordens did, getting a feel for the layout of the house, and immersing yourself in that quaint Victorian world that was Fall River in the 1890s.
http://www.lizzie-borden.com

Maplecroft
After being acquitted and released, Lizzie Borden went back, briefly, to 92 Second Street and continued living there with her sister, Emma. Shortly after receiving their inheritance money, the sisters bought property up on the Hill, the highlands north of the downtown center where many of the wealthy of Fall River had their opulent homes. The house the Borden sisters purchased is on French Street and is currently a private residence so tours are not possible. There was an attempt at one point to open the house to the public and a brief glimpse of that can be seen on YouTube.

While it is not appropriate to approach the house, from the street you can admire the familiar gables and peaks that are so distinct in those early photographs, as well as the carriage house, later a motor garage, in the back of the property. Lizzie also owned the land immediately to the East, and to this day the plot remains undeveloped.

Lizzie chiseled the word "Maplecroft" into the top step, and that inscription is still prominently visible today.

The Family Plot at Oak Grove
Oak Grove Cemetery is located not far from Maplecroft, and is a magnificent and endlessly-fascinating place for Borden case studies, Fall River history, and American legacies. If you approach the cemetery along Prospect Street, you'll come across the main entrance, a magnificent granite arch in a Gothic style inscribed with the words: The Shadows Have Fallen And They Wait for the Day.

Once inside the gates, look for the arrows that are painted on the winding paths. These arrows will lead you to the Borden family plot. Here you can visit with Andrew Borden, Abby Borden, Lizzie and Emma Borden; as well as with Alice, the middle sister who died very young, and with Sarah Anthony Morse Borden, Andrew's first wife and Lizzie's biological mother. They are nestled on a small rise in a lamb chop-shaped plot which is accented with a tall obelisk presenting the patriarchal predominance of A.J. Borden.
http://friendsofoakgrovecemetery.org/

FALL RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Located in the heart of the Highlands, at the corner of Rock and Maple Streets, the Fall River Historical Society is an invaluable stop on any Lizzie Borden tour. The Society occupies the Remington House, a magnificent historical home, and is also a museum that gives daily tours. There is a permanent collection of furniture, paintings, decorative arts, photographs, clothing, and statues that evoke the Gilded Age of Fall River wealth. Entire rooms are devoted to important slices of the cities' legacy, including the Fall River Line, a major steamship enterprise. The Society has a major archive of manuscripts and genealogical resources and is currently working on a cultural study of Lizzie Borden called "Parallel Lives".

And of course, there is the "Borden room" where many artifacts related to the Borden family, the murders, and the trial are housed. Here you can see the Handle-less hatchet that was offered by the prosecution as being the possible murder weapon; samples of Andrew Borden's hair used by forensic experts; the photographs that were entered into evidence at the trial; the braided hairpiece that fell from Abby's head when she was attacked; the pillow shams from the guest room; and Lizzie's prison lunch pail, amongst other fascinating artifacts. A tour of the Fall River Historical Society's house does a lot to put Lizzie Borden in the perspective of her time, her class, and the culture of the tycoons who owned and ran the textile mills that made Fall River an important American city.
www.lizzieborden.org

A.J. BORDEN BUILDING
The A.J. Borden Building is located at 91-111 South Main Street, on the west side of the Superior Courthouse, not far from the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast / Museum. This building was built before Andrew's death, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The site of the building is also where Andrew Borden and his business partner William Almy maintained their business, Borden's & Almy's, for many years. Andrew would have considered the A.J. Borden building to be one of the crowning achievements of his long, hard life. Today it is occupied by an insurance company, and so is not open for tours.

CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
The Central Congregational Church, located at 100 Rock Street, was attended by the Borden family members, including Lizzie. One of Lizzie's activities for this church was teaching Sunday school there for Chinese immigrant children. The building itself is a beautiful Gothic landmark, offering one of the distinct features of the Fall River skyline. In recent years, the Church building played host to the International Institute of Culinary Arts, as well as the Abby Grill, one of Fall River's best restaurants. Those businesses were closed last year when pieces of the Church's façade fell on the street, damaging property. The entire building then went into foreclosure, suffering from vandalism. The community is now mobilizing to save the Church and to raise funds to restore it.

N.B. BORDEN SCHOOL
Located at 45 Morgan Street, a short walk from the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, is the school built in 1867 and named after Nathaniel Briggs Borden (owner of the Pocasset Mill). Lizzie Borden attended this school as a child. The exterior of the school is almost exactly as it was back when Lizzie Borden was a young girl, and is a fascinating stop on any Lizzie Borden tour.