What Is the Lizzie Borden House?
This was the site of the infamous murders of A.J. and Abby Borden, which gave us the rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an ax / And gave her mother forty whacks, / And when she saw what she had done, / She gave her father forty-one.
What Makes It Historical?
Acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother on June 20, 1893, Lizzie Borden lived out her days with a bloody specter looming large over her! But did this Sunday school teacher hack them to bits with a hatchet on August 4, 1892? Well, the answer is probably.
See, her wealthy father had gifted some very expensive real estate to Abby’s sister, and the night before the murders, Abby’s brother, John, paid the family a visit. On the morning of August 4, 1892, Mr. Morse and Mr. Borden left the house, and Mrs. Borden was struck with a hatchet 18 times in the guest room where Mr. Morse had slept! When Mr. Borden returned, he settled in for a nap on the sitting room sofa, where he was hacked 12 times!
The 15-day trial caused a major stir nationwide! After all, this was a very well-to-do family, and they just didn’t do such things to each other. The first suspect was a Portuguese immigrant, but after a 3-day inquest, Lizzie Borden was arrested! Women’s rights groups treated her as martyr who couldn’t be judged fairly until women had the vote! Irish immigrants looked to her guilt as proof against oppressive nativist business owners in Fall River! At the end of the day, with neither a bloody dress nor a bloody hatchet, the jury acquitted Lizzie Borden, who went by Lizbeth ever afterward. Society shunned her until the end, and today, it’s rumored that the ghosts of the victims still haunt the original house!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Stay the night if you dare!
- Volunteer at the Fall River Historical Society!
- Donate to the Fall River Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
230 Second St
Fall River, MA 02721
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
House tours run daily between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, while ghost tours run nightly between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM!
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