Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts

The old whaling city is not just famous for its maritime heritage.  Opening soon officially in the old Wamsutta Mill complex is the New Bedford Glass Museum.  The top floor of the mill houses a fantastic antiques center while antique furniture and the  new glass museum can be found at the street level.  There’s ample parking, the upper level is air-conditioned, and the glass museum, while not yet officially open, has most of the exhibits in place with a delightful and knowledgeable curator on duty to explain the intricacies of New Bedford’s famed Pairpoint and Mount Washington Glass.  Many other types of glass are on display from every decade, contemporary, Victorian, Tiffany glass, Sandwich glass and glassworks by reknown glass artists.  This is one not to miss.  Visit their informative site at http://www.nbmog.com/

This week will mark the end of criminal cases tried at the historic New Bedford Superior Court House at 441 County Street, the venue for the famous 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden.  Only civil cases will be heard now at the New Bedford site. Amazingly the old court room where the Borden trial took place has remained, for the most part, the same as it looked in 1893. 

The new Fall River Justice Center on Second Street, will assume the task of trying criminal cases.  One wonders if the 1892 crime happened today- might Lizzie try for “house arrest” and remain in her house across the street from the new court house wearing an ankle device!

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100622/NEWS/6220308

Some footage from this past weekend’s event-with some really great entries.

Lizzie Borden Tale Of Two Cities

Youtube entry by Rick Rebelo.

Blood Relations written by Sharon Pollack and directed by Stephen Kay opens November 12th.  The play runs November 12-22 at the Your Theatre Playhouse at 136 River Street, New Bedford.

The play within a play structure in which, ten years after her acquittal, Lizzie Borden’s actress friend, Nance O’Neil acts out the crucial scenes, lends a fascinating sense of ambiguity to a familiar story.  For reservations call 508-993-0772.

For more about the play read http://www.enotes.com/blood-relations

Today’s South Coast Today puts Lizzie in the Press again with coverage of last night’s “Mock Trial”. Read the story at http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090925/NEWS/909250337

Gallery X will be holding an open exhibit “Lizzie Borden, A Tale of Two Cities”. On August 4, 1892, a terrible crime was committed in the city of Fall River. After all suspects were interviewed, all were cleared except for the youngest daughter of the victims, Miss Lizzie Andrew Borden. The vicious murders and it’s following trial caused the largest media blitz America had ever seen. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Borden were brutally slain in their home in broad daylight. The trial of Lizzie Borden has lived in the hearts, imaginations, and minds of a larger group of people than one would expect. The crime was committed in the City of Fall River, On June 5, 1893, Ten months later, Lizzie was brought to trial at the Bristol County Superior Court house in New Bedford. After a trial of thirteen days, Lizzie was acquitted for lack of evidence.

The show’s title, “Lizzie Borden, A Tale of Two Cities” is a reference to the connection of these two cities and the national interest the murders in Fall River, and the following trial in New Bedford caused. Nearly every newspaper in the country held front page accounts of the tragedy and it’s proceedings. It seems everyone had their opinion on these bizarre proceedings and the press couldn’t get enough! The exhibit is open to all artists, local and otherwise. All submissions must pertain to Lizzie and/or the Borden tragedy. The limit is three pieces per artist, at $10.00 each. Gallery X will receive A35% commission on any sales. The show opens on October 14, 2009,the opening reception will be on October 17, 2009. The deadline for entries is Sunday October 11,2009 between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Gallery X hours are Wednesday through Friday 11:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. , Saturday and Sunday 11:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m.

The 1893 Lizzie Borden trial re-enactment at Bristol County courthouse is the must-see event for September.  The courtroom where it all happened in June of 1893 is much today as it was on the day when Lizzie sat on the hard wooden bench and hid her enigmatic face behind her fan.  Even the Victorian wooden Defense and Prosecution tables where Robinson and Knowlton held forth are still in place.  A large oil portrait of Attorney Knowlton hangs on the wall today.  A large turnout is expected and tickets will soon be a hot commodity in the area. An open house will be held the night of the re-enactment from 6 – 7 p.m. when the “trial” begins.

The free program is open to the public, with limited seating.

 Mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to “Lizzie, Redux Request”, care of Clerk Magistrate Marc J. Santos, Bristol Count Clerk of Courts, 441 County St., New Bedford, MA 02740 for tickets. There will be two tickets issued per request. Tickets will be honored until 20 minutes before the performance, after which there will be a general admission as room is available.

2009 markes the 150th anniversary for the Massachusetts Superior courts.  Many events and displays are on tap for the year . Of particular interest is this notation on their web site

“Lizzie Borden, Redux ~ Multiple dates and locations

 New Bedford Superior Courthouse ~ September 24

Fall River Superior Courthouse ~ October 22

 Taunton Superior Courthouse ~ November 19

 Ms. Borden was acquitted of the murder of her father

and mother and no other suspect was ever identified.

The trial, which took place in 1893 in the New Bedford

Superior Court, continues to interest and intrigue the

public. Not a re-enactment but in a mock trial, Ms.

Borden will be tried again with two lawyers serving as

team prosecutors and two lawyers as team defense. The

audience will vote a verdict.”

To see a listing of all the big doings for the year visit http://www.mass.gov/courts/press/summary-of-events.pdf

One of the most interesting witnesses for the prosecution must surely have been young Eli Bence, the pharmacy clerk who testified that Lizzie Borden had asked for a dime’s worth of deadly Prussic acid on the morning before the murders.  Mr. Bence denied her request without a prescription, but remembered her face and voice, and would later identify Lizzie, as did two other men in the store at the time, as the lady who visited the store that Wednesday morning. 

Bence’s evidence was a godsend to the prosecution and stood firm until it reached the higher court.  There it was ruled too remote in time from the killings -and no poison was ever found in the stomachs of the two victims.  Eli’s evidence, had it been heard by the jury, may have had serious consequences.  Miss Borden denied going to the pharmacy and even knowing where it was located on Main Street, only two blocks south of her house.

Bence left Fall River and started his own pharmacy in a residential section of New Bedford in 1894 at the corner of Russell and Fourth Streets. His wife died in New Bedford, but Bence remarried in 1904, to a Fairhaven woman, and the pair with his young son Roy Sydney Bence, moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts to establish another pharmacy. The couple had two children, Priscilla and Maxfield.  Bence had a successful career and rose to the top of his profession.  His name in print was always followed by a mention about the part he played in the famous Borden trial, even in his obituary. This medicine bottle, minus its cork stopper was recently found in a New Bedford antique store and reads Eli Bence Pharmacy, New Bedford.

 For more on Eli Bence visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlJumWmayLc