About

August 4, 2005 on Second Street

Warps and Wefts has been around for a few years without any mention of who writes this stuff!  Begun as an online web site for a conference in 2007, I never thought I’d still be around.  My thanks to all those who stick with Warps and Wefts, the readers and those who leave comments.  As 2022 begins, Lizzie Borden is hotter than ever and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.  It is my great pleasure to continue with the pleasant task of keeping readers informed, rooting out new information, and going on sleuthing adventures with the Second St. Irregulars (Muttoneaters).  Knowledge unshared is knowledge wasted- and it is so much fun when friends are along for the ride.

It has been a wonderful experience sharing a passion with like-minded people since 1991 when I first got bitten by the Lizzie Borden bug.  Before the house on Second Street was opened to the public, we all had to gather in each other’s homes to discuss the case- no internet, no cell phones,- just pen and paper and good old land lines.  From these early days, the Second Street Irregulars was born, although lately we seem to go by Muttoneaters!

In the years I have been ‘a-Lizzie-ing, I have met so many captivating personalities and made life-long friends.  I loved working at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum for 18 years, exploring the house, testing theories, and meeting and discussing the case with guests.  Victorian crime is my passion, and of all cases, the Borden case has all the elements which intrigue me most.  Whether planning the next Muttoneaters’ gathering or wading through Oak Grove Cemetery in the snow- life with Lizzie has never been dull! Stay tuned- the best is yet to come. You may enjoy visiting our companion sites  hollisterpress.com  and friendsofoakgrovecemetery.org  and viewing our videos on our Youtube channel and daily posts on Facebook..

10 Comments

  • Anonymous

    August 2, 2022 at 1:22 pm Reply

    I have book “Fall River Tragedy”! Only 5 in existence! Inherited from grandparents, one of who worked for police dept at that time. Wow

  • Seafarer

    December 9, 2020 at 12:01 pm Reply

    This is a wonderful site for good information regarding the historic people and events. It should be said that there’s too much crap about the Borden’s that will forever be on the Internet for people to find, so when there’s a good site, with a really good writer like yourself, it should be lauded for it’s value. I enjoy reading your articles and analysis- it’s clear that you’re very interested and your voice is sunny, even while discussing dark topics. I think that it’s a good thing to keep this site active as long as there’s a big interest in this story, garbage to correct about the family, and kooky cultural memes about Miss Lizzie that never die and overlook the newest information about her life and legacy. It’s a real task to keep historical figures like this from becoming one-dimensional or stereotypical when there’s such a thing as the Internet and such a broad cultural attraction to this story.

    Well done, humble writer 🙂

    • Shelley

      December 10, 2020 at 12:35 am Reply

      Thank you so much for your comment. There are no more-appreciated words than yours. Warps and Wefts has been around since 2007 with the mission of trying to give the facts, the research and even obscure bits of information to counter the misleading, sensational and inaccurate tidal wave that floods the internet. More posts, articles and videos to come in the future.

  • Russell Williams

    January 30, 2014 at 11:24 pm Reply

    I have two questions: The FIRST. Who owned “Maplecroft” before Lizzie Borden bought it? I have two leads. One suggests it was ‘… the Dolan’s house…’. The other refers to it as being owned by ‘… Hiram Harrington’. And, the SECOND. What is the address of Maplecroft? I believe in Lizzie’s day it was 7 French Street, and today it is 306 French Street? Is this correct?

      • James Baaden

        July 26, 2015 at 8:20 pm Reply

        I saw a scanned newspaper article from 1893 (on another site) which implied that someone called Alfred Butterworth had owned the French Street house, and the Borden sisters bought it from his estate that year. Also, it seemed to suggest that Butterworth had killed himself in the house in 1892, causing a sensation in Fall River almost as great as that created by the Borden murders. Is this information wrong? Who was Charles Allen?

        • administrator

          October 29, 2015 at 2:47 pm Reply

          The Butterworth house was one of several considered for purchase by the Borden sisters before they settled on Maplecroft which was owned by Charles Allen. Mr. Butterworth did kill himself in his own house, not in Maplecroft.

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