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A portal to freedom
On the day Lizzie was acquitted, the crowds had gathered in numbers to see her walk out the front door to freedom at last. In a clever maneuver to thwart the Press and the masses, arrangements were made to take Lizzie out by the back door to a waiting carriage. The side door to the old court house on County Street did not exist in 1893 and so the back door was the only other way to make an exit.
“Behind the original building [New Bedford Courthouse, 1828), where architect Nat C. Smith’s 1899 addition is now, there were stables for visiting attorney’s to use. During the weeks of this sensation trial [Borden Trial] they were outfitted as telegraph stations …” SOURCE: Brink, Robert J. Courthouses of the Commonwealth. University of Massachusetts Press: Boston. 1984. 95. Several steps now go down from the original building to the ground level of the addition. The archway in the photo below is said to be the opening of the old back exit, now used as the transition place into the addition and framed out with matching finish carpentry and moldings.
Newspaper sketch from: Flynn, Robert. Lizzie Borden Sourcebook.Flynn Publishing: Portland, ME: Sketch appeared on (page 5, of the Boston Globe of 6/21/1893 probably drawn by Bert Poole or an artist with the last name of Grant).
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Lizzie Borden: Still Haunting the Court?
A recent trip to the New Bedford courthouse where Lizzie was acquitted in June of 1893 revealed the old court room to be much the same as it was during her famous trial there. Tables, benches, light fixtures remain the same, and just perhaps Lizzie herself still walks up and down the wooden staircase where she once tread with anxiety and trepidation! A digital photo of the prisoner’s staircase to the second floor of the building where the court room is located revealed a very large pale orb floating up the staircase. To the left of the judge’s bench is a handsome portrait of the prosecutor, Hosea Knowlton who seems destined to haunt the place, even if Lizzie does make a return trip from time to time!
Lizzie in court in June 1893
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The Return of Victoria!
It was a red letter day when Victoria magazine returned to the shelves this month. There are very few publications on the market at present which feature articles on Victorian homes and Victoriana, Victorian Homes and Country Victorian were the last two after the Hearst Company cancelled Victoria a few years ago. Fans of the glorious magazine, filled with lavish photography went into mourning. Now under a new company management, Victoria has returned as beautiful as ever with features covering all aspects of Victorian life and style. Instead of monthly, the magazine will come out only 6 times a year as it did when it debuted. There is also a website and forum and a free online newsletter and magazine excerpts-what a great Christmas gift!
http://magazine-directory.com/Victoria.htm
Also visit Victorian Homes http://www.victorianhomesmag.com/
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Happy Thanksgiving
Wishing everyone a bountiful feast from the Borden’s diningroom- and NO MUTTON to be found on any plate!
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Drab by any other name is still awfully drab
When it came time to choose the color to paint the Borden house after the sale to the current owners, there was much discussion as to what shade to select. Newspaper descriptions and other sources cite the house color as “drab”- a popular Victorian catch-all term for a gray-brown-olive nondescript color. Army khaki fatigue uniforms may come close to the color. The current shade of green on the house is very snappy, but a little greener than was probably found in 1892. However, if you have a good look at the underside of the floorboards in the cellar of the house, a very convincing drab shade can still be seen which is probably the right shade. The trim was said to be painted a darker shade of the same color.
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Our Lady of Second Street
When Lizzie went abroad for her 30th birthday in 1890, she returned home with so many souvenirs that she had to switch rooms with her older sister Emma so as to have a place to display her mementos. Being a Congregationalist, it seems unusual that Lizzie had a fondness for Madonna and Child paintings and particularly liked one by Raphael. The house currently has Madonna of the Chair displayed in Lizzie’s room on the second floor, but it is the Sistine Madonna which is said to be her favorite. Both are by Raphael but this is the one called the Sistine Madonna.
This is Madonna of the Chair which can be found in Lizzie’s Room.
The first painting is probably the correct one- the Sistine Madonna. Another “Madonna” found in Lizzie’s room is a tender portrait of Lizzie’s real mother, Sarah Morse and Lizzie’s sister Emma as a baby. Was Lizzie yearning for her own mother?
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It’s the Cat’s Meow
Back in the 1990’s an enterprising lady calling herself “Faxine” developed a clever line of famous houses and places to make a collectible wooden village. She wisely discontinued certain pieces, thereby making the value of some pieces shoot through the roof. The Borden house was one of her historic homes offerings, and is worth plenty now if you can find one. Sometimes EBAY has one for auction. Former house owner Martha McGinn found a local artist to produce a replica of the house on Second Street- the scene of the crime, which alas, are impossible to get anymore as the artist is no longer producing them. If you have either reproduction- hang on to it!
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Diggers and Fillers on Second Street
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Mutton Eater’s Crossword
Click on thumbnail photo and print out to have a try. This crossword was featured at The Mutton Eater’s Banquet at Lizzie’s Church, The old Rock Street Congregational last Friday night.
The Clues:
Mutton Eaters Challenge Crossword Puzzle Down 1. Street where Alice Russell lived 2. Prosecutor’s first name 3. Street where #22 across lived 5. Middle name of Lizzie’s middle sister 6. Little Abbie Whitehead’s husband 8. Mr. Almy’s spouse 9. Lizzie’s Maplecroft friend 12. Lurana’s spouse 14. City where Lizzie was held 10 months 17. One of the banks where Andrew did business 19. A clerk pharmacist at Smith’s 21. Name of butcher with whom Morse stayed 23. Address of former Borden home
Across 3. A detective agency 4. Tried to hop over the Borden’s back fence 7. Affiliation of Lizzie’s Rock Street church 10. Abby’s sister’s married name 11. Andrew’s “last client” on August 4th 13. Block of shops across the street from City Hall 15. County where Bridget was born 16. Was served at breakfast 18. Type of cornmeal cakes 20. Bordens’ funeral director 22. Family which hosted post-acquittal party in Fall River 24. Town where Borden farms were located 25. Dr. Bowen’s first name 26. Popular name for irons 27. Editor of The Hatchet
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First Meeting of The Second Street Irregulars
November 9th-10 marked the inaugural meeting of a group of Borden historians from all over the U.S. who gathered at the scene of the crime in Fall River at the Borden house on Second Street. The group, modeled along the lines of the Sherlockian Baker Street Irregulars, visited important Lizzie-related sites around town, the courthouse where the 1893 trial took place, and Fairhaven where Lizzie’s sister Emma proved her alibi. Composed of members of The Lizzie Borden Society Forum, http://lizzieandrewborden.com/LBForum/index.php
the group, chapter named “Mutton Eaters”, (in tribute to the Borden breakfast on the day of the murders) will meet 2-3 times a year and will feature special guest lectures and field trips. Photo below is taken in the jury box at the New Bedford Courthouse where Lizzie was acquitted in June of 1893.
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A Pressing Matter
With Bridget, the Borden’s Irish maid doing all of the heavy laundry duties down in the cellar: heating water up in the cauldron, washing clothes on a zinc washboard, pressing water out through a mangle, and lifting heavy baskets to the clothes line under the pear trees on Monday and Tuesday, Lizzie only had to press her fine hankies on Thursday morning. Even this small task seemed to take an unusually long amount of time, if one believes Lizzie about when she said she commenced to iron, when her “flats” got cold, and if the fire had really gone out in the kitchen woodstove so the flats could not be reheated.
Electric irons had been invented in 1880 but were dangerous to use, as they were not grounded. Just imagine if Lizzie had had electricity and one of those new irons! Her story about going out to the barn to look for metal for fishing sinkers was prompted by the fact her irons had gone cold. While she was out there, the villain managed to sneak in and commit the homicide of her father. Was the “cold iron” a more important clue than is generally thought? Lizzie had to fabricate a reason for going outside to the barn, and not only came up with the looking for a bit of tin or “tea lead” but also embellished the alibi with a great deal of pear-eating, turning over boards, etc. Still she managed to appear “Immaculate-as if she had just washed her hands” to neighbor Addie Churchill minutes later after Lizzie re-entered the house and found her father dead on the sofa.
One wonders what the story might have been if one believes Lizzie was innocent and her flats had not gone cold. She would have been still ironing in the line of sight of a homicidal maniac, 6 feet away from the head of the sofa where Andrew’s head would soon be pulverized with a sharp blade. Lizzie’s own body may have been found by Bridget a few minutes later (when the maid came back downstairs from the third floor), stretched out on the dining room floor.
Flat irons, sometimes called sadirons (a contraction of solid iron) must have been tediously heavy and unwieldy to use. They might make a great blunt instrument, but could not have made the sharp-edged cuts upon the heads of either victim.
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Elections 1892
While Lizzie was cooling her heels in Taunton jail, candidates Harrison and Cleveland, (republican and democrat nominees elected on the first ballot) were coming down the home stretch to election day. The election campaign was dominated by the issue of tariffs with Cleveland running against the increase in tariffs that Harrison had brought about. There was no campaigning by either candidate. Harrison’s wife was gravely ill and he did not even hold porch speeches. Cleveland, out of deference to Harrison did not either. Imagine THAT today!
Cleveland won the election with nearly 75% pf eligible voters going to the polls.Lizzie lived during the terms of the 15 presidents listed below, Lincoln, Garfield ( for whom Andrew Borden’s patent medicine tea was named), and McKinley (last Civil War vet to be elected) were all assassinated. In August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution became law, and women could vote in the fall elections, including in the Presidential election. Lizzie could have voted in 1920 for:
Warren G. Harding18
James M. Cox
Eugene V. DebsRepublican
Democratic
Socialistor in 1924 for
Calvin Coolidge
John W. Davis
Robert M. LaFolletteRepublican
Democratic
Progressive, SocialistShe would die before the 1928 elections when Herbert Hoover took office.
Buchanan to Coolidge 
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysees S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
William McKinley
Teddy Roosevelt
William Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Maybe Mr. Terry drove Lizzie to the polls!
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Victorian Christmas on The Hill
Once again the Fall River Preservation Society will be presenting a holiday house stroll featuring the beautiful “Painted Ladies” of The Hill section of the city and the Borden home on Second Street. Last year was such a success with hayrides, carollers, refreshments and the Historical Society’s annual Christmas display at the Rock and Maple Street corner, this year’s tour of the stately homes, filled with antiques and holiday decorations, promises to exceed all expectations. The Second Street Irregulars will be attending, as many as can in costume, for a glimpse of the Past, history, architecture, good company and great food. http://www.fallriverpreservation.org/events.php -
Fall River Doings
Yesterday The digging began in earnest for the new courthouse on Second Street on Halloween. The steam shovel at times seemed to be halfway to China, buried in the deep trench. In other local news, the Fall River Herald and the Fall River Historical Society have pooled efforts to create a Remembering Fall River blog for natives to share photos and memories of the fine old city over the years. Best wishes on this effort-it’s time Fall Riverites sang their own praises when others of us “aliens” have enjoyed blogging about the Spindle City for a long time!!
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All Treats-No Tricks!
Lizzie 101 UMASS tours the Borden cellar
It was a mild evening for the trick or treaters. The temps were in the low 60’s, a balmy breeze, with puffy white clouds scudding across a dark grey sky furnished the ideal backdrop to a perfect Halloween. At Second Street the table in the diningroom (where once Mr. and Mrs. Borden were laid out on undertakers’ boards for two and a half days) was now the scene for a table decorated in festive holiday style. Crows and bats, skulls and rats, cupcakes with mummy faces, popcorn balls and cookies, spider cakes and candy corn, cider and other treats awaited the ten guests planning to try to stay the whole night.
Vampires and cats, the Bride of Frankenstein and Frankie too called at the house as well as pirates, super heroes, witches, ghosties, and one very tired little 3 year old pumpkin dared to cross the threshold in search of treats. It had been an exciting day with segments on both the Today Show and the Montel Williams Show about the Borden house. Dr. Betty Mitchell also brought her class from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth for a special tour of the house by author and historian, Leonard Rebello. The class was all freshman girls – with lots of questions to ask. Dr. Mitchell teaches a class in “Lizzie 101” and is a well-respected authority often seen in documentaries about the case.
Guests from Ohio, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, and New Jersey enjoyed a tour of the house at 8 p.m. followed by a midnight seance in the sitting room in front of the sofa where Mr. Borden met his untimely end. Next to August 4th, the anniversary of the Borden crime, Halloween is the most popular time of year to come to visit the scene of the crime.
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The Eve of All Hallows
No full moon tonight over #92 Second Street. This was taken on October 27th over the barn in the back yard. But it will be creepy enough with ten brave guests spending the night at the scene of the crime. After a tour of Oak Grove, hot cider and doughnuts, a tour of the house will begin at 8, interrupted by a few fearless trick-or treaters. There may even be a seance at midnight, just in case anyone “on the other side” wishes to leave us a clue. Happy Halloween!
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Lizzie Rides Home in Style
There may not have been stretch limos in 1893 to bring Lizzie back to Fall River in style, but the vehicle which bore her away in triumph was the aristocrat of all carriages- a barouche. This elegant conveyance sported a half roof which could collapse convertible-style if the weather was fair. The photo below is of a two-horse 1890 barouche although a larger barouche-landau might have a matched double set of smart-looking horses, heads held high with a checking rein. The landau model had a full roof and complete enclosure for passengers.
After some clever diversionary tactics to throw off the throngs waiting for her exit from court, a party consisting of Lizzie’s attorney, former governor George Robinson, sister Emma, Lizzie and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Holmes entered the barouche and left for a welcome home party on Pine Street, Fall River in Lizzie’s honor at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Holmes. Lizzie acknowledged the well-wishers with a wave of her white hanky. One might recall the pile of unironed hankies Lizzie was ironing on the diningroom table on the day of the murders!
As she sped away, the rented hack carriage which had brought her back and forth from jail pulled to the front, the same faithful old sorrel in harness. But the crowd gathered at the curb was disappointed, for Lizzie had outfoxed them in a move worthy of a modern day Britney Spears!
A sorrel horse, a shade of chestnut with lighter chestnut mane and tail.
Most probably a larger barouche, passengers facing each other, was needed to accommodate the large Borden party of 5 in comfort.
(source reference, Boston Globe June 21, 1893)
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On the waterfront
Just at the end of Main Street, there is a gentle curve which follows the water. The view of the little boats and across the water of New Bedford is superb. On the shore at this point is a plaque marking the spot where famed marine artist William Bradford had his studio. Fall River had its share of fruit and flower-painting artists, but Fairhaven can boast a bevy of artists inspired by their waterfront surroundings. Bradford’s paintings may be found in galleries all over the country with canvases in New Bedford at the Whaling Museum and in Boston at the Museum of Fine Art. This painting has been a part of a special exhibit at the Whaling Museum.
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/exhibits/bradford.html
New Bedford Harbor, 1858
The Panther 1874 mentioned on the plaque above
