More on Chloe Sevigny’s Lizzie Borden Project

IF ANYONE HAS HEARD ANYTHING DEFINITIVE ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF THIS PROJECT SINCE MID-MARCH I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU CONTACTING ME. 

(Recycled post)

Cut & paste this link in your browser to see Lizzie Borden B&B manager Lee-ann Wilber interviewed on the HBO mini-series project.

http://www2.turnto10.com/entertainment/2011/mar/17/sevigny-may-play-lizzie-borden-miniseries-ar-426649/

According to the internet, there’s a big buzz around Hollywood on Chloe Sevigny’s project to do a 2-part, 4 hour, mini-series on HBO about our beloved and inscrutable Lizzie Borden.  The project has been approved “for development” and Miss Sevigny is garnering lots of ink lately.  Below are some recent sample articles:

Tom Hank’s production company is involved.

“Which version of Lizzie will we see?”

She will also co-produce.

I posted about this before HERE.

Although it’s still “in development” rather than “pre-production” the fact that Tom Hanks is involved has me greatly encouraged this project will go thru all phases and become a reality.   Imagine:  4 hours of professional film making of Lizzie Borden on HBO.  Not since Paramount Pictures did their made-for-tv 1975 “The Legend of Lizzie Borden” starring Elizabeth Montgomery have we been treated to such a production.  And that film was less than 2 hours.

Now, here’s the thing for consideration:  In the next few months we will see the long awaited birth of the Fall River Historical Society’s much anticipated mega-work - “Parallel Lives - A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River”. This monumental work – over 1,000 pages and over 500 photographs (many of Lizzie hereself never published anywhere before) - is destined to become the “go to” book for Lizzie and her times.  More importantly, it promises to give new insight into just who Lizzie was and how she was perceived by those contemporaries who knew her best.  It promises to show us a side of Lizzie seldom addressed nor revealed. This book will most likely shatter all pre-conceived notions about Lizzie and certainly make us view her far differently than we ever have.

HBO’s production, if it comes to fruition, will most likely be aired the end of this year or early 2012.  The fact that it is in development now – with the script being written  – it can not possibly incorporate or take into consideration the new information contained in Parallel Lives. So I have to ask:  Would this mean that HBO’s production would be lacking important facts and, thus wrongly influence Chloe’s portrayal of her?  Will the new information revealed in Parallel Lives regarding Lizzie’s character be important for any future portrayals of her?

When it does air on television, all the book reviews and online articles about Parallel Lives will have already been “out there” influencing the public’s view of Lizzie.  That influence may not be compatible let alone accepted by the way she may be presented in the HBO production. Although the script will most certainly deal with the crime itself, Parallel Lives does not.  Will the new information about Lizzie revealed in the book cause such a significant shift of perception that any future portrayals must take that shift into account?

Hopefully, Ms. Sevigny will visit the FRHS where Curator Michael Martins and Assistant Curator Dennis Binette, authors of Parallel Lives, would graciously expose her to pertinent content and photos not yet published but that will be prior to any HBO release of Chloe’s project.  It would be wonderful if this HBO project would incorporate some of that new information, ensuring us that we will be viewing a 4 hour production based on that “other side” of Lizzie Borden.  It would be wonderful to know that the talented Chloe Sevigny researched the new information and subsequently let it influence the “choices” she took in her portrayal of Lizzie Borden.  Good acting is about good choices when the camera is rolling.  Actors know that.  I’m hoping Chloe Sevigny will go to Fall River soon, talk to Michael and Dennis, and learn about that other side of Lizzie Borden.  It’s her choice.  And it would be a very good one. 

The “Today Show” comes to Fall River

The producers of the Today Show wanted to do a feature on Lizzie Borden the end of this month, and soon they heard about the Fall River Historical Society’s new book:  Parallel Lives, which will also now be featured.

This is fabulous news! With 8 million, yeah, 8 million viewers the program should help book sales tremendously! And since this kind of subject programming seems to reproduce like amoeba, I expect much more will surface!

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum is consistently featured in various media and formats and has long had an unofficial “promotional partnership” with the Fall River Historical Society.  These two legendary tourist locations  are always planned stopovers for visitors to Fall River.

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast = “Winning!”

Photo by Jay Jones, LATimes blogspot

“The Fall River Historical Society = “Winning!”

Photo from Fall River Herald News

Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River: “Winning!”

City of Fall River = “Winning!”

 

New Book on Lizzie Borden’s Fall River

To the millions world wide who remain fascinated with the inscrutable, enigmatic Lizzie Borden and her one dimensional persona linked to those horrific hatchet 1892 murders in Fall River, comes a monumental book giving depth and texture to Fall River’s social history and bringing life to Lizzie Andrew Borden.

The Fall River Historical Society is about to publish a work that has been at least 8 years in the making:  Parallel Lives – A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden’s Fall River by FRHS Curator, Michael Martins and Assistant Curator, Dennis Binette.

Click on image to enlarge for reading text.

Michael Martins

Dennis Binette

The dust jacket blurbs are the best descriptions as to what this book is about so I encourage you to read them.

This book is over 1,000 pages and has over 500 photographs, many never seen before including Lizzie herself.

For any historian of America’s industrial age, gilded age, working class versus the elite or just Lizzie Borden – this is an absolute MUST HAVE book.  Oh, it’s not going to be cheap, and it certainly isn’t “light” reading, but I guarantee this will be the BE ALL, TELL ALL book for just what its title implies.

If you have to sell all your other books on Lizzie Borden to afford this one – do just that because THIS book is going to show you the REAL Lizzie.

You can pre-order HERE.   Simply fill out the email form and in the Comment section state that you wish to order the book.  The price has not yet been set but will be soon.    Read also THIS LINK for more information on the contents.

Again, I can not emphasize enough how important it is to get this book if you are truly interested in Lizzie Borden and Fall River and how each affected the other.   If you are familiar with the Fall River Historical Society’s only other published book, The Knowlton Papers, then you already know the supreme quality of their work.

This book is surely to rattle the foundations of all existing theories about Lizzie, make you think twice about her guilt or innocence (they do not attempt to solve the case by any means), and most importantly, not only introduce us but delve under the skin of a flesh and blood Lizzie we’ve never known before.

I have always said to know Lizzie is to know Fall River.  This magnificent work  serves it all up through a cornucopia that spills forth nuggets of gold.  So, enrich your knowledge with this gifted treasure.   A treasure you will value all your life.  Parallel Lives – you’d be a fool not to order it now.

Alice Russell – Lizzie Borden’s “Turncoat” Friend.

Alice Russell as depicted in newspaper sketches – 1893

 

Alice Russell at the Old Folks Home – 1931

The photo of Alice in old age is the only known photograph of her to date.  Here’s hoping Parallel Lives will have more.  The below article is from the Fall River Historical Society’s website, taken from their Summer 2002 newsletter, also posted online.  They are all worth reading so check them out.

“Lizzie’s Turncoat Friend”

“Frank B. Hadley has recently donated a rare and important photograph of Miss Alice M. Russell to the Fall River Historical Society. It is the only photograph of Miss Russell known to exist, depicting the subject as an elderly woman. Miss Russell was the first cousin of the donor’s grandmother, Ida Russell.

Ida’s husband, Dwight Minor, took the photograph at 3:46 pm on September 4, 1931, with the subject sitting in her comfortably furnished room at the Home for Aged People in Fall River.  In the mirror of the ornate Victorian bureau can be seen the image of the photographer, standing before a window.

The photograph was found by the donor among a collection of family photographs enclosed in an envelope inscribed “Alice Russell Lizzie’s Turncoat Friend” in the hand of Mr. Minor. The reverse of the photograph is inscribed “Alice Maria Russell, Fall River, Sept. 4, 1931.” in an unidentified hand. It is interesting to note that the middle name, as it appears on the photograph, is Maria, as it was previously believed that the initial “M” stood for Manley, the maiden surname of her mother.

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1852, Alice was the daughter of Frederick W. and Judith (Manley) Russell. She was employed as a clerk for several years in Fall River and later taught sewing in the public school system. In 1908, she was promoted to the position of supervisor of sewing, remaining in that capacity until her retirement five years later. A Fall River resident for most of her life, she spent several years living next door to the Borden family on Second Street.  In 1930, Miss Russell moved into the Home for Aged People on Highland Avenue, remaining in residence there until her death on January 21, 1941.

A friend of both the Misses Borden, Alice Russell was among the first summoned to 92 Second Street following the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, remaining there until the following Monday as company to the sisters. She testified at the inquest and preliminary hearing, but it was not until the grand jury hearing that she revealed her “burning of the dress” testimony.  She was also a witness at the trial of Miss Lizzie A. Borden in June of 1893. While on the stand describing the events which occurred in the kitchen of the Borden house on Sunday, August 7, 1892, Miss Russell was instructed to make a series of marks on the floorplans of the house drawn by architect Thomas Kieran.

An unusual legacy, the cross where she was standing, the outline of the stove in the Borden kitchen and the round mark illustrating where the burned dress was stored in the clothes press can still be seen on these trial exhibits in the Historical Society’s archive. Following the trial and its aftermath, she ceased to be on friendly terms with the Misses Borden, living a life that can best be described as quiet and genteel.  Mrs. Florence Cook Brigham, to whom she taught sewing, fondly remembered her as “a gentle person” with “lovely white hair” and believed that she “would not have told the story about the burning of the dress if her conscience hadn’t bothered her.”

Alice Russell rarely spoke of the events of August 1892 and their aftermath; few who knew her in later life had any knowledge of her close association and involvement in the case.  On the rare occasions when Miss Russell discussed the case with her cousin Ida, the latter woman’s young daughter Mildred was asked to leave the room, the conversation not being considered proper for a young girl to hear. Alice told her cousin that she thought Lizzie Borden was innocent of the murders of Mr. & Mrs. Borden until August 7, 1892, when she saw her burn the dress in the kitchen stove. From the day of that observation until she breathed her last, she was convinced of Lizzie Borden’s guilt. There is little doubt that Miss Russell knew much about the goings-on in the Borden residence during the days following the discovery of the bodies, taking most of that information undisclosed to her grave. Always the lady and true to her Yankee heritage, she believed, as did many closely associated with the Borden case, that certain things were “not discussed.” For that conviction, she deserves our admiration and respect.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Unusual Occurrence at the Fall River Historical Society

Today marks just one week and one day when I set off the alarm at the Fall River Historical Society.  I had spent about 3 hours there the day before chatting with Michael Martins and Dennis Binette about their new book, Parallel Lives.  That evening I noted a stone from my ring was missing and thought perhaps it had fallen out on the floor in the room we were in and was returning to check up on that.

Mistakenly thinking they opened at 10:00 am, I opened the outer door, walked in and stepped up to the inner wooden door, opened that and stepped up.  It was dark, silent.  I called out “Anybody here?”  I took one step towards the gift shop and at that instant the alarm began its loud alert.  “Hmmmm” thought I, “something’s amiss.”

I calmly walked out back to my car to await the police, wondering if one of the elderly volunteers had entered, collapsed of a heart attack before having a chance to program the alarm to off mode, and consequently lay dead on the floor.

Within a minute,  two nearby neighbors were charging toward the structure in response to the bellowing alarm.   I got out of my car and approached them, identifying myself and explaining what happened.  They were concerned knowing the place was not yet opened but decided to await police arrival.

Within 3 minutes, a police unit arrived.  He first circled the block in search of any suspect fleeing on foot.  He soon returned, and after explaining it was I who triggered the alarm and was now concerned about a dead body on the floor, the officer asked me to wait outside while he entered, gun drawn.

In another minute, a second police unit responded and that officer joined the other for a cursory search inside.

So I stood over by my car talking to the two neighbors, waiting for what they found.   Nothing.  No dead body.  (I’m rather macabre at times).

Within 10 minutes of the alarm sounding, Curator Michael Martins was on the scene.  He did a check with the officers.   Michael came out and told me the cleaning crew, who I had apparently just missed when I arrived, had mistakenly thought the other had locked up.  So all was well, and I got a chance to meet and chat with the owner of the Anna Borden house, diagonally across the street, and who was one of the “first responders.”

The next day, Halloween, I was back at the FRHS for the book signing of Tim Weisberg’s new book,  Ghosts of the Southcoast.

Barbara Morrissy, JoAnne Giovino, Michael Martins, Dennis Binette, and me

Co-owner Lee-ann Wilber, gift shop manager Will Clawson and me at Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum gift shop.

BTW, never did find the missing stone to my ring.

eBay Auction on Orrin Gardner Photo

A little over a week ago I spotted this assortment of cabinet card photos on eBay and recognized Orrin Gardner, Lizzie & Emma’s cousin from Swansea who was a primary legatee in Emma Borden’s Will.  The Seller said she got it at a flea market many years ago where there were dozens in a box and she picked these out at random.

I didn’t bid because I already have it and had included it in a previous blog. It is, in fact, Orrin’s high school graduation picture.  Original issues are in a Gardner family album archived at the Swansea Historical Society in Swansea, MA.

Perhaps a cabinet photo of Lizzie, many years post Trial, is now residing in a box or tray on some dusty shelf at an antique store still unrecognized by the many eyes who finger through it.   Oh well, we’ll have plenty to salivate over when the Fall River Historical Society’s Parallel Lives is published.

Where did that Lizzie “Noisy Bird” Letter go?

The below image is of a display that once adorned the office wall of Reverend Robert Lawrence, past minister of the First Congregational Church in Fall River.   It contains the 2-page letter Lizzie Borden wrote on May 31, 1900 to John Summerfield Brayton about his crowing bird that disturbed her.  The letter was found tucked in a desk drawer many years later by his son.

First Congregational Church when it was on Main Street at the time Lizzie wrote her letter.

First Congregational Church on Rock Street as it looks today and where the Reverend Lawrence ministered.

On a visit to Fall River late last year, I once again went to view this.  It was gone.  I inquired earlier this year by phone to the Church office as to the whereabouts of this display and was told it was gone.  I was told that “Reverend Lawrence took it with him when he left.”  Now perhaps the young lady in the office who told me that was in error, but if not, it begs the question: “Where is it now?”

The recipent’s great-grandson, John Summerfield Brayton,  Jr. died in 1997, prior to Reverend Lawrence’s retirement and while I’m not certain how the original letter got into the hands of the church, it may have been John, Jr. or John the III, who donated it.

In this Fall River Herald News salute to Reverend Lawrence no mention of the Lizzie Borden case, let alone the display.  It just may have been that a member of the Brayton family (whose family for over 150 years attended this Church and whose civic and social contributions to the city have been numerous for four generations), simply told the Reverend to keep it.

Frankly, if no decendents of this branch of the Brayton family want it, I think the display  should be donated to the Fall River Historical Society (of which a copy of the letter can be seen).   Had the entire display been given to them, it surely would have been placed  in their special Bordenaphilia exhibit now available for  public viewing.

118 Years Ago: August 4, 1892 – The Borden Murders

Fall River Herald News Photo by Dave Souza

UPDATE:   Read this article about a special display at the Fall River Historical Society starting tomorrow, August 4th.

Fall River Herald News Photo by Sousa

UPDATE:   If you missed the Spooky Southcoast broadcast last night, I’ll be posting the podcast link when its done.  I’ve been inundated with emails about the new information revealed!

*********************

Here we go again. For 118 years not one year has gone by without some mention of the infamous 1892 Borden murders in Fall River, Massachussetts. From the very first reporting of the murders in newspapers all across the country (and often on their front pages) every succeeding year has brought a resurfacing of this compelling and enduring unsolved classic crime.

The last two decades have brought incredible technical advances in digital multi-media allowing for almost instantaneous transmittal of news in a variety of platforms. This, along also with the explosive interest in the paranormal the past 15 years serves to fuel the Bordenia juggernaut through incarnations via YouTube videos, ghost hunting/haunted houses/creepy destinations t.v. documentaries, and countless blogs and websites.

Each new generation discovers Lizzie Borden and feeds on the urban legends allowing for Lizzie Andrew Borden to fade in substance and texture from the flesh and blood woman of the Victorian era, Edwardian era, and the Jazz Age.  Instead, she has morphed into a one-dimensional persona based on an inaccurate quatrain depicted as a maniacal murderer wielding a bloody axe. Almost every caricature drawing or folk art depiction has her portrayed this way.  (Golly gee, just look at my previous post with Lizzie as a whacked out Ninja warrior).   But this is as far away from the truth as was the pear tree at 92 Second Street to “Maplecroft’s” veranda on French Street. It is urban legend.

Original artwork by Michael Lukowiak

She wasn’t always thought of or depicted as a maniacal murderer wielding a bloody axe. Fall River’s elite social strata deemed she was not to be talked about. That silence was rooted in the dictates and example set by Fall River’s 7th, 8th and 9th generation Bordens – the premiere founding family of Fall River. The whole thing was an ugly, scandalous and embarrassing business that was not good for business.   The example they set and the code of  “She was acquitted.  We don’t talk about it” held power and influence for decades.  Indeed, even 26 years after Lizzie’s death and when the town celebrated its Sesqui-Centennial (1803-1953) the Fall River Herald News dedicated only a one-column case recap (and one photo of her) in a 3-pound, 100+ page commemorative edition.

So here we go again. In a few days it will be August 4th and Borden case enthusiasts, scholars and looky-loos will be treated to all those “August 4th” historical mentions, case retrospectives, rehashing of the documentaries, etc. etc.  For those that trek to 92 Second Street’s Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum entertaining re-enactments will again be performed by the Pear Essential Player’s. Even the Fall River Historical Society is bringing into the light of day and public view a few case artifacts which have not been shown before, as well as  displaying differently and more provocatively  much of which they have.  I think this indicative of savvy promotion for their new book which, by the way, is taking three times longer to complete that the gestation period of an elephant.   

So here we go again with the Timeline.  This one’s been tweaked a bit and I’ve included the Day Before the Murders.  Why?  Because it’s monumentally significant to what happened the following day.

August 3, 1892	THE DAY BEFORE THE MURDERS
8:00 am	Abby goes across street to Dr. Bowen; tells him she fears she’s been poisoned.
9:00 am approx	Dr. Bowen crosses street to check on the Bordens; Lizzie dashes upstairs; Andrew rebuffs his unsolicited visit.
10:00-11:30 am	Lizzie attempts to buy prussic acid from Eli Bence at Smith’s pharmacy on Columbia Street.
12:00 Noon	Lizzie joins Andrew and Abby for the noontime meal in the dining room.
12:35 am	Uncle John Vinnicum Morse leaves by train from New Bedford.
1:30 pm	John Morse walks from train station & arrives at Borden house; Abby lets him in front door.
2:00-4:00 pm	Morse and Andrew talk in sitting room; Lizzie hears conversation.  CLICK
4:00 pm	John Morse hires horse and wagon at Kirby’s Stable and drives to Swansea in late afternoon.
7:00 pm	Lizzie visits Alice Russell in the early evening, states her fear “something will happen”.
7:00-8:00 pm	John Morse visits Frederick Eddy at Borden farm in Swansea, brings back eggs.
8:45 pm	Morse returns from Swansea, talks in sitting room with Andrew and Abby.                                                                                 (CI99)
9:00 pm	Lizzie returns from Alice Russell’s, locks front door, and goes upstairs to her room without speaking to father or uncle.
9:15 pm	Abby Borden retires to bed.
10:00 pm	Andrew and Morse retire to bed.
August 4, 1892	THE DAY OF THE MURDERS (Note: Times given are based on various testimonies taken primarily from the Preliminary Hearing held August 25-September 1st, 1892, and are approximated as close as possible).
6:15 am	Bridget goes downstairs, gets coal and wood in cellar to start fire in kitchen stove, and takes in milk.
6:20 am	Morse goes downstairs to stting rm.
6:30 am	Abby comes downstairs, gives orders for breakfast to Bridget
6:40-6:50 am	Andrew goes downstairs, empties slops, picks up pears, and goes to barn.
6:45 am	Bridget opens side (back) door for the ice man.
7:00 am	Bordens and Morse have breakfast in dining room.  (Lizzie is still upstairs).
7:15 am	Bridget sees Morse for first time at breakfast table.
7:30 am	Bridget eats her breakfast, and then clears dishes.
7:45-8:45	Morse and Andrew talk in sitting room; Abby sits with them a short while before beginning to dust.
8:30 am	Morse sees Abby go into the front hall.
8:45 am	Andrew lets Morse out side door, invites him back for dinner.
8:45-9:00 am	Morse leaves for Post Office and then to visit a niece and nephew at Daniel Emery’s, #4 Weybosset Street.
8:45-9:00 am	Andrew goes back upstairs and returns wearing collar and tie, goes to sitting room.
8:45-9:00 am	Abby tells Bridget to wash windows, inside and out.
8:45-8:50 am	Lizzie comes down and enters kitchen.
8:45-9:00 am	Bridget goes outside to vomit.
8:45-9:00 am	Andrew leaves the house.
8:45-9:00 am	Bridget returns, does not see Lizzie, sees Abby dusting in dining room, does not see Andrew.
9:00 am	Abby goes up to guest room.
9:00-9:30 am	Bridget cleans away breakfast dishes in kitchen.
9:00-9:30 am	Bridget gets brush from cellar for washing windows
9:00-9:30 am	Lizzie appears at back door as Bridget goes towards barn; Bridget tells Lizzie she need not lock door.
9:30 am	Abraham G. Hart, Treasurer of Union Savings Bank, talks to Andrew at Bank.
9:15-9:45 am	Morse arrives at #4 Weybosset Street to visit his niece and nephew.
9:30-10:05	Andrew visits banks.
9:45 am	John P. Burrill, Cashier, talks to Andrew at National Union Bank.
9:50-10:00 am	AJB deposits Troy Mill check with Everett Cook at First Nat’l Bank; talks with William Carr.
9:30-10:20 am	Bridget washes outside windows, stops to talk to “Kelly girl” at south fence.
9:30-10:00 am	Abby Borden dies from blows to the head with a sharp instrument.
10:00-10:30 am	Mrs. Churchill sees Bridget outside washing NE windows.
10:20 am	Bridget re-enters house from side door, commences to wash inside windows.
10:29 am	Jonathan Clegg (fixed time by City Hall clock) stated Andrew left his shop heading home.
10:15-10:30 am	Andrew stops to talk to Jonathan Clegg, picks up old lock; Southard Miller (at Whitehead’s Market) sees AJB turn onto Spring St; Mary Gallagher sees AJB at corner of South Main & Spring; Lizzie Gray sees AJB turning north on Second Street.
10:30-10:40 am	Joseph Shortsleeves sees Andrew.
10:40 am	James Mather sees Andrew leave shop
10:30-10:40 am	Mrs. Kelly observes Andrew going to his front door.
10:30-10:40 am	Andrew Borden can’t get in side door, fumbles with key at front door, and let in by Bridget.
10:30-10:40 am	Bridget hears Lizzie laugh on the stairs as she says “pshaw” fumbling with inside triple locks.
10:35-10:45 am	Bridget sees Lizzie go into dining room and speak “low” to her father.
10:45 am	Mark Chase, residing over Wade’s store, sees man on Borden fence taking pears.
10:45-10:55 am	Lizzie puts ironing board on dining room table as Bridget finishes last window in the dining room
10:45-10:55 am	Lizzie asks Bridget in kitchen if she’s going out, tells her of note to Abby & sale at Sargeant’s.
10:50-10:55	Mark Chase observes man with open buggy parked just beyond tree in front of Borden house.
10:55 am	Bridget goes upstairs to her room to lie down.
10:55–10:58 am	Bridget goes up to her room; lies down on her bed.
10:55-11:00 am	Andrew Borden dies from blows to the head with a sharp instrument.
11:00 am	Bridget hears City Hall clock chime 11:00.
11:05-11:10 am	Hyman Lubinsky drives his cart past the Borden house.
11:05-11:10	William Sullivan, clerk at Hudner’s Market notes Mrs. Churchill leaving the store.
11:10 am  APPROX.	Lizzie hollers to Bridget to come down, “Someone has killed father”.
11:10-11:12 am	Lizzie sends Bridget to get Dr. Bowen.
11:10-11:13 am	Bridget rushes back across treet from Bowen’s, tells Lizzie he’s not home.
11:10-11:13 am	Lizzie asks Bridget if she knows where Alice Russell lives and tells her to go get her.
11:10-11:13 am	Bridget grabs her hat & shawl from kitchen entry way and rushes to Alice Russell’s.
11:10-11:13 am	Mrs. Churchill observes Bridget crossing street, notices a distressed Lizzie and calls out to Lizzie who tells her “someone has murdered father.”
11:13 am	Mrs. John Gormely says Mrs. Churchill runs through her yelling “Mr. Borden is murdered!”
11:10-11:14 am	Mrs. Churchill goes to side door, speaks briefly to Lizzie, and then crosses street looking for a doctor.
11:12-11:14 am	John Cunningham sees Mrs. Churchill talking to others then uses phone at Gorman’s paint shop to call Police.
11:15 am	Marshal Hilliard receives call from news dealer Cunningham about disturbance at Borden house.
11:15 am	Marshal Hilliard orders Officer Allen to go to Borden house. (Allen notes exact time on office wall clock).
11:16 – 11:20 am	Mrs. Churchill returns from giving the alarm.
11:16 – 11:20 am	Dr. Bowen pulls up in his carriage, met by his wife, rushes over to Borden’s.
11:16-11:20 am	John Cunningham checks outside cellar door in Borden back yard, finds it locked.
11:18-11:20 am	Dr. Bowen sees Andrew, asks for sheet; alone with Lizzie for approx. one minute.
11:20 am	Officer Allen arrives at Bordens, met at door by Dr. Bowen.  Sees Lizzie sitting alone at kitchen table.
11:20–11:21 am	Allen sees Andrews’s body at same time Alice Russell and Mrs. Churchill come in.  (Where was Bridget?)
11:20-11:22 am	Allen checks front door and notes it bolted from inside, checks closets in dining room and kitchen.
11:20 am	Morse departs Daniel Emery’s on Weybosset Street, takes a streetcar back to the Borden’s.
11-22-11:23 am	Officer Allen leaves house to return to station, Bowen goes out with him.  Allen has Sawyer guard back door.
11:23-11:33 am	Dr. Bowen returns home, checks rail timetable, goes to telegram Emma, and stops at Baker’s Drug store. Telegram is time stamped at 11:32.
11:25 am	Off. Patrick Doherty, at Bedford & Second, notes City Hall clock time enroute to Station.
11:23-11:30 am	Lizzie asks to check for Mrs. Borden; Bridget & Mrs. Churchill go upstairs, discover body.
11:32 am	Officers Doherty & Wixon leaves police station for Borden house.  Reporter Manning on rear steps, Sawyer inside at screen door. (Bridget in s/e corner near sink)
11:34 am	Bridget fetches Doctor Bowen’s wife, Phoebe.
11:35	George Petty, former resident of 92 Second Street, enters the Borden house with Dr. Bowen.
11:40 am	Bowen returns to Borden house.   Churchill tells him they’ve discovered Abby upstairs.
11:35-11:40 am	Officer Patrick Doherty & Deputy Sheriff Wixon arrive at house; see Manning sitting on steps, met at back door by Dr. Bowen, who lets them in.
11:35-11:40 am	Francis Wixon and Dr. Bowen check Andrew’s pockets and remove watch.
11:35-11:40	Officer Doherty questions Lizzie who tells him she heard a “scraping” noise.
11:35-11:40 am	Doherty views Abby’s body with Dr. Bowen pulls bed out to view her better.
11:35-11:45 am	Morse arrives at Borden house, first going to back yard.
11:37 am	Officer Mullaly arrives.
11:39-11:40 am	Officer Medley arrives at 92 Second Street.
11:44 am	Doherty runs to  Gorman’s shop around corner and phones Marshal Hilliard.
11:45	Dr. Bowen shows Doherty Andrew, then Abby.  Pulls bed out 3 feet.
11:45 am	Doherty returns; Officers Mullaly. Allen, Denny, and Medley arrive.
11:45 am	Dr. Dolan arrives, sees bodies.
11:45 am	Morse talks to Sawyer at side door, later testifies he heard of murders from Bridget.
11:45-11:50 am	Morse sees Andrew’s body, then goes upstairs and sees Abby’s body.
11:50 am	Morse speaks to Lizzie as she lays on lounge in dining room.
11:50 am-Noon	Asst. Marshal Fleet arrives; sees bodies; talks to Lizzie in her room w/Rev. Buck, says “…she’s not my mother, she’s my  stepmother”
11:50 am	Morse goes out to back yard and stays outside most of the afternoon.
11:50 am –Noon	Deputy Sheriff Wixon climbs back fence and talks to workmen sawing wood in Chagnon yard.
11:50-Noon	Doherty, Fleet and Medley accompany Bridget to cellar where she shows them hatchet in box on shelf.
12:15-12:20 am	Officer Harrington arrives at the Borden house.
12:25 am	Officer Harrington interviews Lizzie in her bedroom (she wears pink wrapper).
12:45 am	Marshal Hillliard & Officers Doherty & Connors drive carriage to Andrew’s upper farm in Swansea.
2:00 pm	Dr. Dedrick arrives at Borden house.
3:00-4:00 pm	Crime scene photographs are taken of Andrew & Abby.
3:40 pm	Emma leaves on New Bedford train for Weir Junction to return to Fall River.
4:30 pm	Stomachs of Andrew and Abby removed and sealed.
5:00 pm	Emma arrives in Fall River.
5:00-5:30 pm	State Detective George F. Seaver arrives from Taunton.
5:30 pm	Dr. Dolan “delivers” bodies of Andrew and Abby to Undertaker James Winward.
5:35 pm	Winward & assistant remove sofa from house and store it in a room at his building.
6:00 pm	Alice leaves 92 Second St. to return home for supper.
8:30 pm	Mrs. Charles Holmes leaves the Borden girls and returns to her home.
8:45 pm	Officer Joseph Hyde, observing from a northwest outside window, sees Lizzie & Alice go down cellar.

Lizzie Borden’s Mystery Friend & Deborah Blum: Separated at Birth

The Fall River Historical Society’s much anticipated book, Parallel Lives has served up another teaser with this photograph of a “dear friend” of Lizzie Borden.

The FRHS writes:

“Friendship, lasting and true,  was something that Lizzie A. Borden treasured and clung to; sadly, having been shunned by many, she new its value all to well.

Depicted here is a rare photographic portrait of an important figure in Lizzie’s life, a woman who was there for her during a very difficult period, lending assistance, a sympathetic ear, companionship, and, above all, loyalty.

Until her dying day, Lizzie would never forget this woman’s many kindnesses, and would hold her memory sacred and dear.

The discovery of this photograph, hidden away in a family album, and the particulars of a relationship about which very little was previously known, are a revelation – and yes, a particularly poignant one at that.

And who was she, you may ask?

Well, we’re not revealing that, not just yet, but soon, their story will be told in the pages of . . .”

When I saw this woman’s picture I was struck by the uncanny resemblance to Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner’s Handbook.

As to who this “mystery woman” is, a logical conclusion would be that if she was a person Lizzie held dear “to her dying day” and above all her “loyalty”, Lizzie would have remembered her in her Will.  A simple check of those bequests (and you can read it by clicking on that page at the top of this blog) would reveal several names as possibilities.  Here are the most obvious ones:

Winifred French, married, testified at the special probate hearing when Helen Leighton and Grace Hartley Howe contested the executor’s claim regarding the Henry House.

Alice I. Soderman, another beneficiary in Lizzie’s Will who received $2,000 and some of her jewelry.  Alice lived near Lizzie on High Street.  Never married.

Catherine MacFarland, who received $5,000, and according to probate hearing testimony of Lizzie’s chauffeur, Ernest Terry, Lizzie wanted to have Catherine live next to her in the Henry House.

Of course, it could be someone Lizzie did not name in her Will but may have been “taken care of” by Lizzie in monetary and other ways.  Lizzie’s generosity throughout her post-Trial life is often referenced, particularly to those whose loyalty she valued.

Anyway, they say we all have a double somewhere and I think Deborah Blum and this loyal friend of Lizzie’s bear an uncanny resemblance.

Check out these other uncanny resemblances.

Perhaps a tad off topic, but lest we forget – here’s another pair separated at birth.

Like it or Not – Fall River is Synonymous with Lizzie Borden

Fall River remains one of those cities best viewed from a distance.  Up close her blemishes neither beckon nor embrace.  Lizzie Borden, on the other hand, forever beckons, blemishes and all.

From a historical perspective, Fall River is as associated with Lizzie Borden as Dallas is to the JFK assassination. Both horrific and shocking events, both forever embedded in American history.

The Lizzie Borden story is not just about a 32 year old spinster who wielded a hatchet, (let me repeat that – HATCHET) on a highly humid August 4th day, but is a case about class structure in a stratified society with the poor deferring to the power and control of the founding families.  It is the incredulity of the circumstances of such a heinous crime in broad daylight with suspicion of a Borden – and the younger daughter at that – which gives this Victorian patricide its compelling and enduring mystique.  It is a case that was so out of the bounds of reference for local law enforcement and the public’s imagination in general that weaves into  the tapestry of Fall River’s history.

To Fall River residents who are little charmed or largely exasperated by the “Lizzie Borden” association to their city, like it or not this case has legs – and has for 117 years.  Like it or not dozens of books on the Borden case, hundreds of dedicated chapters in compendium books, numerous plays, an opera, a ballet, musicals, documentaries, a made for TV film, thousands of websites, blogs and YouTube uploads have continued to feed the hungered curious.

Morphed into the popular culture this mystifying maiden has had her face and form replicated into Goth dolls, bobble heads, woodcuts, miniature die caste game pieces, original “Lizzie art” offered on eBay, CafePress, Itsy, and more.  These all serve as the cemented footprint that this case is destined for durability and forever associated with Fall River.

It is a case that gets discovered by every succeeding generation of those who have an interest in true crime, specifically unsolved true crime.  In all the world and in all the world’s issues, conflicts and topics be they political, social, environmental – cumulative scholarly interest in the Borden case is but a small niche.  A mere pimple upon the landscape of life’s Bigger Issues.  But for pockets of society drawn to  classic unsolved murders and readers of true crime this case endures, spawning new devotees with each successive decade.  Indeed, of all classic unsolved true crimes two names emerge unchallenged with worldwide recognition:  Lizzie Borden and Jack the Ripper.   So like it or not Fall Riverites – Lizzie Borden is there to stay.

People flock to Fall River just because of Lizzie Borden.  And more often than Fall River’s office of tourism would like, only because of Lizzie. Whether a weekend or just a day long visit they want to see four things and four things only:

The house at 92 Second Street where the murders happened (and in more recent years, some signs of the ghostly and paranormal).

“Maplecroft” – the house on French street where she lived after the Trial and until her death.

The Borden gravesite at Oak Grove Cemetery.

The Fall River Historical Society which has possession of evidence offered at Trial.

Image by photoshy

They travel cross-country and beyond just to stay at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum.  Few bother ascertaining what else Fall River has to offer and once arrived, they might have except for their disappointment in the look and feel of Fall River today.  More than a century passed its prime, the tawdry downtown and surrounding neighborhoods reflect a city ridden with crime and long without sustainable economic development.

Yet, Lizzie’s home town still has more to offer than just “Lizzie”.  Visitors can drive through “the Highlands” and see one of the greatest concentrations of Victorian homes in the country, Battleship Cove, the Martime Museum, the Fall River Historical Society (if you’re lucky enough to be there when they’re open),  music and art at The Narrows, the mills and factories – though most standing silent and unoccupied – as testaments to Fall River’s once grand and thriving past. Then there’s the incredible food, beautiful vistas, and some wonderful people – 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th generation blue collar working class people.  But alas, too often for too long these have been bypassed by those drawn to the Borden sites.

Long after more iconic structures have been torn down, long after we have crystals embedded in our foreheads, long after communication requires neither digits nor the digital, humankind’s interest in Lizzie Borden will endure.

Whether on her back looking upwards or above looking down, surely she chuckles; the knowledge of “who dunnit” hers and hers alone.

Lizzie Borden & Emma Borden – Handwriting Analysis

(Recycled Post)

It’s curious to note that the sisters signed the below Deed on the very same day, January 31st, 1910, although they had been separated for well over 4 years.  Emma had packed her belongings and moved out of their French Street house, “Maplecroft”, in late May of 1905.  If they both appeared before Charles C. Cook, long time property manager, at the same time (perhaps in his offices in the A.J. Borden Building) then the legend that once Emma moved out the sisters never spoke or saw each other again – can be debunked.  On the other hand, if the riff between the sisters still had salty wounds, they may have appeared before Charles at different times during that day.  Imagine if Charles screwed up and scheduled them for the same time.  Oh dear.

Anyway, Francis and Chester Gardner, sons of Leander Gardner, were farmers and it can be read about HERE.

In March of 1989, Frances Allbright, graphics evaluator, submitted her solicited evaluation of the personalities of Lizzie Borden and Emma Borden from an analysis of their handwriting to Florence Brigham of the Fall River Historical Society.

I dug up from my files this Swansea farm deed and post it here because it shows both their signatures (along with their business/real estate manager Charles Cook) from 1910, when they were older.

It is my recollection that Mrs. Brigham provided Allbright this document as well as a letter written by Lizzie, and Emma Borden’s postcard from Scotland written to Mrs. Brigham’s mother-in-law, Mary Brigham, a friend and witness for the Defense at Lizzie’s trial. It’s my recollection from a conversation but I am not certain these were the documents.

You can find out who Francis and Chester Gardner were and their lives by reading HERE.

Mrs. Allbright’s cover letter to Florence and her “profiles” of the sisters can be seen below. Personally, I tend to put more validity in such interpretations when the “evaluator” has no knowledge of the person doing the writing. It should be mentioned that these are not the only handwriting analyses of the Borden sisters that have been done, but you can draw your own conclusions with this particular evaulator.

Rufus Bartlett (aka “Bassett”) Hilliard – Fall River City Marshall

RUFUS BARTLETT HILLIARD

May 5, 1849

Rufus Bartlett Hilliard born in Pembroke, ME; later Chief of Police of Fall River 1886-1909.

December 30, 1912

Rufus B. Hilliard (FR Chief of Police) dies in Fall River.

Hilliard was the son of David and Elizabeth (Wilson) Hilliard. In 1879, he was hired by the Fall River Police Department.  By 1886 he was named City Marshall.  He  married Miss Nellie Smith Clark of Fall River.

It was Marshall Hilliard who was in charge of the investigation of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.  The fact half the police force was at an annual outing at Rocky Point was only a slight disadvantage compared to the fact this crime – a brutal double hatchet murder of a prominent banker and his wife with a “Borden” name in broad daylight – was an event outside the realm of comprehension let alone experience of this mill town founded by Bordens.  (Note: “The Hilliard Papers” were donated to the Fall River Historical Society two decades ago and will eventually be published and perhaps reveal Hilliard’s personal comments on the case).

Hilliard had advanced rapidly in the police department, partly perhaps to his savvy social networking, such as membership into the Republican slanted Washington Club.  In fact, Hilliard and Assistant Marshal Fleet advanced through the ranks like a pair of competitors in a foot race, with Rufus eventually leapfrogging over the more senior John Fleet.  Anyway, here is his Washington Club membership pin from my collection which I donated to the Fall River Historical Society on my last visit.  (Click on images for larger view).

As stated, half the force was out of town but the Marshal did manage to send nearly two dozen remaining officers to 92 Second Street.  Scrambling throughout the house, yard and barn looking for evidence and clues as to who could have done this dastardly deed, they trampled here and there, compromising the crime scene.  Hilliard himself went across the river to the Borden’s Swansea farm on Gardner’s Neck Road to check out the “Swede” who worked there.  Before he left and even after he returned neither Hilliard nor anyone else even thought of replacing citizen Charles Sawyer from doing back door guard duty with a member of law enforcement.   Sawyer had been commandeered by Officer Allen (first to respond) at around 11:20 a.m.  Sawyer finally asked if he could go home for dinner about 6:00 pm.

Hilliard’s boss was Mayor Coughlin, who gave instruction to handle the poor Borden girls lightly until they were sure they had grounds for an arrest.  The same applied when District Attorney Hosea Knowlton came aboard and took over the investigation the next day.

By Saturday, still without evidence, but Lizzie herself being the key suspect for the past 3 days, the Mayor and the Marshal called upon 92 Second Street and spoke to the sisters and Uncle John Vinnecum Morse in the parlor.  The Mayor asked the family to remain in the house and when Lizzie abruptly asked if anyone in the house was suspected, Mayor Coughlin stated:  “I regret to inform you, Miss Lizzie,  that you are suspected.”  Odd duck that she was, Lizzie responded with:  “I am ready to go now or any time.”  Coughlin back peddaled at that and assured the family they were only there to advise them to remain indoors.  Since the Marshal had an arrest warrant for her in his hip pocket one can just see him rolling his eyes at the Mayor’s remark.  That remark would work in Lizzie’s favor at her Trial when her Inquest Testimony was excluded on the basis she was virtually under house arrest as far back as August 6, 1892.

Hilliard shows himself to be a competent law enforcement “chief” (as he became in 1893) and it’s difficult to fault him for all the mistakes his “keystone kops” made that infamous day.  But golly gee, going to Swansea himself after being at the house and seeing Charlie-”ornamental painter” Sawyer at the back door and not replacing him with a uniformed officer, has always struck me as obvious negligence.

I also wonder if there were hushed conversations in corners of the Washington Club between the Marshall and some of its prestigous members.

Note:  The middle name of “Bassett” instead of “Bartlett” is used both in the letter from the FRHS President and in the link to the Hilliard Papers.  It’s also the name on the pin.  So which is it?  Bartlett or Bassett?

Carr-Osborne House

Lizzie Borden would have loved to have lived in this one:   The Carr-Osborne House at 456 Rock St., across the street from the Fall River Historical Society, is a Greek Revival, built by Joseph Durfee in 1843.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and underwent an extensive renovation when Bob Karam of Karam Financial Group bought the property in 1985. It is also known as the Durfee-Carr-Osborne House.

From Fall River – A Pictorial History, Judith A. Boss, 1982.  (Right click for better image)

Frederico Santi & John Gacher bought the property from the Presbyterian Church for an incredible bargain at $28,000 back in November of 1977.  Having exquisite taste and a Newport business in antiques, these two gentlemen renovated the house and equipped it with the finest of furnishings. Some interiors can be viewed HERE.

When they decided to sell in 1985, it sold the very day the “For Sale” sign went up.  It was purchased by Karam Financial Group and converted into offices for Karam Financial Services.   The Karam Brothers, politically and socially connected, are a bit notorious in Fall River and own extensive properties from shopping malls to WSAR Radio and oodles in between.  These are the kind of guys who can pick up a phone and make things happen – or not.  It’s curious to ponder who may have tipped them off as soon as that “For Sale” sign went up….

The earliest pictures in Karam’s office of the house show cows grazing on the front lawn.

$28,000 in 1977.  Imagine that.  

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum & “The Jennings Hatch”

The “Lizzie Borden House” or “Charles Trafton House” was built in 1845.  Fire prevention methods in almost all homes at that time was practically non-existant. There were virtually no escape routes save for the one, common-use stairway to many of the 2, 3, and 4 story homes built in that era.

When 92 Second Street (formerly 230) was made into a Bed & Breakfast in 1996 and opened up to the public for the first time, it was brought up to fire code for B&B buildings.

Kenneth Champlin in front of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum

Besides the usual sprinklers in the ceiling, the B&B has a number of fire extinquishers on hand, pull down alarms directly to the Fire Department and an escape hatch on the third, or attic, floor.  Guests on the second floor have access to both front and rear staircases.  Guests on the third floor, if unable to use the only staircase – the rear staircase – have this escape hatch.

In the Andrew Jennings bedroom, the escape hatch is directly over the front bathroom of the second floor.  The ladder placed inside can be easily thrust downwards against the lightweight covering providing a quick and easy escape to the second floor and only a few feet from the front staircase or easy access to the rear staircase.

Guests explore all the nooks and crannies of their rooms and often The House itself and take note of this emergency evacuation.

Speaking of houses, below is the so called “Brownell” house on Green Street in Fairhaven, MA.  This is the house where Lizzie’s sister, Emma Borden, was staying on August 4, 1892.  t has been literally “skinned” of its previous excessive debris.

For a comparison of what it used to look like,  CLICK HERE. Gone is the abandoned vehicle, dense over-growth, and the knee-high debris inside, though it still remains unsecured and empty.  This house was recently sold and a “Building Permit” is posted in one of the front windows.  Like an elderly woman with a festering cancer undergoing kemotherapy, she has lost all her hair.  Her skin is potmarked, bruised, discolored but she lives on….battered, weakened, awaiting the inevitable.  Question is:  Will it be demolished and cleared for new construction or will the new owners bite the  bullet for expensive infrastructure upgrades?

By contrast, the Fall River Historical Society’s curator is giving his house a cosmetic overhaul as shown below.

On Rock Street, only a few blocks from both “Maplecroft” and the FRHS.

All of the above photos were taken less than a month ago.

“The True Story of Lizzie Borden” – or Maybe Not

EXPANDED UPDATE – SEE BELOW

UPDATE: According to this USA Today’s AP report, Mr. Pickel is planning to open up his alleged “True Story” of Lizzie Borden this weekend. CLICK HERE

Mr. Pickel continues to be under the erroneous assumption that most people don’t know what state, let alone what city, in which the Borden case took place. To that I say: “Mr. Pickel – just ask the Fall River Historical Society how many decades people have flocked there ONLY to see the Borden case exhibits. Inquire at Oak Grove cemetery how many people traversed their grounds solely to find Lizzie Borden’s grave until they finally painted footprints on the pavement guiding folks to the Andrew J. Borden family plot. Ask Robert Dube and the Silvia’s how many people have come on to their property or stopped to photograph “Maplecroft” for the past 40 years.

Most importantly, people have been flocking to 92 Second Street since Day One. Indeed, within days of the murders wagon and carriage drivers would transport disembarking passengers from steamers of the Fall River Line coming from New York and Boston requesting to be taken to the “Lizzie Borden house.” This was reported in the local papers shortly after the crime and continued when Lizzie moved to French Street. Visitors to Fall River for the past 116 years have continued to drive by 92 Second Street just to get a gander of the famous structure.

For 116 years local, regional and national papers have continued to write articles about the case. Dozens of books have been published, several documentaries have been made on “Fall River’s” Lizzie Borden. The #1 best selling book on the case, Victoria Lincoln’s A Private Disgrace, has had over a dozen printings and is still in print. Royalties continue to be paid out to her daughters, Priscilla Williams and Louise Lowe Kittredge. This book, written by native of Fall River who emphasized “Fall River’s” close-knit families, left no doubt in the reader’s minds WHERE this crime took place. People who have read only one book on the case, most always have read this one.

And when 92 Second Street was opened up to the public for the first time as the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast/Museum in 1996, it put Fall River on the map as a tourist destination for all those interested in unsolved murders and the Lizzie Borden case.

The Lizzie Borden case is as iconic to Fall River as the JFK assassination is to Dallas.

If you can’t even quote the truth about the general public’s awareness of where these crimes took place, what confidence can one have in your ability to present the “true story” of Lizzie Borden at your Salem “exhibit”?

Get a clue, Lenny. Get a grip on the “true” story.

UPDATE:

Looks as if Pickel is already hawking his wares OUTSIDE the facility on a display table with some schlock emphera. This may be an indicator to the “quality” of his exhibit. Also, his statement regarding the exclusion of the Bence testimony on Lizzie’s attempt to buy poison is incorrect. It was excluded because it was deemed to be “too remote in time”, not because no poison was found in the bodies. This news footage uses an old image of the B&B at 92 Second Street, Fall River but includes the newly found photo from Emma’s cabinet photo album of Lizzie as a young girl.

CLICK LINK BELOW

FOX25 TV NEWS CLIP

“The True Story of Lizzie Borden” is what Leonard Pickel proposes to reveal to $10 ticket holders ($8 if you use his online $2 discount coupon) at his EXHIBIT, EXHIBIT, EXHIBIT (get it?) in Salem, MA. The “True” story??? Just how does he know what is true?

First and foremost: Lizzie Borden was acquitted on June 20, 1893 in that sensational Trial held at the New Bedford Superior Court. No one else was ever brought to Trial. The Who, How and Why continues to be a major mystery in this most compelling unsolved classic crime. Indeed, from books, blogs and bumper stickers we repeatedly see the phrase: “Lizzie Borden – Did she or didn’t she?” It is absolutely presumptuous of anyone to state – be it in a book, blog, bumper sticker, lecture, Youtube video, or anything else – that they can reveal or know the “true” story. Nobody does.

2005 photo of Leonard Pickel from his Haunted Times magazine website

The person with the most means, motive and opportunity certainly was Lizzie, but it was never conclusively proven and no one knows for certain if she did it. The good money says of course she did, but no one can prove or show that is true.

So I have to wonder just what TRUTH to the Lizzie Borden story Mr. Pickel will impart to his visitors? Is the “true” story going to reveal that Lizzie alone committed the murders? Even the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum and the Fall River Historical Society do not and never have been so presumptuous as to state whether or not Lizzie did it. Nor have they ever claimed to know the truth about Lizzie. Too many questions remain. Far too many.

Lee-ann Wilber, General Manager & co-owner of Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum

Since the opening of the B&B in 1996, the tour scripts have been written for the tour guides to give facts of the case without asserting that Lizzie or anyone else in particular did the deed. They do not purport that Lizzie did it or didn’t do it, or that Uncle John or Bridget or William Borden committed the murders, or that Lizzie had a boyfriend named David Anthony who did it, or that her sister Emma did it, or that even Phoebe Bowen did it. Nor do they state that it is true that Lizzie was a lesbian, actually strangled or cut off the head of Abby’s cat, or that she was actually a shoplifter. None of this is known to be the truth.

But Leonard Pickel, by virtue of the name of his proposed EXHIBIT and from what he’s stated in newspapers, has the audacity to assert he will exhibit The True Story of Lizzie Borden. What yellow brick road is *he* on? The true story of Lizzie Borden will never be known. Whatever it was, Lizzie took it to her grave. Maybe Mr. Pickel has visited “the other side” and knows something we don’t.

Mr. Pickel is also repeatedly quoted in interviews that Fall River has never “embraced” Lizzie nor had the support of the city. Not true. There was a Lizzie Borden symposium in 1986 of which the city and community organizations supported. But it wasn’t until the highly successful 4-day 1992 Lizzie Borden Centennial that Fall River realized money could be made and that Lizzie was a source of new revenue for tourism dollars that they fully embraced her. She’s in both Chamber and City promotional brochures, city department websites, and the “LIZZIE BORDEN MUSEUM” is a prominently displayed huge BLUE I-95 highway sign on the approach to the Braga Bridge just entering Fall River.

Here’s the August 9th Boston Herald’s report of the current litigation wherein Pickel demonstrates his lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between the City of Fall River and Lizzie Borden.

In my opinion, Mr. Pickel not only does not have his thumb on the pulse of what Lizzie means to Fall River, he doesn’t have his hand on the hatchet to exhibit the True Story of Lizzie Borden.

Lizzie’s A-Twitter Be it Salem or Fall River!

CHECK OUT THIS ABC NEWS CHANNEL VIDEO AND WHAT FALL RIVER PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY:

CLICK HERE

I was excited when I heard about the “Lizzie Borden Museum” in Salem, and contacted Leonard Pickel on June 24 to offer assistance and perhaps loan some rare items from my collection for his 3,500 sq. ft. facility (3,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space). However, after two weeks of email exchange, learning of current litigation, and doing a little due diligence, I was less encouraged about the prospects of a first class operation. Learning this owner of Haunted Attractions magazine had planning and design exhibit experience solely on “home haunts” and the ghostly/paranormal genre, my enthusiasm waned considerably. When I asked what he had so far, Mr. Pickel informed me he had “only 50 hatchets so far” and that he was looking for good resolution images of the crime scene to make copies. Three weeks before his initial proposed opening (he wanted to open on her birthday, July 19th) he was still busy with contractors remodeling the venue and still looking for items to exhibit. Mr. Pickel had been asked by the FRHS (of which he is a dues paying member) to do a synopsis of his exhibit for submission to the Board for permission to access and obtain items from their collection. Clearly, the FRHS had the same reservations.

Mr. Pickel claims to have been planning this for years, yet his knowledge of the case is weak. One would think he would have been collecting source materials and reading everything possible to ensure accuracy of exhibits and the proposed CSI-type “journey” into the “true story of Lizzie Borden.” His website, as of this late date, still lacks a “Schedule” of operating hours, a “History”, or “Gift Shop” info. The website is in an ufinished state. Much as, I suspect, the exhibit/facility itself.

Fall River is home to Lizzie Borden. She remained in Fall River all her life. If she had moved to Boston and lived her remaining post-Trial years there, it would seem very appropriate for some type of Lizzie attraction. But in Salem, not so much. On the other hand, whether Mr. Pickel’s enterprise turns out to be a roaring success or a schlocky endeavor, people that visit it and are heading south, will most likely tour the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast (Mecca), visit the Fall River Historical Society, see the family graves at Oak Grove Cemetery and drive by Robert Dube’s “Maplecroft”. Lizzie brings in tourists. The vast majority of visitors to the FRHS come specifically to view their exhibit regarding the Borden case. And those that stay overnight at 92 Second Street get the best bang for the buck of any B&B in the country. PLUS, there are many Lizzie and case related artifacts on display and available for scrutiny at the B&B, including the most complete and comprehensive library of books, pamphlets, letters and journals easily available for review and research. The B&B is truly, the closest thing to a Museum that Fall River’s got – and almost a “living” museum, IMHO.

Yes, Fall River has repeatedly missed golden opportunities for obvious and new ways to capitalize on its most famous citizen. As descendents of the “founding families” literally die out, the resistance to that capitalizing seems to diminish. And that’s a good thing.

As to the new Superior Court across the street, it assumes and will hear those criminal cases which would have previously been at the old New Bedford Superior Court. It was not long ago that an inmate escaped the courthouse in New Bedford, much to the embarrassment of all concerned. The new facility in Fall River will have state of the art security. Talk of an increased criminal element in the Second Street neighborhood is without merit. There will be far more security in and around that building because of the nature of its operations than ever existed before in that space. And let us not forget that the Borden case Coroner’s Inquest and Preliminary Hearing were held in Fall River. Who knows, maybe arrangements will be made between the B&B owners and the court to have re-enactments in the future. I’d certainly pay to see it.