230 2nd St, Fall River, MA 02721
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Author: Jewls Krueger
On the morning of August 4, 1892, prominent Fall River, Massachusetts banker Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife Abby Durfee Borden were brutally killed with a hatchet in their family home at 92 Second Street. The case quickly became one of the most sensational crimes of the 19th century after Andrew's 32 year old daughter Lizzie Andrew Borden was charged with both murders.
Lizzie was eventually acquitted after a heavily covered 13 day trial, but the case has never been definitively solved. The Borden family home still stands today and now operates as the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and museum, where overnight guests can sleep in the same rooms where the murders took place.
Andrew Borden was born in 1822 in Fall River, the descendant of one of the oldest and most established families in the city. Through decades of work in undertaking, banking, and real estate, he had become one of the wealthiest men in Fall River, with a fortune estimated at roughly half a million dollars at the time of his death, the equivalent of more than $15 million today. He was widely regarded as miserly and difficult.
His first wife Sarah, the mother of his daughters Emma and Lizzie, died in 1863. Two years later, Andrew married Abby Gray, who became stepmother to the two girls. By 1892, the family lived in a modest two and a half story Greek Revival home in a working class section of Fall River, despite Andrew's considerable wealth. The home had no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no central heating, all unusual omissions for a man of Andrew's means. Tensions in the home had grown in the years before the murders, with both daughters reportedly resenting their stepmother and Andrew over disputes about property and inheritance.
On the morning of August 4, 1892, the household at 92 Second Street included Andrew, Abby, Lizzie, and the family's live in Irish maid Bridget Sullivan. Emma was away visiting friends in Fairhaven. A houseguest, John Morse, brother of Andrew's first wife, was also visiting but had left the home that morning to run errands.
Sometime between 9 and 10:30 a.m., Abby Borden was killed in an upstairs guest bedroom. She was struck approximately 18 times in the head with a hatchet while making the bed. About 90 minutes later, between 10:45 and 11:10 a.m., Andrew Borden was killed in the downstairs sitting room while napping on a sofa. He was struck approximately 11 times in the head and face with the same hatchet, also while alone in the room.
At 11:10 a.m., Lizzie called up to Bridget, who was resting in her attic room, saying "Maggie, come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him!" (Bridget was often called by the name Maggie, after a previous maid.) Bridget came down, and a neighbor and the family doctor were quickly summoned. Abby's body was not discovered until shortly afterward, when Bridget and another neighbor went upstairs to look for her.
Suspicion fell on Lizzie almost immediately, particularly after she gave inconsistent and contradictory accounts of her whereabouts that morning. She was also seen burning what she described as a paint stained dress in the kitchen stove a few days after the murders. Despite her behavior, no blood was ever found on Lizzie or any of her clothing, and the murder weapon was never definitively identified.
Book Recommendation
For a deeper look at the Lizzie Borden trial, I recommend Cara Robertson's The Trial of Lizzie Borden. It draws on deep research into the trial transcripts and evidence to deliver a close look at the case that will keep you hooked.
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Lizzie was arrested on August 11, 1892 and charged with both murders. Her trial began on June 5, 1893 in New Bedford, Massachusetts and lasted 13 days. The prosecution's case was almost entirely circumstantial. The defense was led by former Massachusetts Governor George D. Robinson. On June 20, 1893, after just 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury acquitted Lizzie of both murders.
No one else was ever charged with the murders, and the case has officially remained unsolved for more than 130 years. Lizzie inherited a substantial share of her father's fortune and continued to live in Fall River, eventually buying a large hilltop home she called Maplecroft. She died there of complications from gallbladder surgery on June 1, 1927 at the age of 66. Her sister Emma died nine days later in New Hampshire.
After Lizzie and Emma moved out of 92 Second Street in 1893, the house passed through several private owners over the following century. In 1996, the property was purchased by Martha McGinn, whose grandparents had owned it for decades. She converted it into the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and museum, which opened to the public that same year.
Today the home, located at the same 92 Second Street address in Fall River, Massachusetts, operates both as a daily tour destination and as a fully functioning bed and breakfast. Guests can book overnight stays in any of the home's bedrooms, including the John Morse Guest Room, where Abby Borden was killed, and the Andrew and Abby Suite. The home has been restored to look much as it did at the time of the murders, with period furnishings, original family items, and crime scene photographs on display.
Daily guided tours include the basement, the sitting room where Andrew was killed, and the upstairs guest room where Abby died. The property also features a small gift shop and hosts ghost hunts, paranormal investigations, and themed events throughout the year. The home has been featured on numerous paranormal television series and is widely considered one of the most haunted locations in the United States.
The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast is located in a residential and small commercial section of Fall River. Please be respectful of the surrounding neighbors and follow all posted guidelines and tour rules during your visit. Reservations and tour tickets can be booked through the property's official website.
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