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| Lizzie Borden |
Lizzie Borden took an axe,
Gave her mother 40 whacks.
When she saw what she had done, gave her father 41.
This old nursery rhyme may be easy to remember, but it's
also inaccurate. According to a pathologist who analyzed the
victims' skulls, Lizzie Borden's mother received nineteen
whacks, her father only eleven. It's also up for dispute whether
Lizzie even wielded the deadly axe herself, since she was
ultimately acquitted. For the third stop on our tour of strange
museums in Massachusetts, Morning Edition host Bob Oakes went
to Fall River, where, on August 4,1892, someone hacked Andrew
and Abby Borden to death.
Listen: These are the skulls
of Andrew and Abby Borden, used as evidence at the murder
trial in 1892. Curator Michael Martins explains.
The Victorian homestead where Abby and Andrew Borden were
killed 109 years ago is now the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast.
An antique clock ticks away the seconds in the room where
Andrew Borden was killed. The Victorian sofa on which he sat
when he was whacked is gone, replaced by a replica. In fact,
none of the original furniture remains. Nonetheless, people
come to see the house, and they can stay in the upstairs room
where Abby Borden was killed.
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| (L)Original crime scene photos with Andrew Borden's
body. (R)Replica of the couch in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. |
To get your fill of Lizzie Borden lore, you must also visit
to the Fall River Historical Society. The largest collection
of artifacts and documents related to the famous murder case
can be found at this location. Curator Michael Martins gave
us a tour of the Society's Borden exhibit: three glass and wood
display cases in a room near the front exit.
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| (L)Original crime scene photos with Abby Borden's
body. (R)The bedroom as it exists today in the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. |
Fall River Historical Society visiting hours:
April - mid November
Tuesday through Friday 9:00am - 4:30pm
Tour Hours: 9, 10, 11, 1, 2, 3
June - September
Tuesday through Friday 9:00am - 4:30pm.
Tour Hours: 9, 10, 11, 1, 2, 3
also Saturday and Sunday 1:00pm - 5:00pm.
Tour Hours: 1, 2, 3, 4
Closed Mondays and Holidays and the months of January, February and March
Open Mondays in December |
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