Borden—the subject of the latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix Monster anthology, which has previously dramatized the stories of Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein—lived out the rest of her life at Maplecroft and died there almost exactly 100 years ago. The home’s a mere mile from the so-called murder house where Andrew and Abby Borden were famously axed to death in August 1892, when Lizzie was 32 years old. Some 50,000 true-crime fanatics flock annually to the macabre site (now a museum and bed and breakfast), but few know to trek up “The Hill,” as Fall River locals call it, for a glimpse of Borden’s other home. Now, as then, it’s a private residence whose owners would prefer looky-loos walk on.
The exterior of the house, newly yellow after the Dohertys tested dozens of shades. —Brooke Mullins DohertyBrooke and Michael Doherty, current owners of Maplecroft, purchased the house in 2021, setting aside its eerie history in favor of its craftsmanship and ample space. —Brooke Mullins Doherty
But it was those hallways—and the grand and back staircases, six carved fireplaces, original crown molding, Tiffany sconces, and stained glass windows throughout—that kept the Dohertys returning to the French Street home. “Soon enough I was convinced I could absolutely live in this old Victorian house that was basically a museum,” says Michael. When the previous owner’s plans to turn Maplecroft into a bed and breakfast fell through during the pandemic, the asking price lowered to $800,000 and the Dohertys made a successful (undisclosed) offer.
The front hallway of the home, which features its grand staircase, which Borden had constructed after purchasing the house. —Brooke Mullins DohertyThe carriage house, where Borden parked her Model T, now serves as Brooke Mullins Doherty’s art studio. —Brooke Mullins Doherty
Fabulous real estate aside, popular culture paints post-trial Borden as a lonely outcast who was shunned by her neighbors and taunted by local kids who threw rotten eggs. But that’s not quite true: Borden lived at Maplecroft, for a time, with her sister Emma, nine years her elder, and their many pets—three Boston Bull Terriers and a black cat named Daisy. She had few if any friends among the townspeople, who had come to a slow acceptance, despite the jury’s verdict, that their Sunday School teacher had almost certainly committed the gruesome crime. Borden rarely ventured out except to go to the theater, where she could sit unnoticed in the darkness, and in 1904 the spinster fell into and found camaraderie with an inarguably more interesting bunch: the roving and booming Massachusetts theater community, including famous starlet Nance O’Neil, with whom Borden developed a close friendship.
The basement where Borden once hosted parties and stored liquor in the walls, now serves, in part, as a space for laundry. —Joshua Chopy
Whatever went down in the basement, prudent Emma upstairs didn’t approve of the shenanigans. With the Fall River Herald reporting on the sisters’ every sighting (even their clothing—Emma wore all black in eternal mourning while Lizzie defiantly refused to wear black as decorum dictated), Emma thought they should live discreetly. Lizzie disagreed and, following a particularly offensive week-long bash in 1905, the eldest Borden sister packed her bags and left forever. “The happenings at the French Street house that caused me to leave, I must refuse to talk about,” Emma later told the Boston Post before speaking rather freely: “I didn’t go until conditions became absolutely unbearable.” On the advice of their reverend, Emma cut ties with her sister and moved away. They never met or spoke again, but died days apart in 1927 and were buried next to one another in the family plot.
Upon her death, the childless Lizbeth Borden (as she called herself in later years) gifted property, jewelry, books and furniture to some distant friends and family members but left most of her money to Fall River’s Animal Rescue League. To the Dohertys, it’s all more evidence that their home’s previous owner was kind and generous, a woman with good taste and an appreciation for fine workmanship, but most importantly—despite what most Borden historians and public opinion and Ryan Murphy says—an innocent one. “The longer we live here,” says Brooke, “the more we’re convinced she didn’t do it.”
Borden named her home and had it engraved in these stone steps, which remain to this day. —Rebecca F. PittmanMaplecroft features a wraparound porch, added by Borden, where she spent time hanging out with her animals despite the taunts of neighborhood children. —Joshua ChopyMaplecroft’s dining room, where Lizzie might have entertained had she had more fancy friends, with the original blue floral wallpaper she selected. —Brooke Mullins DohertyAn engraving carved above the fireplace reads: “And old-time friends, and twilight plays, and starry nights, and sunny days come trooping up the misty ways when my fire burns low.” —Brooke Mullins DohertyThe library, which today houses not only books but toys, instruments, and worldly decor. —Brooke Mullins DohertyOne of two bedrooms Borden used in the home; one was her winter bedroom, the other, her summer bedroom. —Joshua ChopyA vintage flush toilet in the bathroom. Maplecroft’s modern amenities, including indoor plumbing, were a major upgrade from her previous residence, where the family used chamber pots. —Joshua ChopyLizzie Borden’s Maplecroft, as seen from above, where she lived until her death in 1927. —Joshua ChopyHence then, the article about inside the house that suggests history got sad spinster lizzie borden all wrong was published today ( ) and is available on Time ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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