1. "Maplecroft"
Posted by dubiousmike on Feb-26th-03 at 1:26 AM

My father has recently put Maplecroft for sale.  For those of you who are curious about the house itself, here is his description:

Maplecroft: Home of Lizzie Borden 1893
through 1927, in the Historic Highlands.
Retains the splendor of the late 1800's.
Sprawling 3-story Queen Anne; this
sensational historical home is a rare find.
14 rooms include: 6 BDRM, library, den, LR,
DR, billiard room, 3 full baths and 2 half
baths. Impressive woodwork, including
finely detailed mantles, mahogany cornice
trim, beamed ceilings, wainscotting, 6
fireplaces, Italian arches, stained glass
windows and much more. Exceptional sun
porch on front of home and an impressive
shade porch on the rear side, overlooking
garden.

I grew up sleeping in Lizzie's summer bedroom, which may have been the room she passed in.  Not entirely sure about that - I have found that many Lizzie officianados know more about my house than I do.  (I still think of it as mine and always thought I'd live there after my father no longer wanted to )

Do we get to see the pics???

I think I can try to grab some, but I can't promise that what I find will be truly satisfying.  I know what you'd like to see is an unfetterd view of the interesting points inside of the house...

- built in radiators, flush to the wall
- french linnen on the ceiling and original (yes original) drapes in the dinig room
- a commode that is definitively from when Lizzie resided there (I don't know that it was her's - could have been for guests or a staff member
- the fireplaces, two of which have poems as part of the hand carving - almost all of the fireplaces are hand carved wood of some sort or another
- paintings from Lizzie's church, hanging in the living room
- huge sink, made of something I can't rememeber right now, in the kitchen - i mean huge
- 6 car garage
- very ornate flooring and ceiling trim on the first floor
- metal ceilings in both Lizzie's master (winter) bedroom and kitchen
- there is also an area under the front porch, which has a large amount of space.  I have always quietly contended there is something in there, but my dad always laughed me off
- tiffiny chandeliers and sconces in the dinigng room
- a stained glass window (a few actually, but one is large and magnificent particularly) - I always thought it was Tiffiny as well, but it is another brand
- ther eis much more fo course that I can't think of right now at 2 am...

Unfortuantely for all Lizzie fans, my dad has generally been a private person when it came to Lizzie, especially with pictures of the interior of the hosue.  All it took were a few overzealous Lizzie fans to make us nervous.  I remember durring the 100 year aniversary of the murders, I cought someone breaking off a piece of lattace work from the outside of the house, just for a souveniere. 

My father had turned the house into a B&B as well (as the murder house) but decided running a B&B wasn't for him.. It is likely the new owners would make use of it as this, as the City gave the OK for it to be one...

I will ask him about me posting some pictures, perhaps with a watermark (which still rots for all of you) of the inside of the house.  Frankly, I doubt he will be all that willing.  But I can definitely take pictures of the outside of the house, from many angles and of the carriage house.  I'll defitely let you know what I can do...

So, Mike, tell us, what was it like growing up in Maplecroft?  Did you know who Lizzie Borden was whilst growing up?  Did it freak you out at all?  Other kids make fun or you or shun you for living in her old house? 

well, I can tell you that I have NEVER been afraid of ghosts.  My grandmother on my mom's side was always freaked out by the histoery of the house, but I have always fealt nothing but complete comfort there.  But I have had one lifelong friend swear she saw a ghost entering from the back starway into my room.  She would have no reason to lie.  But who knows. 

I did have a dream soon after we moved into the house.  I was lying in a bed in my room, but the room had different furniture in different positions.  There was a woman sitting by the window looking out.  The woman was Lizzie.  The weird thing was that I was 6 and had never seen a picture of her until 2 weeks later.  I swear that I am not making this up.

There was always the rumore that Lizzie had a tunnel built from Maplecroft to the house on the corner closest to the hospital (half a block east) so that she could visit one of her only friends inte city without those outside making fun of her.  It is likely that when the streets were redone many, many years ago, that it was filled in.  But I still had fun poking aroung the basement looking for an entrance.  I still will maintain that there could still be proof of it underneath the front sun porch.

WOW!
I just made my Very Slow way here.
I recognized your last name when I checked your profile.
You are a wonderful addition to our membership and hope you enjoy it here!
Please can you say how your father is doing?  Is he well?

Can you get under the sun porch?  There would be some sign, even if the tunnel entrance is closed off.

As for Lizzie's ghost, yes, I think Maplecroft would be the most likely choice for her to haunt, its her house.  Unlike the Second Street home, which was Andrew's.

I realize its not entirely the same thing, but, I can remember visiting historic places with my family as a little girl, where famous people have lived or stayed.  Betsey Ross's house, etc. there is just such a vibe in the air knowing that these people once walked the floorboards of these places.  Did it feel the same to you once you knew who Lizzie was? 

He is doing great. 

Thanks for asking. 

(Message last edited Feb-26th-03  3:46 PM.)

I have to say that as a 6 year old, much of the mystique was wasted on me.  By the time I was old enough for it to excite me, the house had been lived in by me for too long for anything to scare me.

I rememebr though, that friends would sometimes get scared.  I once made "ghost" shounds down the laundry chute and got about 6 or so friends to run screaming through the house.  But they were laughing as much as being scared.

With all of those rooms in the house it was a hide and seek paradise for a small child.  So many closets.  never mind that a smart hide and seeker would simply rove through the house trying to stay ahead or behind the seeker.  The 100 year aniversary was what really woke me up to the goose bumps.  I had lived in a house for many years where we got doorbell rings in the middle of dinner by hopeful fans.  Playing out int he yard and seeing people driving by slowly, staring intently at the house.  Many would ask for a tour.  We very rarely ever did, other than those we knew of.  We had some famous people write and call, asking for tours.

It was the aniversay that changed it all for me.  People coming from all over the country and all over the world to take part in the week long happenings.  We had SO MANY people coming to the house and the outside (with one woman tearing off a piece of the lattice work) that I decided to react.  I rememebr a tour bus stopping the first day of the week.  I had just spoken with my dad about giving tours.  He agreed I could.  I also had been selling opriginal nails from the house (which sounds silly until someone rips off a piece of your house as a souveniere) glued to cards, all numbered.  People were buying them like water in a desert.  I told one person at our door buying 5 or more nails, that they could sign up for a tour.  They turned and yelled to the bus, "THEY ARE GIVING TOURS!!!"

I have never seen so many people run off a bus so fast. 

At the time, the second street house was not open to the public, so this was what just about everyone there that week was waiting for.  Every possible tour slot was filled in a matter of hours.  There just wasn't enough daylight for more tours.  Quite the busy week for a 15 year old.

The local paper actually printed a editorial cartoon, making fun of me.  (How many regular people can claim that!)  Yep, that's right, the local paper made fun of a 15 year old.  They tried to say it was my dad, but as usual, the Herald News couldn't get much right and weren't willing to do a simple check on their info to find out why I was giving tours and selling nails.  But hey, a 15 year old can't fight back very well so what the heck.  I didn't mind then and I don't mind now.  I had a blast and learned so much from Lizzie fans, many of which knew things about my house I didn't.

You've been amusing, and very informative, and patient with our questions.
Thank you sincerely!

Stefani spoke to your dad and was left with the impression that he was a really nice fellow, open and charming.  We both are extremely glad to hear he is doing fine, and has had a great recovery.
Kat

(Message last edited Feb-26th-03  10:16 PM.)

Oh, my goodness!  I had no idea that your poor dad just went through that, Mike!  I'm glad to hear that he is doing fine. 

My friends always thought it so weird that strangers would come to our house.  At times, I liked the feeling of associated celebrity it brought.  It was always a gentle attention and nearly everyone was kind.  There were the bad instances (breaking of lattice work, and others) but I always had time for Lizzie fans.  I never thought myself as one, but in retrospect, I am.  I bet Lizzie was very cool.

I will miss the house so much when my dad sells it, I almost hope he doesn't.  But it is far too big for him and his significant other.  I wish I had the money he wants for it to buy it myself.  He will likely sell it to someone who wants to run it as a B&B. 

Well, you once ran tours in Maplecroft at age 15, it would be so nice if you could do it again and open a B&B.  Its the dream of our forum members to have Maplecroft open to us one day, it would be nice if you could do it.  *sigh* We can dream. 

Thank you for the great posts, Mike.  Every morsel you can tell us means so much to us.

Besides floors, ceilings, wallpaper & other fixtures does the house hold any other things that belonged to Lizzie?

Your dad was interviewed in an article in 1998, and he eluded to the house being haunted but it was like he didn't want to talk about it in case it scared people away from coming when it was a B & B.  Are there more spiritual happenings that you would be willing to share?

What else have people done in the way of destruction to attain souvenirs? 

My questions may sound silly, but Maplecroft is a real piece of history.  In some ways, it surpasses the curiosity about the murder house.  Please stick around! 

Well, I don't think he would suggest it was "haunted" if he didn't think it was true.  But I think he didn't want to attract people who wanted to bring Oujia boards and the like.  He wasn't interested in sensationalizing that aspect of the house.

Not that I don't think something like that wouldn't be very entertaining...

I will have to ask my father about other items - there were fixtures, stuff in the garage (which actually has a mechanics pit built in from Lizzie's time there), a gas pump (yes - a gas pump).  I believe there might have been a large light fixture in the garage.  We mainly moved ourselves into the house in 1980, bringing all of our stuff and living in it.  My father's taste in furniture included vicorian and many other styles which didn't always lend to a true authenticity to Lizzie's era.  But that wasn't our goal.  We loved living in a big house. 

I will also ask him about a floor plan.  I think he wouldn't mind drawing something up.

Over the years, we were approached by sellers of Lizzie items.  Most of the time, they wanted far more than we were interested in paying.  I am sure there are a few we would have bought in retrospect...

We also have a painting from Lizzie's church - First Congregational, is it?  I don't remember the scene...

Another is of Abby Borden, a cousin who worked for the school system, I think.

My father isn't necessarily interested in running the B&B full time, but I wouldn't say that it would be impossible to book rooms there.  I think that he simply didn't like that it was a 24 hour a day job.  He was stuck in the house when guests are there.  I think that unless he would book at least 2 rooms at once, it wouldn't be worth his effort.

If there were ever a time when a group of you were to some to Fall River, I am quite sure he or I could make some time to give a tour.  Come to think of it, I don't know what new owners would plan for the house and it could become impossible to get a tour dependant upon their wishes.  It really depends on their plans for the house.  Someone might buy it for non-Lizzie reasons.  Real estate costs will rise in Fall RIver once the commuter rail stops here.  There are already folks like myself who make the 55 mile drive to Boston to work.  Suburban sprawl has begun in Fall River.  Slowly, so far, but it is there.

Hello Mike, welcome to the Message Board.

I have read of an interior door in Maplecroft, that has a glass panel with the initial "B" etched into it.  Can you confirm this?

The back door had a large glass window with a B etched in it in a script style.  This was broken when someone tried to break into the house.

The front interior door had a raised B in the black metal part of the rectangular door knob casing/trim (most of which was underneath the door knob).  The middle part of the B was knocked out to look like a D by the someone in the David family when they lived the house after Lizzie.  Though we often joked that at least it now matched our last name, it was always looked upon as an unfortunate thing and everyone always seemed embarassed for the David family at doing something like that.

Was it Lizzie fans trying to break in? I should think
not -- I don't think "we" would have destroyed her prized
window with the B on it. Snitching lattice is bad -- but
not like breaking & entering.

That is sweet, at 15 taking it upon yourself to give tours --
was it sad watching everybody driving by & looking, and
knowing they would give anything to change places with you?

Most people never approached us.  Most stopped, got out of their car and looked and took pictures.  Some would see us in the yerd and ask questions.  Some would ring the doorbell.  There were many times prior to those tours that I would come home and find my father showing some folks around the house.  It was weird the first time or two, but it never seemed strange at all after that. 

It wasn't a Lizzie fan. 

Just some common thug.  Our dog at the time, a rottweiler, gave the guy the impression he wasn't welcome.  Of course it was a puppy and just wanted to play.  Our garage got broken into a number of times, but never historical theives, just petty.

Were there ever any interior shots on postcards
from when it was the B&B? How many families have owned
Maplecroft ove the years? Is The Hill still exclusive
for people who have grown up in Fall River? (This is
fun getting to ask questions, hope it isn't too many!)

Thanks for the link to the ebay auction.  Its possible that my dad gave them permission, but we'll see.  The picture can't actually be used in a true professional situation (you can see a lot of our stuff and the angle is bad).  I almost wonder that it wasn't authorized as the angle is so bad if one wanted to get a good picture of the fireplace.  I think it is more likely the picture was taken of people from this party in the house, then cropped to remove them.  This is not one of the two fireplaces with poems (both of those are upstairs), though this is one of the more ornate ones.  This picture is facing almost south, right near the front door.  Its the foyer.  The arch on the left leads to the living room.  The dining room is behind the picture taker.

Until now, there have never been any official photos taken of anything in the house, though there are sketches in books from what I rmemember.  I just wouldn't consider this official.  I doubt it would upset my father too much as you can see no detail of the mantle.

There have been four families inlcuding us.  Lizzie and Emma, the Davids, the Silvias, and us.  

The Highlands is what is considered the nice part of town, though not the only one.  Maplecroft is on the southern edge of the Highlands.  There are many beautiful homes in the Highlands, many on Highland Ave which starts one block from French St, and one and a half blocks from Maplecroft. 

I have a tape of a TV program called Country Lawyer:
Lizzie Borden & I think they show photographs of the
mantles with the carved poems -- I remember seeing black
and white pics of them somewhere & I think that was
where I'm remembering them from.

And about that eBay seller -- they have been very
productive selling things that they right clicked &
stole from the Forum & lizzieandrewborden.com. They
do as they please & don't think they need permission for
anything.

there are likely copyright or patent infringements unless my father signed a release.

Thank you Mike for answering my question about the glass door containg the etched letter "B."

What a shame it was broken! There should be a special Hell for vandals.

I hope you don't mind me answering a few of your questions as you go along.
Your tales are fascinating!
By 1892 the Borden's were members of the Central Congregational Church.

Rebello, pg.15:
"Note: The Bordens were members of the First Congregational Church where the Dr. William W. Adams was pastor before they joined Central Congregational Church on Rock Street. (Boston Globe, Sunday, August 7, 1892: 6.)



Central Congregational Church


First Congregational Church

You can decide of which you have a painting.


The Abby Borden, of whom you have a painting, I'm assuming is a different Abby Borden than ours.
That is interesting because we had heard of another Mr. Andrew Borden living in Fall River at the same time. 

(Message last edited Feb-26th-03  10:46 PM.)

*Susan sits quietly at her computer desk with her hand raised*  Mike, I have another question about Maplecroft.  Is the second story of the house covered with shingles or is it also clapboard like the first story?

The reason I ask is that most of the Queen Anne style homes I saw have varied surface treatments(shingles, clapboards, lots of gingerbread, etc.) to the exterior of the house and from the exterior pics I've seen of Maplecroft, its hard to tell.  Thanks. 

I am not sure of the church, but I am sure that you would know before I.  The painting itself isn't of a church, but was from inside the church.  It might be of scene with Mary, but I will have to look when I go over this weekend.  The other painting was of Abby Borden.  I want to say that she was a principal of a school in Fall RIver, but I am definitely not sure about that.

The house was reshingled (cedar) above the first floor and clapboard (I believe) ont he first just prior to the 100 year aniversary of the murders.

Thank you, Mike!  I suspected it might be so, but, couldn't be sure.  I wonder what the original house colors were?  Do you have any clue?  I know shortly after the time that Lizzie and Emma moved into Maplecroft, white paint was coming into fashion for all houses. 

Rebello, pg. 290:

"The Borden Sisters Do Not Shun Society / Neither Do They Court It / The House of the Tragedy, Boston Daily Advertiser, June 5, 1894: 8.:

"... Upon the summit of one of the loftiest of these hills is the present home of the Bordens. It is situated on French Street, four houses from the electric car tracks on Winter Street, and in an excellent neighborhood. About them are the dwellings of well-to-do people. They are not the lordly mansions of the wealthy, but people who are evidently of the upper middle class. The house is built in the modern style and shingled upon the outside. The lower story is painted a dull bronze green and the upper story a buff color. The main entrance is at the corner, and the porch is extended upward, and is finished in a little peak above the roof. The peak is completed by an ornamental weather vane. The house is surrounded by a small, green lawn, very carefully kept, and ornamented with a few
flowering shrubs. Ivies clamber up here and there, and nearly conceal the posts which support the small piazza...."

Thank you, Kat!  From my studies of Victorian architecture, I was positive that Maplecroft would have been painted in 2 body colors. In all the old photos its hard to tell if one story is darker or lighter.

Heres a couple of examples of this type of paint job on some Queen Anne homes.







All pics from this site, http://ah.bfn.org/a/archsty/queen/

A painting of Abby Borden in Maplecroft?? Oh, the irony! That sound you hear emanating from Oak Grove Cemetery is Lizzie rolling over in her grave.
But seriously, thank you, Mike for telling us all about life at  Maplecroft. I think that this is the most fascinating thread here at the Society. I hope that you'll stay with us and continue to add your thoughts and recollections.

The first picture above seemingly has two tones, but I think that it is becuase of the different types of wood.  This is the same thing with Maplecroft.  But becuase of the very light shade of cream, it is very difficult to tell.

The next two pics, it would make sense that they are different colors as it seems to be two different types of materials entirely.  One looks to me like a brick or even cobblestone, while the other looks like the bottom half might even be a stucco.  Tough to tell.

My dad has never been one to hold to convention when it came to his house.  He would not join the whatever organization gives you the nice little plaque for your house (for houses with historical value) as he wanted to be able to do whatever he wanted with his house, regardless of the previous owners. 

I thought that the Borden girls gave away all Abby's belonging to her next of kin? Certainly a "portrait". But I can't imagine skinflint Andy spending money on this, or even a portrait of himself.

[After reading the msgs from the beginning, I see that the painting was not of the murder victim.]

(Message last edited Feb-27th-03  1:17 PM.)

Are you telling us that we can't believe everything in the newspapers? What a shock for some people, who copy newspaper stories and assume its the truth!

Congratualtions on making the best of a difficult situation!
I'll bet that if Andy survived, he would have charge for home tours.

at the time, my father was worries that free tours would invite locals, that were never interested in Lizzie before, to come in and case the house for theft.

At the time, someone also wrote into the paper's editorial section to complain about how we could possibly charge people to tour our house.  These were the poeple we had no interest in letting into our home.  We charged $10 for about a 45 minute tour.  We had people telling us that they would have paid $40 for a tour (remember that the other house was not open to the public in any way at that time).  People were so happy that they got to come into the house.  Really, with the effort and risk we were taking in doing a massive amount of tours in the house (like someone falling down the stairs and taking us to court), it wasn't worth the $10 a head.  But the reaction most people had, how thankful they were, and how nice most were made it all worth it.

(Message last edited Feb-27th-03  1:32 PM.)

Surely even you can understand Rays that just because someone posts anything on this forum doesn't necessarily mean that it is true or that they believe it. I do that a LOT and will continue to do so.

Newspaper articles like anything else (Yes, including Brown) are to believed or not to be believed. We are grown ups here and free to make our own choice.

no, of course.  I knew he was kidding.  it was just more of a follow up on the topic and also a bit of a venting.  Though few of those who are familiar with the Herald News respect it in its current incarnation, it (at leat the cartoon) certainly could diminish the local's opinion of my father and with his livelyhood dependant upon soliciting insurance claims...  Anyway, sorry to get off topic.

I wasn't responding to you Mike but to message #38.

Your posts are very informative and very welcome.  It's rare that we get such first-hand information.

You could have a lawyer draw up an agreement that says the visitor could not sue for any damages that occurred in your house. Assuming no negligence on your part, etc. There must be some boiler-plate forms for this. I wonder if the house on 2nd st does this?

I think this is the reaction to "fresh blood" and a new poster. I note that Mike has not taken any position, either way. Wait until he does, and then we'll see what happens.

When I joined this 3 years ago, I asked if anyone could disprove the solution in AR Brown's book. None could, unless saying they didn't believe it was proof. Well, I don't believe their disbelief, so there!

Brown's published solution is the 'best evidence'; since it explains what was otherwise a mystery. (I won't repeat my earlier postings.)

I was NOT kidding!! If you ever had the chance to be an eyewitness to anything that was later reported in the newspaper (except sporting events), you would know the real truth about newspapers.

"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story" as true now as 100 years ago. Do you closely read what they say about an event?

You can always try subscribing to a journalistic publication. The Columbia School of Journalism puts out a monthly; I subscribed for a year in the mid 1980s. Who controls the news? The reporter, or the editor?

I believe the gas pump was the first private one in Fall River. I remember reading that somewhere but can't recall off-hand where.

All in all Lizzie seemed pretty progressive in keeping up with the latest things. Of course she had the financial resources to do so.

As for the $10 fee for the tour, that's a small price for a true Bordenite.  That's a dream come true for most of us.

I have a question ,Mike, if you would please consider it

Stef's impromtu tour of aspects of Fall River, in 1997, was conducted by a person whom we think we have identified.  At the time she didn't know of him.

Anyway she was told that the house next door on the same lot(?) was built by Lizzie for her servants and they all lived there away from the house, Maplecroft.
And there was, past that, a wall, also built by Lizzie.

Since then we seem to find in Rebello's referrence work, that the servants lived IN and that the separete house lodged Lizzie's dressmaker (?)
Does your family also own this other house or is it still there?  Do you know if Lizzie's servants lived IN MAplecroft, after all?

Lizzie owned both houses on each side of Maplecroft.  Servants lived in each.  There is a granite wall around the back of her house at the back of Maplecroft.  A wrought iron fence separates Maplecroft from the two servants quaters houses.  There is no fence or wall along the front of any of the houses and the stone wall is only behind her house and the wrought iron fences did not wrap around the other houses.  Both side houses are a bit smaller than Maplecroft.  One has a small carriage house (about 1/3 the size of Lizzie's) and the other had a garage built sometime later.

Lizzie had the first gas pump and the first electric car which I might have mentioned before.

You mentioned the electric car which I had not known about. If I missed the pump, my apologies.

Thank you again, Mike.  I was recently thinking I'd heard re a wrought iron fence & couldn't remember where I'd read it...& wondering if it was fact or fiction.  Does seem a bit odd tho, fencing in 3 sides of the property, but keeping the front open...I don't quite see the logic.

re: the car - no problem - I only said I had repeated it for those who had seen the other post.  I don't remember where I wrote it, no biggie.  I just didn't want to come off like I say the same stuff all of the time. 

Re: the fence - it never made sense to me either.  I will have to ask my dad at some point about why there was two different kinds as there might be some specific details that are escaping me.

There's a great map on page 284 of Rebello which shows the lots Lizzie purchased on French Street. She bought lots in 1897, 1902, 1905, 1920 and 1926.

Is does not appear that the 1897 and 1902 purchases involved Emma.

The way Lizzie spent money it is a wonder she was able to leave anything in her will. I would love to know what made up her income. I would assume it was primarily rental income.

(Message last edited Feb-27th-03  10:49 PM.)

I would have thought Lizzie would be privacy conscious & fence in the front with a locking gate.  Depends on the Fall River traditions of the era, I suppose.

Oh, BTW Mike...I also recall (think it was Spiering) saying Lizzie installed bars on the basement windows.  However, I've never noticed this in pics & did not get close enough to the house to check.  Is this true?

My understanding was that Andrew owned huge amounts of property.  She was absolutely rolling in dough.  Enough to be known as a bit of a party girl, with friends from Boston and NY coming through to have fun 'till the wee hours of the morning.

There were and still are bars on the cellar windows.
She was definitely concerned about safety and privacy with there being only she and her sister.  I suppose a low paid maid might run for the hills at the first sign of trouble? 

I really would like to thank you for coming here and attending to our questions.
I have experienced now a deep sense of contentment and satisfaction at meeting you like this, as an impromtu, generous representative of Maplecroft.--Kat

Harry, here is Lizzie in her 1913 Edison-inspired electric car!



(Message last edited Feb-28th-03  2:24 AM.)

Love it Kat!!!  Great job.  Even more important, Lizzie would have loved it.

Definitely will be a bonus item on eBay.

Thank you Mike...you're a gift!  Our very own Maplecroft expert; awesome.

Marvelous, Kat!  ROFL.

Guess this will show up as the next snow globe

I first read about the barred windows in AR Brown's book; he explains the real reason for this. Did Lizzie and Emma know that Nemesis could enter this way? Aren't the basement and garage the easiest way to break into a house nowadays? Just push a long bladed screwdriver under the sash?

A big house like that, and separate houses for her servants! She must have been really loaded, or needed privacy. I'll bet such luxury for her servants must have really frosted other members of her class, and contributed to the dislike of her. What's your opinion?

I had remembered hearing that she had few friends in Fall River and much of her social life, or at least the highlights were from friends in the Theater community visiting from NY and Boston.

A question I've been dying to ask, DM. The answer, I'm certain, will be of interest to everyone on the Board:
Have you, or your parents, ever seen any written notes, autographed books or other property belonging to Lizzie, Emma or one of the servants?
I want to include my thanks to you for graciously answering so many questions.  The information you are providing is fascinating!

Dubiousmike, I picked up on your Maplecroft posts over the past day or so. Along with many other people on this Forum I really am enjoying learning about Maplecroft from the "inside." Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and insights of Lizzie's and Emma's house.

I have two questions:

Do you have any knowledge of how much the neighborhood around Maplecroft has changed over the past hundred years or so?

Most photographs show Maplecroft from the front (south) or from the southeast. I recall seeing a photo of the house from the southwest and it looked like the next-door house on that side (west) was situated very close to Maplecroft. Is that so?