Lizzie Borden Society Forum

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It's true...there's no comparison. Here's some photos taken yesterday in the rain.







At Maplecroft, I am curious, does this statue date from Lizzie's tenure?

Charlton is claimed by Fall River, but he built his mansion on Westport Harbor.

http://www.westporthistory.com/photos/a ... 00297.html

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Many years ago, I went to the auction of the Charlton family's property there. Lots and lots of beautiful stuff.

Can you give more of a description of where Interlachen was located on North Watuppa? Was it where Rt. 24 is now?

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I thought it was on an island or a penisula in the lake, but I may be wrong.
We have Interlachen in Florida so Googling it from here does not help me find it.

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Harry told me that. Where is Harry?

From my archives, this March 12, 1998 article on Interlachen in the South Coast Today paper has the info:

http://www.s-t.com/daily/03-98/03-12-98/b01lo103.htm

Fall River managed to bulldoze that too. Surprised?

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What an interesting thread. I had noticed that postcard on eBay earlier. I hate it when an old, historical building is torn down - especially a house like that. I often wish Dr. Bowen's house was left alone. It must have been a site to see. I can be happy just driving around looking at gorgeous old houses all day (like in New Bedford). In Detroit, they are re-doing the old Book Cadillac building. But they are tearing down Tiger Stadium. It's always been there! (It was called Briggs Stadium years ago.) They went and built a fancy new stadium and gave it a most charming name: Co-merica Park - named after a bank. And now they're gonna take down Tiger Stadium. They're talking about selling the seats to sports fans.

They also closed down the country's oldest aquarium on Belle Isle in Detroit. And I think they're talking about closing the Detroit Zoo. Budget cuts, you know.

Thanks for the article. I have seen the old Ice house building from the highway, but I did not know that that was where the estate was.

I can understand the need to protect the water supply, but it's too bad that they didn't document more about the house and its history before bulldozing it. I do realize leaving it there would attract vandals and curiousity seekers.

As I've been doing more research in Fall River, it amazes me that almost everything of interest from the past has been destroyed by "urban renewal." It's kind of interesting that that Lizzie was ostracized by the "right people" in Fall River, but so much of what the "right people" represented has been destroyed or is showing signs of neglect.

It's like there is this seething kind of self-loathing going on. Very curious.

Probably doesn't belong on this thread but I find it interesting that Spencer Borden named his estate "Interlachen" and Earle Charlton named his estate "Pond meadow" but let Miss Lizbeth name her house "Maplecroft" and everyone says that she had the gall to name her house, a thing that just wasn't done in Fall River's society.

Hello SteveS:

I would imagine that Lizzies's neighbors felt she was putting on airs when she named her home, "Maplecroft." Lizzie's house consisted of fourteen rooms - the adjacent homes were as big or bigger and the owners didn't choose to grace them with an "estate" designation.

Certainly Lizzie's little "estate" could not compare with the grandeur of Charlton's Pond Meadow estate, or Interlachen in the Watuppa region.
The city took over the Interlachen estate in 1940 because they felt it was polluting the water supply. The house was razed. A pity.

Hi William I guess you are right. I was looking at it more through modern eyes ( who are they to tell her what she can name and can't name) as opposed to the time period (she moves from 2nd st. to french all of a sudden and then names her house).

I think through photos it has been determined that the home on French Street may not have gotten its carved top step reading "Maplecroft" until c. 1913.
Rebello, 285, shows a depiction of the house steps and they are probably wooden and have railings at that time.
I don't know what the contemporary feelings might be at that time and after. Sometimes fads like that come and go.

The photograph showing the wooden steps was in the Boston Herald, April 1913. The chiselling of "Maplecroft," on the top riser was done sometime between 1913 and 1921. Rebello has an account from a woman and her daughter that the name was there when they walked past the house in 1920-21 (communication with L. Rebello)

SteveS. @ Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:53 am wrote:Probably doesn't belong on this thread but I find it interesting that Spencer Borden named his estate "Interlachen" and Earle Charlton named his estate "Pond meadow" but let Miss Lizbeth name her house "Maplecroft" and everyone says that she had the gall to name her house, a thing that just wasn't done in Fall River's society.

By the time Lizzie had the name chiseled into the step, she may well have been beyond caring what Fall River thought of her.