You can sleep inside America’s most famous unsolved murder house in Fall River, MA

It’s America’s oldest unsolved hatchet case

On August 4, 1892, someone killed Andrew Borden and his wife Abby with a hatchet inside their home at 230 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Their daughter Lizzie, 32 at the time, went to trial and walked free in June 1893. No one else was ever charged.

More than 130 years later, the case sits open, the house sits open, and you can walk through every room where it happened. The front door still swings the same way it did that morning.

Andrew Borden had money but skipped indoor plumbing

Andrew Borden bought the house in 1872. He was a banker, a businessman, and by all accounts, tight with a dollar.

The home went up around 1845, and Andrew converted it from a duplex into a single-family house for himself, his second wife Abby, daughters Emma and Lizzie, and their live-in maid Bridget Sullivan. He never put in indoor plumbing or electricity.

The layout had no hallways, so every room connected directly to the next, with separate staircases serving different parts of the house.

Every piece of furniture matches the crime scene photos

Walk inside and you step into 1892. The house has been restored to match how it looked when the Bordens lived there, down to the wallpaper, carpets, and framed artwork, all reproductions based on records from the time.

The furniture is not original, but every piece was placed to match crime scene photographs and written accounts. Original doors, doorframes, hinges, and the radiators Andrew installed are still in place.

You move through the same rooms the family used every day.

The 90-minute tour takes you to both attack sites

The house tour is the only one that covers all three floors.

You stand in the sitting room where Andrew was found on the first floor, then walk upstairs to the guest bedroom where Abby died.

Guides walk you through the known facts, the family tensions, and the minute-by-minute timeline of that August morning.

An extended option takes you into the basement, where investigators found the hatchet head during the original search. Tours run daily from 10:30 a.m., with the last one starting at 3:30 p.m.

Ghost hunts put equipment in your hands after dark

Nightly ghost tours take you on foot through Fall River, past the Borden house and other locations around the city with reported hauntings. Ghost hunts go deeper.

Groups of up to 13 people get inside the first floor and basement with ghost hunting equipment, investigating the same spaces where the key events unfolded.

Staff and visitors over the years have reported sounds they cannot explain and objects that seem to move on their own. If the paranormal draws you in, this is the main event.

You can book the room where Abby was found

The house has run as a bed-and-breakfast since 1996, with two suites and four rooms available for overnight guests. The most requested room has always been the guest bedroom where Abby Borden’s body was discovered.

Breakfast costs an extra $20 per person and includes pancakes, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, and fruit. The menu takes its cue from what the Bordens ate that morning, though mutton and johnnycakes gave way to modern swaps.

Book early if you want a room around Halloween or the August 4 anniversary.

Sip tea with actors playing Lizzie and Emma

The house hosts a Victorian-style afternoon tea party where actors portray Lizzie and Emma Borden. You sit down with tea sandwiches and sweets while learning about the tea customs and etiquette of the 1800s.

Beyond the tea, the house runs special events throughout the year, including reenactments, murder mystery nights, and themed dinners.

Each one mixes real history with interactive entertainment, and they draw a range of ages and interests through the front door all year long.

Follow painted arrows to the Borden family graves

In March 2024, the Lizzie Borden House launched a guided tour of Oak Grove Cemetery, the first of its kind at this historic burial ground.

Oak Grove dates to 1855 and spreads over 100 acres with Victorian-era garden design and an ornate granite entrance arch. The Borden family plot holds Lizzie, Emma, Andrew, stepmother Abby, and mother Sarah.

Painted arrows on the pavement lead you straight to it. The tour also covers veterans, local pioneers, and figures tied to other Fall River history.

New ownership replaced asbestos and added smart locks

Lance Zaal, founder of US Ghost Adventures, bought the house in 2021 and put serious money into keeping it standing.

Crews strengthened the foundation, pulled asbestos from the basement, replaced rotting window frames and barn doors, and installed a new HVAC system.

Guest rooms got upgraded mattresses, luxury linens, smart thermostats, blackout blinds, and smart locks. An old gas stove that posed a fire hazard came out and a safer model went in, though the original sits on display.

Museum pieces, including ceramics and books Lizzie once owned, now sit in protective cases for the first time.

Lizzie bought a mansion and changed her name

After the acquittal, Lizzie inherited her father’s fortune and bought a mansion at 306 French Street, which she named Maplecroft.

The house is now a private residence, but you can see the exterior from the street, less than a 10-minute drive from the murder house. It sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lizzie changed her name to Lizbeth, stayed in Fall River, and died in 1927 at 66. Her sister Emma died just days later.

The two had not spoken in over 20 years.

True crime fans fly in from around the world

The house pulls visitors from nearly every country.

History buffs, true crime followers, and anyone curious about Victorian-era American life all end up at the same front door. Tour guides get consistent praise for how well they know the case and how they tell the story.

Fall River sits about 50 miles south of Boston, close enough for a day trip or a stop on a broader New England drive.

Many visitors pair the house tour with Oak Grove Cemetery and a drive past Maplecroft to round out the full Borden story.

The famous rhyme gets almost everything wrong

The Borden case has held the public’s attention for more than 130 years, generating books, plays, films, and a children’s rhyme most Americans can recite. That rhyme is wrong on nearly every count.

The weapon was a hatchet, not an axe. Abby was Lizzie’s stepmother, not her mother.

The total number of blows was 29, not 81. You walk through the house, stand in the rooms, and leave with your own theory about what happened that morning. The answer is still out there, and nobody has found it.

Visit the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Mass.

You can find the Lizzie Borden House at 230 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.

The house stays open daily from 10 a.m. to midnight, with house tours running between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Six bedrooms are available for overnight stays, and breakfast is offered for an extra fee.

About a mile away, Battleship Cove holds one of the world’s largest collections of historic naval ships. Check the official website for current pricing and availability before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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