11 Quirky Things to do in Fall River MA: Borden and Battleships

WHY GO: Most things to do in Fall River MA revolve around Lizzie Borden, Portuguese cuisine, and the largest collection of WWII Naval vessels in the country. In the late 1800s, Fall River, known as “Spindle City” was the world’s largest producer of printed cotton cloth. It was the epicenter of textile mills that turned out thousands of miles of fabric a year, and made many a man wealthy.

But like most mill towns in the Northeast, Fall River fell hard. Now, the area offers a rare opportunity to visit a proud working-class river city with lots of heart. For adventurers who consider distressed warehouses romantically grungy, this may be the time to see the place. Besides, ghost hunters love it here.

Despite its tragic history, Fall River’s coastal location in Mount Hope Bay, on the border between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, makes for oceanside strolls, gorgeous sunsets, and one heck of a romantic getaway.

Pair Fall River with a visit to New Bedford MA, just a 20 minute drive away.

Things to Do in Fall River MA

Battleship Cove Fall River MA

GO: Battleship Cove, the world’s largest assemblage of Naval ships.

In 1965, the 608-foot Battleship USS Massachusetts was sent to pasture in Fall River, followed by the Destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (used in the movie “Thirteen Days”), the Submarine USS Lionfish, a Russian-built Missile Corvette, PT boats, and various military aircraft. Battleship Cove, beneath the historic mile+ long Charles Braga Jr Bridge, now consists of acres of floating gray.

You can spend a good part of one day and see just a fraction of the seemingly endless exhibits. Each of these ships had an illustrious history.

USS Massachusetts

The USS Massachusetts, aka Big Mamie, built 108 ft. wide (“two feet narrower than the Panama Canal”) was victorious in the Battle of Casablanca. The Destroyer Kennedy stopped freighters thought to have nuclear-tipped missiles during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Be prepared for enough torpedoes, rifles, mess halls, officer’s quarters, vintage urinals, diesel-scented engine rooms, watertight doors, sick bays, and other floating implements of destruction (including shells from 16” guns that each weigh as much as a Volkswagen Beetle) to sink a ship.

Scout Troops and Youth Groups have always been invited to stay aboard overnight, but several nights in season have now been reserved for families.  If you ever served on one of these ships and wish to show your kids and grandkids what it was like, this is the perfect opportunity. 

RUN OR WALK: Taunton River Boardwalk

Along the Taunton River on a mile-long boardwalk that extends from the historic Carousel in Fall River Heritage State Park – Battleship Cove to a replica of the famous Iwo Jima statue in leafy Bicentennial Park.

Carved carousel horses in merry-go-round inside pavilion - Fall River MA

RIDE: Battleship Fall River Carousel

Take a spin on one of the four dozen hand-carved and painted horses of the Battleship Fall River Carousel. Housed in a Victorian-style pavilion, it’s open in the warmer months and is a buck a ride.

Exterior shot of mansion in Fall River MA

GO: Fall River Historical Society

Fall River Historical Society is located within a beautifully preserved, mill-owner’s, granite Greek Revival mansion.

Stenciled 14 ft. ceilings, dramatic interior colors, oval dining room with unusual curved cabinet doors, and indoor plumbing were features of “a typical house on the hill” in the 1800’s.

Owned by mill-magnate David Brayton, this home epitomized the lifestyle that Lizzie Borden yearned to live. After the murder trial, she moved around the corner to a now-private home she called Maplecroft, where she resided until her death.

The Historical Society maintains a comprehensive archive of the Borden case. Artifacts include the “handleless” hatchet  – the purported murder weapon used to do the whacking.

VISIT: Lafayette-Durfee House

Probably the least known attraction in Fall River, the Lafayette-Durfee House is certainly the oldest. Rooms reflect the year 1750 – just after the house was built – and tells the story of its owners’ connection to America’s War of Independence. General Marquis de Lafayette often visited this home of Col. Joseph Durfee, who led the Fall River militia during Revolutionary War.

GO: Oak Grove Cemetery

Lizzie Borden’s was not the first TMZ-level trial in Fall River MA that captured the nation’s attention. That one happened sixty years earlier – in 1832 – after the body of Sarah M. Cornell, four month’s pregnant, was found hanging on John Durfee’s farm property (now the bucolic Kennedy Park). Methodist minister Ephraim K. Avery was accused of the crime, but ultimately acquitted to much public push-back.

Cornell is buried in the parklike Oak Grove Cemetery, along with Andrew, Abbey, and Lizzie Borden, and a who’s who of prominent Fall River personalities. Oak Grove has been called one of the most haunted cemeteries in Massachusetts. But, arguably, it’s also one of the prettiest.

WALK/NATURE: Copicut Woods

After a day of war and murders, it’s nice to stroll among the ferns, vernal pools, and trees at the 516-acre Copicut Woods, managed by the Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations. An abandoned farm settlement, it’s main feature is the nearly one mile long 150 year old stone wall that traverses an old cart path called Miller Lane. So Zen – you can’t get lost.

GO: Narrows Center for the Arts

Kick back and listen to sometimes famous, other times not so famous bands. Check the line-up at Narrows Center for the Arts, once a factory and now a beautiful gallery and performance space. You’ll be surprised how cheap the tickets are.

GO: Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River

If you’ve got children or grandchildren in tow, spend some time in the Violet’s Music Room, the Outer Space exhibit, Dinosaur Room and more at the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River.

EAT: Don’t miss the Portuguese enclave of Columbia Street

Plan to dine in a section of town best known for its authentic Portuguese restaurants and bakeries.  Fall River, always an ethnically diverse city due to the mills, is 65% Portuguese.

Whatever you do, though, don’t miss a meal at Sagres, owned and operated by Victor Silva, suffered a tragic fire several years ago.

Rebuilt and better than ever, happy eaters find sinfully fresh and creamy goat cheese, tantalizing grilled Catch of the Day, and end dinner with a perfect flan in, once again, an inviting, lemon-yellow dining room.

Modest green home in Fall River MA belonged to Lizzie Borden

VISIT or STAY (If You Dare): The Lizzie Borden B&B

Opened as a Bed and Breakfast in 1996, The Lizzie Borden House is, as you can imagine, an obsession of the paranormal set.

Weekends at the Borden House are often fully booked, especially for the guest room where one murder took place.  Also, from ten to 100 people per day stop in to take a tour of this macabre landmark.

The Murders That Captivated A Nation

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Lizzie’s father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby, were found bludgeoned in their 2nd Street Greek Revival home.

Lizzie, 32, and the housekeeper, Bridget Sullivan, 23, were home at the time of the murders, though they both claim that they heard nothing unusual.

The subsequent trial led to an acquittal. Afterward, Spinster Lizzie moved to the fashionable district of town and died in 1927 at the age of 66.

Take A House Tour

Lizzie Borden Suspect No. One in Two Ax Murders - Lizzie Borden never convicted of murdering her parents

You can take a one-hour tour, which begins in the dining room where the Borden’s had their last meal. Then, you’ll head into the sitting room, where Andrew was found lying on the sofa, his head on a blood-soaked pillow. Guides take delight in showing photos of the crime scene. The bodies and subsequent autopsies were done right away on the dining room table.

Replicas of Andrew and Abby’s skulls – or what was left of them – sit daintily in the dining room curio cabinet, like china.  Next upstairs – to see the room in which Abby Borden was discovered face down on the floor.  Nineteen strokes from an ax had all but obliterated her head.

Theories abound about the case, which is still considered unsolved. Even today, there is much speculation about who committed the murders.

There may have been a violent itinerant.  Lizzie may have been abused by her father. In addition, Andrew, with a net worth estimated at $12 million in today’s dollars, was notoriously frugal. So Lizzie may have felt entitled to a more luxurious lifestyle.

Lizzie was not fond of her stepmother, that much is known.  Also known is that Abby Borden sustained 19 “whacks” to the head, while Andrew received ten.  (“Forty whacks” came from a children’s jump-rope rhyme popular during the trial).

Stay Overnight in Lizzy’s Room

If you’ve got the guts, you can stay in the bedroom where Abby was axed to death. A crime scene photo is displayed conspicuously on the wall.  It’s a charming room, actually, with a beautifully carved bed, cream-colored crocheted bedspread, and Victorian nick-knacks.

Or opt instead for Lizzie’s room, an equally attractive space as Victorian B&B rooms go. Have breakfast for an additional fee. Your morning meal is modeled on the last breakfast that the Borden’s ate on that fateful day;.Hold the three-day-old mutton stew.

STAY: Hampton Inn Fall River

For the lily-livered, there’s always the Hampton Inn Fall River/Westport – 3 miles away. Standard stuff. But no ghosts. Or choose another place to stay from the map below.

Author

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  • Malerie Yolen-Cohen

    Malerie Yolen-Cohen is the Author of the cross-country travel guide, Stay On Route 6; Your Guide to All 3562 Miles of Transcontinental Route 6. She contributes frequently to Newsday, with credits in National Geographic Traveler, Ladies Home Journal, Yankee Magazine, Shape.com, Sierra Magazine, Porthole, Paddler, New England Boating, Huffington Post, and dozens of other publications. Malerie’s focus and specialty is Northeastern US, and she is constantly amazed by the caliber of restaurants and lodging in the unlikeliest places.

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