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Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the Aug. 4, 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Salem’s ‘questionable’ Lizzie Borden museum shuts its doors

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the Aug. 4, 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the Aug. 4, 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
SALEM, Mass. (AP) – A Lizzie Borden museum in Salem that sparked a lawsuit and questions over its location has closed after about 2 1/2 years in business.

Owner Leonard Pickel told The Salem News that his 40 Whacks Museum faced steep rent and high utility costs at a time of year when tourist traffic slows. He says he was never able to attract key school groups.

His museum that opened in the summer of 2008 was originally called The True Story of Lizzie Borden. But he was sued by the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, where Borden was accused of using an ax to murder her father and stepmother. The Salem museum changed its name.

Others questioned why a museum about something that happened in Fall River was located in Salem, famous for its witch trials.

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AP-ES-01-10-11 0958EST

 

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the Aug. 4, 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the Aug. 4, 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.