The Lizzie Borden Courthouse New Bedford Superior Court

Parking & Arrival

The official court listing notes metered parking around the building and identifies the Elm Street garage as the closest public garage, several blocks away.

Because security procedures, access rules and court operations can change, plan extra time and use the official Massachusetts court page for the latest visitor information.

Is this the courthouse from the Lizzie Borden trial?

Yes. Lizzie Borden’s murder trial opened here in New Bedford on June 5, 1893. The historic upstairs courtroom survives remarkably close to its nineteenth-century appearance, making the courthouse one of the most tangible places connected with the trial.

Was Lizzie Borden convicted?

No. After a nationally watched trial, the jury acquitted Lizzie Borden on June 20, 1893. No one was ever convicted of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, which is one reason the case remains so endlessly debated.

Is the furniture in the courtroom original?

Much of the courtroom’s historic character—including its woodwork, layout and long-standing furnishings—survives from the era of the Borden trial, and historical accounts describe the room as remaining largely as it appeared in 1893. Individual pieces have been refinished, repaired or adapted over the decades, and modern carpeting and other practical changes have been added. Because a piece-by-piece nineteenth-century furniture inventory is not readily available, it is safest to say that the courtroom is exceptionally well preserved rather than claim that every table and chair is definitively original.

Why is the judge’s bench so large and wide?

The scale makes more sense when you picture the 1893 trial. Lizzie Borden’s case was heard before a three-justice panel, so the bench had to accommodate multiple judges rather than the single judge visitors usually expect in a modern courtroom. That unusually broad bench is one of the room’s most striking reminders of how differently major criminal trials could be conducted in Massachusetts at the time.

What other nearby attractions are worth visiting?

You can easily turn a courthouse visit into a full day of South Coast history. In New Bedford, the New Bedford Whaling Museum at 18 Johnny Cake Hill is in the heart of the historic district and features enormous whale skeletons, the half-scale whaling bark Lagoda, maritime art and extensive collections connected with the city’s whaling history. The surrounding New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park is also worth exploring on foot.

For a Lizzie Borden-focused side trip, nearby Fall River is home to the Lizzie Borden House at 230 Second Street, where Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in 1892; the house currently offers historical tours and other visitor experiences. You can also see Maplecroft, the Highlands home where Lizzie lived after her acquittal. Maplecroft is privately owned, so it is best appreciated respectfully from the public way unless an authorized tour specifically includes it.