Maplecroft still offered for sale!

Miller · Post by **Miller** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 2:21 pm

That is, indeed, the Swift house. We took this one picture right on the porch.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:33 pm

Have you ever been inside Maplecroft?
Thanks for the pics!

Miller · Post by **Miller** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:49 pm

No kat, we've never been inside Maplecroft, though we have met several who have been at different times. We did knock on the door and the owner, Dube answered. He was polite but explained he does not give tours and its no longer a B&B. The place was rather run down IMHO.

We went to the Swift house because there was a lady just coming out and she saw us talking on the steps to Dube. We asked her if we could take some photos from her porch and she said "Sure!" and went on her way. I don't know who she was and we had little time as New Bedford was our next destination.

I did notice that at least two of the stained glass windows have been replaced with plain glass. The street is very crowded now with the new structure across the street which is a government funded convelescent home or home/residence for disabled something like that. Makes street parking even more difficult. Carole especially liked noting which "old" trees stood in Lizzie's time. There are two very decrepit houses, one across the street with weeds and brush overgrown, obviously abandoned, and the one on the corner on Lizzie's side. You would think the neighbors would want something done about those.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:35 am

Yes, Harry pointed out to us the facility across the street. It does catch the eye. And ther rather derelict condition of the house past the garage.

Has anyone here been inside Maplecroft?

Nancie · Post by **Nancie** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:42 pm

remember we had a poster on here who grew up
in that house?

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 2:03 am

It would be nice if he re-joined us.

Pippi · Post by **Pippi** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 9:50 am

I believe it was dube's son if I'm not mistaken who posted...I recall the thread since I'm a maplecroft fan. He joined the last time the house was up for "sale".

Maplecroft2112 · Post by **Maplecroft2112** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 7:29 pm

I've been in Maplecroft. Dave and I had written to Mr. Dube about the year he was toying with the idea of opening as a B&B. We were there when they were cleaning things up.
The house inside is beautiful, I can see why Lizzie wanted it. I wasn't allowed to take pictures or tape the tour with a small audio recorder I had, and I wished I had been able to. I really was pretty much speechless when I was there-I mean this was sacred ground (or at least to me it was). He did have some things that belonged to Lizzie, like royal purple velvet curtains and some washbasins and stuff like that.
We were allowed on the ground floor and the second floor. I saw the remains of the linen that she had put on the ceilings of some of the rooms and some of the gold leaf embossing was still visible. The back bedroom was of the most interest for me, as from what I understand, this is the room she passed away in. It's an incredible house. I can still see it in my head, but pictures certainly would be nice.
I think he charged us like $12 bucks and we were the only two there. He had written back to me and said to contact him when we were to be in Fall River and then he'd give us the tour. He even offered the house to sign divorce papers (if we ever decided to divorce-marry in the murder house, sign divorce papers in the other-yeah, ok?). We stayed for over two hours and had quite a nice chat about Lizzie and Fall River and just life in general. Mr. Dube can be a bit eccentric, but he was very nice to us when we were there. Her daughter Cristal was also very nice.
I did not like Emma's room at all-of course she had the smallest room-but it creeped me out. Very plain but I got bad vibes!
I wanted to see the attic and cellar but wasn't able to. I also forgot to see the back yard of the house, which in hindsight, I really wished I had.
But, yes, Maplecroft is beautiful inside still, I just wish he realized what a gold mine he is sitting on, if he did the right way.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 12:47 am

Thank you so much Pam!

wintressanna · Post by **wintressanna** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:57 am

hey in reference to posts way back on this thread...in that old picture, there appears to be telephone or electric lines. I wonder if that would help in dtermining the age of the photo along with everything else.

LBFallRiver7 · Post by **LBFallRiver7** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:11 am

I would love to see the inside of the house. I wish that Mr. Dude would make it into an operating B&B. From the outside, when we were there in 2002, it appeared as if he were letting the house go. I hope that is not the case.

Maplecroft South · Post by **Maplecroft South** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:47 am

Hello All-
This is my first post and I am amazed at how everyone feels the same way I do. I stayed at 92 Second Street last weekend and had a wonderful time. I was shocked and thrilled to see that Maplecroft was for sale, and both my husband and I agreed that if money was no object, we would buy it without even seeing the inside. We too, met Mr. Dube. We found him eccentric, but pleasant. I was however, amazed that anyone could take a home of such historical signifigance and let it fall into such disrepair.(Much less their own home-he must have loved it to buy it) Reading the posts on this thread was as if I was reading things I myself had wrote. It seems to me if this man had kept up the maintenance on this beautiful home ,or if he lowered the price accordingly, he would have people lining up to purchase this house. The fact that no one has done that indicates to me that the house must really be incredibly run down on the interior. I asked a passerby if they knew anything about the property and she told me that Mr. Dube no longer lets women past the first floor because it is such a wreck(!) She then very nicely announced that she had been inside the home and that it was " A real pigsty" before walking away. I was horrfied. Well, like all of you, I am no millionaire, so I guess I'll just have to keep up with things on this forum. Looking forward to your replies...

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:47 am

Well I don't know the man but have heard that since it is his home, he's particular as to who he allows to visit when he may not feel like putting things away or is too busy or may not be feeling 100% well all the time.
I think it would be stressful to be him owning that property..

I'm sorry but I don't know if there would be many replies to what might be gossip- I mean, we don't know, do we?
Sorry again.
Nice to meet you tho.

BTW: Just as an aside- my friend was a telephone lineman for many years and stayed with me for a couple of months this past winter. I'm usually worried about the state of my homes interior. I asked her if my place was any messier than homes she had been to and she said mine was pretty cleaned up compared to most. So I guess it's relative.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:04 am

Maplecroft South, can you tell us the story of your stay at the Borden B&B?? Please?

msmith625 · Post by **msmith625** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:26 pm

I was given a tour of the inside of Maplecroft by Mr. Dube in the summer of 2001, I'm guessing one of the last to be permitted to do so. When I was there the third floor was closed off to visitors as that was what Dube called solely his personal quarters, however, the rest of the house was pretty well lived-in.

The front foyer and staircase to the second floor were amazing. Dark wood molding, wood floors, carved (what I'm guessing was mahogany or cherry wood) wooden staircase, just breathtakingly beautiful. The living room, to the right of the front hall/foyer, also had a wood floor and high ceiling. If you moved forward through the foyer you would enter the dining room, then eventually the kitchen. We didn't get to see the kitchen except from the dining room, as it was apparently quite a mess. The dining room had (I'm stretching to remember much of this) the wallpaper Lizzie chose, which I seem to remember was accented with gold curtains on the windows and gold leaf accenting. There was an Oriental sort of flavor to some of the decor that she had chosen, something that I don't think is mentioned very much and that was accented by some of Dube's personal antiques, including a very impressive carved dining room table.

I was saddened to see some of the remodeling he had done in the foyer, there was a second door into the living room that he had filled in and was not yet finished working with, as it was still very obvious where the door had been. There was a hole the size of a hula hoop in the bottom panels of the dining room/kitchen wall and more general disrepair throughout the interior of the first floor.

The second floor was not much better, although Lizzie's library and front/Winter bedroom had been kept in very nice condition, both done in blues and whites. I remember sitting in the window seat in that glorious second floor bedroom window and thinking that she probably used to read there--awesome view! We had to climb over a good bit of debris/personal junk/boxes, etc to get to the Summer bedroom in the back, which if I remember correctly was done in pinks.

Someone way back in this thread mentioned windows that looked shuttered on the second floor, to the left of the large window of Lizzie's front bedroom--that IS Emma's room. Can't tell if there are actually shutters there or not. Her room there was very creepy and surprisingly I found it not much bigger than her room at the Second Street house. For a home that big, it's really more the size of a large closet--a queen size bed was in the room and there was barely space to walk around it without moving sideways. There were more holes and exposed wires, etc to be seen throughout the second floor, and as I mentioned previously we had no access to the third.

I consider myself lucky that I've seen the inside of the house, especially since it's not allowed anymore and the future of the place is so uncertain, but I will say, all historical significance aside, that as a lover of Victorian architecture ALONE it was very sad to see a house of that kind of beauty in such shape, both outside and in. From the more recent pictures on this thread I can see that it's in worse shape than it was four summers ago. To those of you that have not seen the inside of the house, continue to hold out hope that it will fall into caring, preserving hands sometime soon, but until then, trust me--you're better off dreaming about the place. It's just a sad old shell of a house and needs a lot of care before the history inside it--both its history as Maplecroft and simply as a stunning Victorian home--crumbles to nothing.

That is, if it hasn't already.

Fargo · Post by **Fargo** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 8:49 am

Considering that Maplecroft was a Bed and Breakfast there must be some people who have pictures of it's interior. Some of the guests would have take pictures.

I am not sure how many owners there has been since Lizzie owned it. At the time that Sullivan wrote Goodbye Lizzie Borden I think the house was owned by a lawyer. Some of the families that resided there over the years would have pictures.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:00 am

Here is the brochure for the B&B, with a nice line drawing of the house. Yes, I expect it does get quite wearing to have people bang on your door day and night. I understand Mr. Dube may be keeping the property in the family after all.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:19 am

And the reverse side of the brochure with the number blotted out for privacy.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:38 am

Maplecroft is a very large residence for one family, indeed. It has not been sided with -ugh- vinyl, and New England winters take a toll on the paint. It seems one part of the old place is always getting a touch-up. I also imagine it is a large undertaking for a single person to keep going too. I know from working in B&B's for many years, it takes a big staff in housekeeping, ground maintenance and cooking, PR and advertising and innkeepers and tour guides.

And it is , in the end, someone's home, so of course personal taste, modern living appliances and decor can't help but sneak in. It's a tough job to live in a house and also keep it at museum - ready for the expectations of visitors at every moment. Most people want to come through the door and see 1893 decor. In our minds Lizzie never gets out of those blasted leg-o'-mutton sleeves. But of course time marched on and so did Lizzie's wardrobe and the interiors of Maplecroft.

Lizzie was already forward-thinking in selecting Maplecroft and veering away from the turreted gingerbread mansions of the 1890's. She was truly in tune to the Arts and Crafts Revival sentiment of quality, handmade, artisan, and good workmanship without excesses. This is reflected in the woodwork, stained glass, and fixtures-some of which still exist. I am glad we can still drive by it, and am appreciative of the opportunities I have had to see the interiors over the years. I, too, hope, that it may someday be fully restored to its former glory-all the good "bones" are still there.

bobarth · Post by **bobarth** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:40 pm

If all 405 forum members would chip in just a mere $1,851.86 each. We could buy Maplecroft at a selling price of $750,000.00.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:42 pm

Well, I'd be happy to be innkeeper-just as soon as I get off work at Second Street!

Well, shoot- I'd quit my secretary's job during the week too!

bobarth · Post by **bobarth** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:44 pm

I could do the bookkeeping and feed the squirrels and do the landscaping.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:49 pm

Sounds like a plan- now all we need are two cooks, about 3 housekeeping staff, someone to run the gift shop and tours (which we could put in the garage) and a roster of about 5 tour guides to rotate. Oh, and a general staff manager who could also do advertising, answer the phone, book rooms, and promotions, special events. We could have readings of Dickens by the fire, a lecture series in the winter, Red Hat teas, Bridal showers and weddings on the porch and lawn with receptions at the FRHS teahouse. I'm just getting warmed up!

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:52 pm

Oh, and a package deal- one night at #92 Second, one night at Maplecroft, and a special tour of Oak Grove. Then there are "intimate candlelit suppers for 8" for the month of February, Christmas with Emma and Lizzie in the grand parlor with the Fall River Little Theatre and a Nance O'Neil, musical nights in January on the parlor organ and pianoforte with 1890 sing-a-longs (some great songs that decade), Temperance Teas, ...ooo- the mind boggles.

bobarth · Post by **bobarth** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:55 pm

Alrighty then I am turning in my two week notice, this sounds way too good to turn up.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:57 pm

I just quit- and am on my way up Route 95. The Rector is standing forlornly in the chapel. It is our destiny! I even have enough old books to re-stock that library and antiques to do the first floor anyway. Okay- when do we rendez-vous? We simply must get a Boston Bull Terrier to have around to greet guests.

bobarth · Post by **bobarth** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 1:08 pm

Oh I can help on the restocking of the library. Yes a dog that is what we need. I have a Chihuahua who would be an excellent little greeter and a cranky old parrot, might be a start until we get that Bull Terrier. Yes it is destiny. I think we should meet up at the cemetery, one of my favorite places.......

theebmonique · Post by **theebmonique** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:03 pm

I can fly out during time s when I am not teaching and cover for people who need a day, or two, or ten off.

Tracy...