In 1893, Lizzie Borden was housed at the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford, MA, during her trial for the murder of her father and step-mother on August 4, 1892.
Photojournalist Jack Iddon visited the Ash Street Jail several times and recorded his visits on his website. It is a unique look inside the facility—when I visited the location a few years back, I was told that no photographs of the jail could be taken in this post 9-11 world we live in. I didn’t realize there was a ban on such photography and snapped an image of the outside when a stern and severe law enforcement officer bellowed at me to stop and threatened to take my very expensive digital camera away from me if I did not “move along.”
I am happy that Sheriff Hodgson allowed these images to be recorded and I think you too will find the photos interesting!
This photo project began in February of 2000 and concluded in February of 2002. Approximately 10 to 12 visits were made with Bernie Sullivan, Public Relations spokesman for the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department, all with the consent of Sheriff Tom Hodgson. The jail, located in a thickly settled residential area on Union Street in New Bedford, opened in 1829 and is the oldest jail in America. At one time, the infamous Lizzie Borden, of Fall River, was imprisoned there during her trial. She was eventually acquitted of the axe murders of both parents.
