Animal Rescue League
of Fall River

On a Sunday afternoon in October of 1913, nurse Helen Leighton and her friend, schoolteacher Gertrude Baker, met in Lizzie Borden's parlor to discuss the care and welfare of the abused draft horses in the Fall River area at the time. Lizzie, a lifelong lover of animals, agreed to help her dear friend Helen. They planned to purchase a barn at 474 Durfee Street (the current location of the ARL) where the abused horses would receive care. Helen and Gertrude became founding members of the Animal Rescue League of Fall River, which was officially incorporated on June 25, 1914.

 

According to the 1926 Annual Report written by Annie E. Allen -the secretary of the League at the time- much of the early fundraising for the League after its incorporation was done in private homes (perhaps even Lizzie's?). These fundraising events often included costumes and games, and it is likely that Lizzie enjoyed participating in such activities, as she was well known for hosting lavish parties at her home at Maplecroft after the trial. While her sister Emma was also an animal lover, she was a bit more reserved and probably didn't participate in these fundraisers.

 

Lizzie developed a fondness for black and white Boston Bull Terriers, a fashionable breed among the upper class in New England at the time. She often had one with her when her chauffeur took her for rides in the country. After Lizzie's passing, the League took care of her dogs, and handled their burials when they died. According to popular lore, a year after her death in 1927, three of her deceased terriers were dug out of their graves in the Borden's back yard and reburied miles away in the Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery. The names of the dogs were Donald Stuart, Royal Nelson, and Laddie Miller, and their gravestone is a minature replica of the one under which Lizzie and her parents were interred. This may sound odd, but the lives of the Bordens were a mystery, so it may not be too strange to be true!

 

Less than 14 months after Lizzie's passing, the ARL Board of Directors were shocked to learn that the League would receive large bequests from the Last Wills and Testaments of Lizzie and Emma Borden. Lizzie left $30,000 and Emma left $20,000 to the League. Subsequent "Annual Reports" reveal that these funds were so well invested that some income is still derived from their contributions to this day. The League pays tribute to the Borden sisters by displaying their photographs on the wall in the Shelter lobby located at 474 Durfee Street, Fall River, MA, the original location of the barn Lizzie purchased to begin the work of the Animal Rescue League of Fall River.

 

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