I doubt he killed this woman. He was in Chicago working on a big project for several days before this murder; she was in western Wisconsin at Taliesin in Spring Green. Plus 7 people were killed, only 1 was the wife. They were axed to death. FLW was an egomaniac but not a killer. If he was tired of a woman he would just leave her like he did before. Story: The Weekly Home News, August 20, 1914 "Murderer of Seven: Sets Fire to Country Home of Frank Lloyd Wright Near Spring Green" While the members of the household were at dinner, last Saturday, Julian Carlton, a negro servant, fired Frank Lloyd Wrights bungalow, murdered seven and seriously wounded one with a hatchet and another received injuries in jumping from a window. The dead are: Mrs. Mamah Borthwick, their son and daughter, John and Martha Cheney, aged 11 and 9 respectively; Emil Brodelle, aged 30, an architectural draftsman; Thomas Brunker, of Ridgeway, hostler; Ernest Weston, 13-year-old son of Mr. And Mrs. Wm. Weston of Spring Green; and David Lindblom, gardener. The wounded are: William H. Weston of Spring Green, foreman of the bungalow activities, and Herbert Fritz of Chicago. The latter escaped the negros wrath but received a broken arm and glass cuts in making his escape through a window. He was also slightly burned. Mr. Wright was in Chicago, where business had called him several days before and he escaped the murders hatchet. The negro waiter had served dinner to the men in the small room temporarily used for that purpose and to Mrs. Borthwick and her children on the dining porch, which was located just off the guest room where the childs room had been. While they were eating he came to the door and asked Mr. Weston for gasoline, with which to clean a rug, and was given permission to get some. Soon after, those in the dining room heard a splash against the door and in an instant the room was full of flaming gasoline, which the fiend had poured against and under the door. As they attempted to escape, some through the door and some through a window, the negro struck them down with a hatchet. Mr. Fritz was the first out. He says that he and Mr. Brodelle were eating at a separate table, and as the room burst into flames he sprang for the window and made his escape, getting out before the murderer was prepared. Mr. Fritz was followed through the window which was about five feet from the ground, by Mr. Brodelle and Wm. Weston in the order named. As the two latter came through they were hatchted. Fritz says he saw Brodelle staggering about and saw the negro strike Weston. The other occupants of the dining room, he says, got out through the door, which was just beside the window. Mr. Weston said that as he came through the window Carlton struck him with the hatchet and he fell. He got up and ran across the court to the studio. Carlton followed him and struck him a second time, knocking him down. Probably thinking him dead the negro went back to the slaughter. Mr. Weston then ran out another way and found David Lindblom wounded and burning. He helped him extinguish his burning clothing and together they ran to the Rieder home half a mile away and telephoned for help. Above are the stories of the only survivors of the tragedy... The Famous Bungalow The country home, the scene of the terrible tragedy, was a typical Wright creation built some three years ago as a retreat for a man and woman of unconventional ideas and is located on a hill just across the river directly south of Spring Green. It is a long, low structure, carved into the brow of the hill. On three sides the building bounds an oblong court. The fourth side is a terrace joining the bungalow tot he hill upon the side of which it slings. At one end of another adjoining court are the granary, stables and mens sleeping rooms; then, at right angles and connecting the two ends, is that part which contained offices, studio and an open loggia. Then comes the portion, near the entrance to the court, built for Mr. Wrights mother, which was being temporarily used as a dining room by the workmen and draftsmen. Adjoining this dwelling, Mr. Wright himself lived. All this portion is completely burned. Mr. Wright will start at once to rebuild. Frank Lloyd Wright To His Neighbors To My Neighbors: To you who have rallied so bravely and well to our assistanceto you who have been invariably kind to us allI would say something to defend a brave and lovely woman from the pestilential touch of stories made by the press for the man in the street, even now, with the loyal fellows lying dead beside her, any one of whom would have given his life to defend her. I cannot bear to leave unsaid things that might brighten memory of her in the mind of anyone. But they must be left unsaid. I am thankful to all who showed her kindness or courtesy and that means many. No community anywhere could have received the trying circumstances of her life among you in a more high-minded way. I believe at no time has anything been shown her as she moved in your midst but courtesy and sympathy. This she won for herself by her innate dignity and gentleness of character but anotherperhaps any other communitywould have seen her through the eyes of the press that even now insists upon decorating her death with the fact, first and foremost, that she was once another mans wife, "a wife who left her children." That must not be forgotten in this man-made world. A wife still is "property." And yet the well-known fact that another bears the name and title she once bore had no significance. The birds of prey were loosed upon her in death as well as in life, to fee that Moloch of the heart that maintains itself at the cost of "the man in the street," by preaching to him in vulgar language the Gospel of Mediocrity. But this noble woman had a soul that belonged to her alonethat valued womanhood above wifehood or motherhood. A woman with a capacity for love and life made really by a higher ideal of truth, a finer courage, a higher more difficult ideal of the white flame of chastity than was "moral" or expedient and for which she was compelled to crucify all that society holds sacred and essentialin name! And finally, out of the mass of lies which forms the article covering this catastrophe in Sundays Chicago Tribune, is a lie the work of an assassin that in malice belongs with the mad black except that he struck tin the heat of madness and this assassin strikes the living and the dead in cool malice. In our life together there has been no thought of secrecy except to protect others from the contaminating stories of newspaper scandal; no pretense of a condition that did not exist. We have lived frankly and sincerely as we believed and we have tried to help others to live their lives according to their ideals. Neither of us expected to relinquish a potent influence in our childrens lives for goodnor have we. Our children have lacked the atmosphere of an ideal love between father and mothernothing else that could further their development. How many children have more in the conventional home? Mamahs children were with her when she died. They have been with her every summer. She felt that she did more for her children in holding high above them the womanhood of their mother than by sacrificing it to them. And in her life, the tragedy was that it became necessary to choose the one or the other. The circumstances before and after we came here to live among you have all been falsified and vulgarizedit is no use now to try to set them straightbut there was none of the cheap deception the evading of consequences that mark writhings from the obligations of the matrimonial trap. Nor did Mamah ever intend to devote her life to theories or doctrines. She loved Ellen Key as everyone does who know her. Only true love is free loveno other kind is or ever can be fee. The "freedom" in which we joined was infinitely more difficult than any conformity with customs could have been. Few will ever venture it. It is not lives lived on this plane that menace the well-being of society. No, they can only serve to ennoble it. It has sometimes been a source of annoyance to Mamah that one or two friends to whom she occasionally wrote persisted in reading a meaning between her lines that convicted her of an endeavor to seem happy, when they thought she ought not to be. I suppose when we live safe in the "heart of the block" we yearn to feel that in another situation than ourin circumstances we fail to understandthere must be unhappiness, or in circumstances of which we disapprovean "EXPIATION." This is peculiarly "Christian." Mamah and I have had our struggles, our differences, our moments of jealous fear for our ideals of each otherthey are not lacking in any close human relationshipsbut they served only to bind us more closely together. We were more than merely happy even when momentarily miserable. And she was true as only a woman who loves know the meaning of the word. Her soul has entered me and it shall not be lost. You wives with your certificates for lovingpray that you may love as much and be loved as well as was Mamah Borthwick! You mothers and fathers with daughtersbe satisfied if what life you have invested in them works itself out upon as high a plane as it has done in the life of this lovely woman. She was struck down by a tragedy that hangs by the slender thread of reason over the lives of all, a thread which may snap at any time in any home with consequences as disastrous. And I would urge you upon young and old alike that "Nature knows neither Past nor Futurethe Present is her Eternity." Unless we realize that brave truth there will come a bitter time when the thought of how much more potent with love and action that precious "Present" might have been, will desolate our hearts. She is dead. I have buried her in the little Chapel burying ground of my peoplebeside the little son of my sister, a beautiful boy of ten, who loved her and whom she loved muchand while the place where she live with me is a charred and blackened ruin, the little things of our daily life gone, I shall replace it all little by little as nearly as it may be done. I shall set it all up again for the spirit of the mortals that lived in it and loved itwill live in it still. My home will still be there. Frank Lloyd Wright Many architects, including myself, are designers, good at math and logic, but we are also writers. One reason is that architecture school encourages that introspection, the examination of your concepts, your inspiration, and to answer questions like to what do you aspire. The servant may have felt he was back in the slavery days. Who could blame him for feeling upset? But to translate that into murder is just evil. Attempting to burn people to death and them axing them to death instead is pure evil. FLW never married this murdered woman because the wife (and 6 children) he left would not give him a divorce. He had no motive to kill her and the others at Taliesin.

Circuspeanut- thanks so much for responding. I really want to do soapstone, it was my very first initial desire even before I discovered this tile. But it didn't seem correct with the dark cabinets I had chosen. Then, when I found this tile, and realized the dark cabinets were not going to work after thinking hard about it. The kitchen really does not get good light and, even though I'm adding a sliding glass door into the room, I also have noticed that the rear of the house gets the least amount of direct sunlight during the daytime (I've been watching it because I'm also trying to plan a garden). So, I need to lighten up the cabinets which I intend to do, but have not chosen exactly what color yet. In which case, soapstone would be possible. I LOVE the idea of yellow tile near the soapstone. And, love the tiles you posted. It keeps the kitchen more in the Craftsman style, with just a hint of Art Deco - which would be more in character of the house. The house has elements of both, but overall is much more Craftsman and is more my style than Deco. My eye is very drawn to the first tile you posted, the one on the upper left, yellow and brown geometric. Like that a lot. I can see adding in some copper with the pulls/handles, perhaps the faucet, fixtures and if feasible, the sink. In fact just today, I noticed that some of the plates on the doors in the house have a copper tone to them. As for other things - my contractor was over today (finally) with his super to talk about gutting the kitchen. Some surprises were found, issues with the floor level, some piping from the bathroom above complicating the potential ceiling height (but he still thinks I can get in 42" cabinets), a structural beam and possible plumbing in an area which may shorten the run of my counter top (and has put me back to a 30" range), etc. Old homes - you have to just deal with the surprises, you know? But, he loved the old tile, and was all about keeping it. Said if worse came to worse, and it didn't work out no harm done and out it comes but he'll do his best to be gentle with it during demolition. I've known him for easily 15 years, or more and trust him and his team completely to do the right thing (I've been working for Architects for over 25 years, and know him from my last job). Anyway - will certainly keep you all posted as things go along. Demo was supposed to start tomorrow but it got pushed off until Monday, no big deal. I go back to the kitchen designer next Saturday - should have been tomorrow but I have to cancel since no point going until demo is done and I see exactly what that structural beam situation is all about for one thing, and some other minor issues. I want to be certain about the measurements before ordering cabinets!

Thank you all so much! Nancybee, joanie38, pattxlynn, and MarinaGal - Thank you so much for your kind words and for voting! Lolauren - No wind to speak of. I love the planter and the fountain, but I worry about the weight of them and staining from water/soil. Hilltop - Thank you so much for taking the time to photoshop! I like the looks of the sunburst, but I worry about the copper patina staining the siding. Maybe that's an unfounded concern? Susieq - I'll check out Overstock. Thanks! Tinam61 - A trellis is a possibility, but I really don't want to grow anything there. It would have to be in some sort of planter behind the love seat, and that just seems awkward to me. I love container plants, but they dry out so quickly, and they're hard to maintain when we travel. I would need something absolutely foolproof that can survive summers and winters here and look good for years. DH and I aren't too concerned about hanging something relatively lightweight from the siding. Afterall, it's nailed up without issue. kswl - Thanks for posting your pictures! Your patio and porch are so inviting. I checked the link, and I was drawn to the Constable one too! I don't have room to do a diptych, but I could use one of them. I do wish they had some from the High Museum in Atlanta! I'm not sure if DH wants to spend that much right now. We'll see. Cindyloo - I'll check out custom banners as well. DH would be thrilled if I could find something in that price range. Where would I look? Adding a trellis is an interesting possibility. I like the idea of being able to change what's out there. Joanie b - Thank you so much for the photoshop work! It really helps to see them in the space where they'll go. Thanks also for the hook suggestion. Do you know if they work on non-vinyl siding? I hope I didn't miss anyone! I really do appreciate all the responses, suggestions, pictures and photoshopping!

In defense of the dissing of photo portraits, we were standing near a couple that looked very much like a senior picture. Picture a photo of a pleasant-looking young woman, from the shoulders up, with some trees in the background. Not dramatic trees, not "forest at midnight & mysterious mood lighting". Just person in front of some trees, and a person who looks to be dressed in something you could buy today. The composition was about as interesting as the "sample picture" that is in a lot of frames at Target. Not bad ... but not something I really understood. I can understand feeling a connection with a portrait of someone with an interesting face or a cultural significance. And I've seen some antique photo portraits used in homes that were pretty interesting & worked with the space. I still don't know that I want to buy a photo that has a person looking at me, though. I wonder if it goes back to having those pictures of "little girls with BIG eyes" around when I was a kid? It's hard to explain, but these looked like someone walked into a high school in AnyTown, USA & chose one of the pretty girls with attractive (but not stunning) features and said, "Hey, can you stand over here in front of these trees? I'm going to take a few black & white shots ..." At least, that's what it looked like to me. But then again, many critics denounced Impressionistic paintings when that style first started because they just didn't get it. I might be like one of them ;)