Hancock County Maine History

Gouldsboro Townhouse // 1884

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Welcome to Gouldsboro, Maine! The town is a charming community made up of many small fishing villages and neighborhoods dotting the rugged Maine coastline. Land in what was then part of Massachusetts, was given to Colonel Nathan Jones, Francis Shaw and Robert Gould in 1764 by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Francis Shaw and Robert Gould were both merchants from Boston. Francis Shaw had worked hard to develop Gouldsboro, and reportedly died broke because of it, and his son Robert Gould Shaw returned to his parents’ native Boston. Development in the area was slow and never really took-off due to the distance from Boston, but fishing, mills, and villages were built and remain to this day. Now, much of the area is home to summer residents flocking to the area from urban areas. This building was Gouldsboro’s second townhouse. It was constructed in 1884, soon after the first townhouse burned a year prior. The structure was used for town meetings and elections until 1983. It is now owned by the Gouldsboro Historical Society. It is a late, vernacular example of a Greek Revival townhouse.

Jonathan Fisher House // 1796

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Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) was born in New Braintree, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard College Divinity School. In the record of Plantation No. 5, (now Blue Hill), the selectmen voted to invite the Rev. Mr. Fisher to preach for four months in the summer of 1795. After his four month stint, the committee approached him, asking if he would stay and make the town his home, he accepted. He first built a primitive house which was outgrown by the time he had three children growing up in it! He had the current home built in 1814, attaching the original home as a rear ell (addition). Reverend Fisher died in 1847. His wife Dolly, died in 1853. At the end of the nineteenth century, Jonathan Fisher’s grandchildren decided to renovate the house. In 1896, they tore down the original house of 1796 and replaced it with a two-story addition to their grandfather’s 1814, giving it the current configuration. When the Fisher grandchildren who had been living there left Blue Hill, a number of local citizens concerned for the future of the building made arrangements that eventually led to the transfer of ownership of the house to a local non-profit foundation, the Jonathan Fisher Memorial, and made it possible for the house to be opened to the public. The Fisher House is open for tours in the summer.

Pendleton House // 1826

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Large commercial blocks like this can really transport you back a century or more! The Pendleton House in Blue Hill, Maine was built in 1826 by Jonah and Jeremiah Holt. The brothers were born in Beverly, Massachusetts and their family settled in Blue Hill, likely to work in the shipbuilding industry. Originally called the Brick Block, the building was a storefront for the Holts. In the 1870s, the building had fallen into disrepair, and was seized from its owner, Frederick Holt (Jeremiah’s son), by the Blue Hill Academy, from whom Nathan Pendleton purchased the building. As an 1877 issue of The Ellsworth American stated: “Blue Hill needs a hotel. There have never been so many strangers and visitors. Five hundred men are working in the quarries.” From the massive demand for lodging in town, tied to industry, Pendleton opened the building as a hotel in 1878, possibly adding the mansard roof at that time. The building became known as the Pendleton House for a number of years and was purchased by John M. Snow in 1888, who added porches to the building. Sadly, the porches were removed in the 20th century, but the old Pendleton House remains a fixture in Blue Hill and is home to small businesses with housing above.

First Baptist Church of Blue Hill // 1817

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In 1793, Rev. Daniel Merrill was ordained at the newly-organized Congregational Church in Sedgwick, Maine. Soon after the religious revival of 1799, Rev. Merrill changed his belief from a congregationalist to a Baptist; and in 1805, he and most of his church members were baptized by immersion. Rev. Merrill was
then re-ordained and installed as pastor of a newly-formed Baptist Church in town there. Baptism took hold in Maine (which was then still a part of Massachusetts), and in 1813, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a resolution incorporating the Baptist Society of Bluehill. Funds were gathered and the Baptist Church in Blue Hill began construction in 1817. In 1856, as Blue Hill saw great prosperity, the building was renovated by retired ship carpenter and local builder, Thomas Lord. The updated Greek Revival design has many pilasters and details that highlight the wealth and success of the Baptists in Maine.

George Stevens Academy Building // 1898

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For part one of the George Stevens Academy, see the previous post on the George Stevens House here.

In his 1852 last will and testament, Blue Hill shipbuilder George Stevens appointed five trustees, providing them with land, his “homestead and appurtenances,” and generous funds “to erect, when they deem it expedient, a suitable and convenient building for an Academy, for the purposes of education forever.” After George’s widow died, the trustees made good on George’s will, and in 1898 this Academy Building was opened to its first class of students. The Colonial Revival style building has many full-height windows to allow light and air into the classrooms and a belfry at the roof with a bell to notify pupils when class would begin!

George Stevens House // 1814

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George Stevens (1775-1852) was born in Andover, Massachusetts and settled in Blue Hill, Maine. He became a ship owner and merchant, making a name (and wealth) for himself in town and he showed an interest in education for the growing village. He erected this home in 1814 for his family, which seemingly employed Asher Benjamin’s house plans in the Federal style, popular builder’s guidebooks at the time. With his eyes towards education, George Stevens sat on the board of trustees for the Blue Hill Academy which flourished under the guardianship of the local Congregational Church and trustee president Rev. Jonathan Fisher. He chafed under Congregationalist dominance and wished for a non-denominational local academy. In 1832, he offered to give a thousand dollars and a piece of land to the Blue Hill Academy. His offer included this provision, “The institution shall be put on a liberal scale that all denominations shall have equal rights and privileges.” The Academy trustees said, “no.” As a result, George Stevens provided in his will that after his death and that of his wife this homestead, 150-acres of land, and a large portion of his personal property should be used to establish an academy, an “alternative” academy. In 1891 the Maine State Legislature incorporated George Stevens Academy, leading the “Old Academy” to cooperate with the
new institution, merging their boards and finally becoming a non-denominational academy. The school continues as a highly respected academic institution and retains the name of its founder, George Stevens.

Blue Hill Academy Building // 1833

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This gorgeous brick building sits in Blue Hill, Maine and is an excellent example of a Greek Revival style institutional building found on the coast of that great state. The structure was built in 1833 and originally housed the Blue Hill Academy, a school which provided courses in Greek, Latin and (due to the town’s maritime economy), navigation. The original building was constructed decades earlier when the school was founded, but was quickly outgrown. When the George Steven Academy opened its doors a couple blocks away in 1898, the two institutions were merged. The American Legion eventually purchased this building, renting it to the Blue Hill Grammar School. Renovations in 1909 were designed by Blue Hill native, George A. Clough which likely included the portico and elaborate belfry. After years of deferred maintenance on the building by dwindling membership of the local American Legion post, the building’s future was uncertain. Thankfully, the Duffy-Wescott Post 85 stood up and funded preservation and planning for the building and make emergency repairs.

Judah Chase House // c.1840

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In the early 19th century, the town of Blue Hill, Maine, thrived as a shipbuilding and maritime trade center in New England. One of the town’s sea captains, Judah Chase, had this Greek Revival home built for his new family in about 1840. Just before this, Captain Chase had a brig built in town in 1834, he named it the Thomas M. Lyons. As owner and captain, Judah was hired to haul a shipment from Havre, France to the United States. On the route, gales battered the ship of the coast of the Isle of Jersey, and the ship capsized, the crew survived, but this event may have delayed the building of his home in Blue Hill!

Blue Hill Town Hall // 1895

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Blue Hill is a charming coastal town in Hancock County, Maine that retains so much of the charm that has been lost in many other coastal New England villages. Originally settled by the Penobscot Tribe, the town as we know it was incorporated in 1789 under the name “Blue Hill”, named after the summit overlooking the region. The town thrived early as a lumber and wood shingle exporter, later shifting to shipbuilding. The town was also noted for the quality of its granite, some of which was used to build the Brooklyn Bridge, New York Stock Exchange Building, and the U.S. Custom House at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1876, local quarries employed 300 workers. The town’s wealthy summer residents likely sought a new Town Hall for Blue Hill, as in the 1890s funding was acquired to erect a new building. It came as no surprise that George Albert Clough, an architect born in Blue Hill would furnish the plans for the new town hall. George was the son of Asa Clough an early settler and shipbuilder in town. He moved to Boston to work as an architect and later became the City of Boston’s first “City Architect” designing municipal buildings. For the Blue Hill Town Hall, he designed it in the Colonial Revival style, which remains well-preserved to this day.

Rockbound Chapel // 1900

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Wrapping up our “tour” of Brooklin, Maine, I wanted to conclude with a feature on Rockbound Chapel, one of the village churches in the small coastal town. The chapel (like the Beth Eden Chapel) was constructed at the turn of the 20th century as a village church which saw increased use when the town’s population surged (relatively) in the summer months. The vernacular church building has pedimented lintels over the windows and door, and a steeple covered in decorative shingles which flare toward the base. There is something just so enchanting about these small rural chapels!