maine history

New Gloucester Town Hall // 1886

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New Gloucester, Maine was established in 1736 under a Massachusetts Bay Colony grant of a 6-square-mile tract of land in the Maine Territory to sixty inhabitants from the Gloucester fishing village on Cape Ann. The first white settlers here built cabins in the forests in the 1740s, which were largely abandoned from 1744–1751 due to the heightened native tribe attacks during King George’s War. As the Native Americans gradually withdrew to Canada, the settlers moved out into their own newly built homes and the town has grown ever-since. New Gloucester was incorporated on March 8, 1774, and was named New Gloucester after Gloucester, Massachusetts, the native home of a large share of the early settlers, as Maine was still a territory of Massachusetts until 1820. Previous to 1886, the First Baptist Church was used for a town meeting house, but in that year the new Town Hall, this building, was dedicated. The building is Queen Anne in style with varied siding, applied ornament in the gable, with a more Classical portico at the entrance.

Samuel Perley House // c.1784

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Built around 1784 for Reverend Samuel Perley, this Federal style home is one of the finest in the town of Gray, Maine. Samuel Perley (1742-1830) was educated at Harvard College and while there, met and befriended John Adams, who would later become the second President of the United States. The two maintained a lifelong friendship. Perley came to Gray in 1784 as a pastor of Gray’s first church. He likely had this house built at the time or purchased an existing house and updated it and the house is said to have Moses Eaton stencilling inside. At one point, Rev. Perley and his wife lived on one side of the house while his son Isaac, his wife, and their twelve children lived on the other.

Stimson Memorial Hall // 1900

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Stimson Memorial Hall is a historic, Neo-Classical building on Shaker Road in the center of Gray, Maine. Built in 1900, it served for many years as the town’s main public meeting space, and is a prominent landmark in the town center. The hall was built as a gift to the town, primarily through the efforts of Abbie Stimson Ingalls, who had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, as a memorial to her late parents, Theophilus and Mary Stimson. The memorial hall was designed by Elzner and Anderson of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was built on land originally purchased by the local Universalist congregation. The upper level house the town library until the 1950s. The building was threatened in recent years, and as one of a handful of significant buildings remaining in the center of town, its preservation was important. It has some deferred maintenance but remains in good shape! Does anyone know what the building is/will be used for?

Pennell Institute Building – Gray Town Hall // 1886

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The Pennell Institute was built in 1886 as a privately funded, public school for the town of Gray, Maine. By 1870, Gray High School was located in the former Town Hall, and due to increased enrollment and ever-cramped quarters, demand for a standalone school was of grave importance. As a result, local resident Henry Pennell decided he would help his hometown. Henry Pennell (1803-1884) as a young man, worked as a butcher and traveled to Portland to sell his cuts of meat, later buying and selling livestock. After the Civil War, he dealt in real estate and mortgages, was sheriff of Cumberland County (1857-1858) and served in the State Senate (1872-1873), and became the richest man in the town of Gray. Mr. Pennell, who himself, never had received much formal education, saw the value in it for the youth of the town. Construction started on the school in 1876, where the foundation was laid, but it would take ten years until after the death and bequeathing of his estate in his will, that the building would be completed in 1886. Henry Pennell left the town the school building, the lot it stood on, a trust fund of $25,000 for the school’s general expenses, and a special fund of $5,000 for the library and for laboratory equipment and supplies. The school closed with students educated at a larger, modern building. After disputes between the Town of Gray and the local school district, the building has now been home to the Gray Town Hall, with the town clearly showing pride in their Italianate style building.

Southport General Store and Barn // 1895

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In 1882, Edward Everett Pinkham, known as Everett, opened a new store in one side of his house on Hendrick Hill in the island community of Southport, Maine. The store was known for years as E. E. Pinkham and Son. Everett soon built a proper store adjacent to his house. He served the Town of Southport in many capacities: Postmaster, Town Clerk (1887-1905) Treasurer (1883), and Selectman (1888-1893). Sadly, on May 21, 1895, the store and house burned along with all of the old town records inside. The community helped Everett rebuild the present general store before the busy summer season. Edward’s son “Charlie”, would take over the business and the building has served as the town’s social center ever since. Year-round and summer residents bump into eachother at the store, catch up, and share local news, like every general store should be! Sadly, in so many communities, the “general store” has been replaced by big box retailers or convenience stores, removing the sense of community or place, so these businesses are more important than ever!

Southport Town Hall // 1866

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While staying at the Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, I took the chance to visit the nearby island-town of Southport! The town of Southport incorporated in 1842 when it separated from Boothbay and became known as Townsend, Maine. Just eight years later, in 1850, Townsend changed its name to Southport, after Southport, England. The town has a population of just over 600, which grows in the summer months as the island and nearby Squirrel Island (also a part of Southport) has many summer homes dotted along the coastline. The present-day Southport Town Hall was built in 1866 by the Ladies Sewing Circle of the Southport Methodist Episcopal Church as a meeting place for the women of town to meet and socialize, it also was rented to the town for town meetings. Eventually, the town purchased the building in 1900, where it has remained the town hall ever since.

Sprucewold Lodge // 1927

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Sprucewold Lodge, nestled in the picturesque coastal town of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, boasts a rich history that dates back to the early 20th century. Established in 1911 by a group of visionary investors and rusticators, the lodge was designed as a summer retreat for families seeking solace in nature. Like the Spruce Point Inn, the building was developed with modest means, but quickly expanded and grew as the unique and rugged site on Spruce Point drew flocks of visitors every year. Its unique blend of craftsman and Adirondack style architecture and stunning natural surroundings quickly made it a popular destination. The investors hired Portland architect John P. Thomas to design a grand log hotel. The hotel was advertised as the largest log cabin in the world until it burned down just years later in 1930. A 31-room annex, this building, was added in 1927 and assisted to serve the over 60 rental cabins, tennis courts, a swimming pool, recreation hall, and a thirty-car garage. When the original Sprucewold Lodge burned down, this building became the new lodge, and it has remained so nearly 100 years later. This enclave of rustic log cabins on Spruce Point is very evocative of the early days of Maine, and it is easy to see why the state garnered the nickname, Vacationland.

Burnt Island Light // 1821

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The Burnt Island Light Station was built in 1821 on the west side of the entrance to Boothbay Harbor, opposite the Spruce Point Inn (which I kayaked from to get a better view of this lighthouse). The federal government purchased the island for $150 from local businessmen Jacob Auld and Joseph McCobb. The government’s builders constructed a stone lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling using granite blocks cut from the island. The lighthouse was built on Burnt Island, which took its name from the historic practice of burning the island’s vegetation in order to keep the land clear for sheep grazing. Its purpose was the guidance of ships, the carriers of cargo destined for the development of industry and commerce, into Boothbay Harbor over a mile away. Built just one year before Maine became a state, the Burnt Island Light Station has served mariners for over 200 years. In fact, it’s considered the state’s oldest unaltered lighthouse, and it was manned until 1988 when the light was automated. In 1998, the island and light station were transferred to the State of Maine Department of Marine Resources as part of the Maine Lighthouse Program.

Atlantic Hall // 1920

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Atlantic Hall is one of the most iconic buildings in the well-visited town of Kennebunkport, Maine. The landmark structure was completed in 1920 as a volunteer fire station, by the Atlantic Hose Company. The volunteer fire-fighting company was founded in April 1906, and different members kept different parts of fire fighting equipment in each of their barns without a consolidated station. With the advent of the automobile, the community raised funds and purchased a Chevrolet hose truck, but had no station to put it. Without having the town pitch in money, residents (both permanent and summer “rusticators”) donated funds and a central location in Cape Porpoise was selected as a site for the new station. Construction started on a modest building in 1914, but was halted during WWI. After the war, local resident, Marion Goodall Marland hired the well known firm of Kilham, Hopkins and Greeley to furnish updated designs for the station, in a more elaborate version of the Colonial Revival style, fitting for the charming town. The building opened in 1920 with an engine room at the first floor and a meeting hall on the second floor. It was in 1958 that the Atlantic Hose Company outgrew its station at Atlantic Hall, and a new fire house was built across the street. Atlantic Hall was renovated for library and event use and has remained a significant piece of Cape Porpoise ever since!

Kennebunk River Clubhouse // 1889

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A canoe club formed by John B. McMaster, Prosper L. Senat and Henry E. Woods in the early 1880’s grew to a large “Lobster Club” by 1888. In 1889, the club decided to build this Shingle style boat house and the organization changed their name to the ‘Kennebunk River Club’ and hired Lowell, Massachusetts architect, Frederick W. Stickney to design a new boathouse. It opened in August 1890. The club grew quickly as Kennebunkport continued to become a premier summer destination with wealthy residents building summer “cottages” in town. In the building, canoes were built and hired out to club members by members of the Penobscot tribe who came to Kennebunkport from Old Town each summer working here. The clubhouse is one of the finest Shingle style recreational buildings in New England.