Rockport Maine Architecture

Dillingham House // c.1845

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This perfect Greek Revival cape house sits on Pascal Avenue, the main street that cuts through the center of Rockport, Maine. The house dates to the 1840s or early 1850s and was owned by the Dillingham Family for a few generations. The original owner may have been Josiah Dillingham (1796-1861), a mariner and sea captain. Josiah died in 1861, and the property was inherited by his eldest son, Josiah Winslow Dillingham (1829-1895) who went by Winslow, seemingly to differentiate himself from his father of the same name and same profession. The Dillingham family home is a quintessential Greek Revival cape with central portico with Ionic columns and corner pilasters with full length entablature at the facade. In true Maine fashion, the side elevations are covered in weathered shingle siding.

Captain Oliver Amsbury House // 1858

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Oliver Amsbury (1812-1867), a master mariner and resident of Rockport, Maine, built this large home on the crest of one of the hills overlooking the harbor. The residence is an excellent example of the Italianate style with segmental door and window hoods, a round arched window in a unique Palladian center bay window, and large brackets at the eaves. After Captain Amsbury died in 1867, the house was purchased by Charles F. Richards a lime manufacturer and later a treasurer of the Camden Savings Bank. The old Amsbury house is well-preserved and one of many old sea captain’s houses in the Pine Tree State!