Rural Maine

First Parish Congregational Church of Pownal // 1811

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Completed in 1811, the First Parish Congregational Church of Pownal, Maine, is an excellent and well-preserved example of a vernacular Federal-period church in a rural setting. Located across from Mallett Hall and built at the foot of Bradbury Mountain, the church was built by a crew headed by master-carpenter Uriel Whitney, a Revolutionary War veteran who moved to the area after the war. He was active in this church and is buried in the church cemetery. Little remains of the original Federal Style architecture, as its current Greek Revival Style (architects unknown) dates from remodeling apparently undertaken in 1838 and 1857.

Mallett Hall // 1886

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Built in 1886, Mallett Hall is one of the most interesting and significant buildings in the small town of Pownal, Maine. The town is located equidistant to the larger cities of Portland, Brunswick, and Lewiston, but retains a very rural charm. This hall was built following a town meeting on March 15, 1886, where an article was approved to appoint a committee charged with developing plans and estimates for a new town hall. The hall is named after Edmund Mallett, a businessman who partially funded its construction. The architect is not officially known, but estimates guess it was the work of Francis Fassett, a popular architect at the time in the area. In addition to housing town offices and functions, it has also served as a community center, hosting social events. The Colonial Revival style building takes strong cues from Greek Revival meeting houses in the area but exhibits a Palladian window and fanlight in the pediment.

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!

Bayville Post Office // c.1920

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Bayville, is a quiet and picturesque coastal village on Linekin Bay, in the eastern part of Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The small village is comprised of roughly 40 cottages and a small post office. This post office was built around 1920 and has operated here seasonally every summer since. The rustic Craftsman style building features a broad roof with exposed rafter tails, extending to create a sheltered porch off the front.

Mount Cutler School // 1882

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The cross-gabled, two-and-a-half story Mount Cutler School was built in 1883, possibly by local builder James Lot Hill, and is a well-preserved example of a district school in Hiram, Maine. A very late example of the Greek Revival style utilized for an educational facility, the structure displays a gabled facade with closed pediment highlighted at the center by a diamond-paned triangular window. The building, used solely as a grammar school (except from 1922-30 when a two-year high school operated in one room) replaced a similar structure which burned in February of 1883. The Mount Cutler School served the youth of Hiram from 1883-1967 and again in 1974-78. Its second floor now houses the collections of the Hiram Historical Society and it has been preserved ever since.

Riverside Methodist Church, Porter // 1883

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The focal point of the riverside village of Kezar Falls in Porter, Maine, is this large frame church building with prominent siting and grand proportions. This is the Riverside Methodist Church, built in 1883 in the Stick/Eastlake style by Portland architect Charles H. Kimball. The first Methodist services held in the town of Porter were in 1833, when a church was formed in the small town. Soon after 1839, a gable-roofed meetinghouse with tall lancet windows was erected near where the present church stands. The original church still stands, but in a much-altered form and was used as a local fire station. The church remains owned by local Methodists and is well-preserved.

Old Porter Meetinghouse // 1818

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Welcome to Porter, Maine! The town is located on the Maine/New Hampshire border and was first called Portersfield Plantation. Porter was incorporated in 1807 and named after its first proprietor, Dr. Aaron Porter (1752-1837). The Porter Meetinghouse was built beginning in 1818 and it is said that it was not completely finished until 1824. The original congregation was a Freewill Baptist organization led by Reverend Jeremiah Bullock, and were known locally as “Bullockites“. The structure housed the Baptists and town meetings as needed. The plain vernacular, meetinghouse is typical of many early meetinghouses of the period in rural New England. The inside retains its original character with its space as a single large chamber with a gallery above on three sides. The walls are plaster, much of it original, with trowel marks visible. The main floor is populated with original box pews and a replica pulpit. The structure is a rare survivor!

Bailey Homestead // c.1815

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Located on a hill overlooking the Head Tide Village of Alna, Maine, this stately brick farmhouse has sat for roughly 200 years. According to old maps of the area, the property was occupied by the Bailey Family as far back as the land was surveyed in 1813. The property was owned by Ezra Bailey, who possibly built the house soon after as the village began to develop. By 1857, the property and its house were owned by I. H. Bailey, seemingly Ezra’s son, Isaac, who married his first cousin, Laura Palmer. The couple resided in the old homestead until they sold it in 1866, moving to Boston. The brick, Federal style house has a four bay facade with the entry door surrounded by a recessed arched relief. Above the door is a blind fan with sidelights.

Alna Meetinghouse // 1789

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The Alna Meetinghouse in Alna, Maine was built in 1789, and incorporated in 1796 as a Congregational church. The 40′ by 52′ foot building is one of the finest examples of a traditional New England meetinghouse in the state of Maine and Regular church services were held here until 1876. In recent years the building has been used for Town Meetings. Unlike many of the other meetinghouses of this period, the Alna meetinghouse has only one door. This door leads into a vestibule that contains the stairway to the gallery. The original box pews are still in place, as is the original pulpit with a sounding board hung from the ceiling. The building remains well-preserved and sits right on the side of the road!

St. Denis Catholic Church // 1838

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Believe it or not, this church in rural Whitefield, Maine is the second oldest Catholic Church in New England! As Irish and French Canadian families settled in this part of Maine in the early 19th century, Catholic churches were needed to provide worship space for those families. The church community of St. Denis began in 1818 when Father Dennis Patrick Ryan, an Irish immigrant serving at St. Patrick Church in Newcastle (the oldest Catholic Church in New England), moved to Whitefield to serve the influx of Irish Catholics and soon founded the church. Fr. Ryan oversaw the construction on a wood-frame structure built on this site. As more Catholic families settled here, a more permanent building was needed, and between 1833 and 1838, the main portion of the present brick church building was constructed around that original church. The tower was added in 1861, and the stained glass windows also date from later in the 19th century following the growth and prosperity of the church and its members. The St. Denis Parish House was constructed across the street in 1871 and is a lovely Romanesque style building.

Whitefield Union Hall // 1900

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Finding a Grange Hall in Maine are almost as common as finding an old church, they are everywhere! Located the next town over from Jefferson, Maine’s Willow Grange Hall, the town of Whitefield has an equally charming example. The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was established in 1867 to advance methods of agriculture, as well as to promote the social and economic needs of farmers in the United States. Communities all over built grange halls where farmers and residents could meet and discuss prices, trade, and share tips for larger crop yields. The Whitefield Union Hall was built in 1900, primarily under the auspices of the Whitefield Fish and Game Club, but with design input from the local Grange chapter, which contributed funds to its construction and was also a tenant. It was until 1919 the only public hall with a stage in southern Whitefield, playing host to dances, meetings of fraternal and social organizations, and other community events. The hall was managed by an association of the two organizations until 1947, and by the Fish and Game Club after the Grange chapter merged with another in 1969. The club closed down in 1974, and the hall is now managed by a union consortium of village community groups. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jefferson Willow Grange Hall // c.1901

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Grange Halls have long been vitally important buildings in agricultural towns all over New England and are becoming threatened due to shifting development patterns and dwindling membership. The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was established in 1867 to advance methods of agriculture, as well as to promote the social and economic needs of farmers in the United States. Communities all over built grange halls where farmers and residents could meet and discuss prices, trade, and share tips for larger crop yields. The Willow Grange Hall in Jefferson, Maine was built in 1901 and is a vernacular building which remains a community meeting hall to this day.

Dr. F. W. Jackson House // 1903

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One of the largest Colonial Revival style homes I have ever seen is located in the unassuming small town of Jefferson, Maine. Built in 1903 on the northern shore of Damariscotta Lake, the house stands three-and-a-half stories tall with a broad gambrel roof and clapboard walls. The house was built for Dr. Fred W. Jackson in the Colonial Revival style by relatively unknown Waltham, Massachusetts-based architect Samuel Patch. Dr. Jackson studied medicine and for several years practiced his profession in Providence, Rhode Island. There, he built up a large medical practice and accumulated property, later marrying into a wealthy family. This house in Jefferson was the family summer estate, and Frederick was said to have owned 1,000 acres and laid out bridle paths, gardens, and landscapes in the vast estate. Across the street, a massive gambrel-roof barn was built to house his livestock as part of his gentleman’s farm.

Jefferson Town House and Hearse House // 1869

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Following the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, much of the un-colonized land in central Maine began to see development. The Ballstown Plantation was settled in the 1760s and today includes two separate townships created from it, Jefferson and Whitefield, Maine. Jefferson was initially settled by emigrants from the coastal towns of Boothbay and Woolwich in the years just prior to the Revolution and incorporated in 1807, named after Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States. A Town House was built in 1828 and was eventually outgrown and a new structure was funded in 1869. This is the second Jefferson Town House and like in many rural towns, it served many purposes. The building was used for town meetings, a high school, and was sometimes rented to fraternal organizations (talk about Mixed Use)! The outdated building was no longer needed by the town in the 1970s and a new building was erected closer to the center of town. This building was subsequently rented to the Jefferson Historical Society, who have restored the building, and the historic hearse house next door. The vernacular civic building will hopefully be preserved for another 150 years!

Newburgh Center Union Church // 1878

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Image courtesy of Amy Higgins

The Newburgh Center Union Church was built in 1878 as a non-denominational religious building for the small, rural town of Newburgh, Maine. At this time, the small town had just over 1,000 residents and it was not economically feasible for each congregation to build its own meeting house. The vernacular Greek Revival/Italianate style church building was eventually the house of worship of a local Pentecostal congregation, but that too appears to have disbanded. The building has been falling into disrepair, so hopefully it will be preserved.