Thomas Lord House // 1847

This 1847 Greek Revival home sits in Blue Hill Village, Maine and it was built by and for local architect and builder Thomas Lord (1805–1880), who is credited with bringing the classical motifs seen in Greek architecture to Blue Hill. Mr. Lord had little formal education, spending much of his youth grinding bark at Ellsworth, sailing and working on his uncle’s farm. When he was 22, he apprenticed himself to a carpenter and began working for George Stevens in the shipbuilding yards of Blue Hill. From 1828 to 1880, Thomas Lord worked on 83 vessels, 84 dwellings, 12 school buildings, 14 meeting houses, 10 stern moldings and figureheads, 250 coffins and many barns and sheds. Lord is especially known in the area for his churches, including remodeling the First Baptist Church of Blue Hill in 1856. Just before building the house, Thomas married Matilda Carlton (1811-1898) and the couple had three children while living in the home. When Thomas died in 1880, Thomas Lord’s elder son, Roscoe Granville Lord took up residence here, where the 1900 census lists him as a painter. The home remains extremely well preserved and is one of the finer homes in the village of Blue Hill.