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Farnsworth Homestead // 1850

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The Farnsworth Homestead is located on Elm Street in Downtown Rockland, Maine, and is an excellent example of a mid-19th century residence in the Greek Revival style. The home was built in 1850 for Rockland businessman William Alden Farnsworth, who gained his income from lime-rock quarries and the Rockland Water Company. Mr. Farnsworth was a leading businessman who helped establish Rockland as the number four port in the United States, largely exporting lime for masonry construction all down the east coast. After William died in 1873, the property was inherited by his heirs, the last of which, Lucy Farnsworth, lived here until her own death in 1935. The 96-year-old Lucy Farnsworth died in the home and in her will, bequeathed the family property and ample funds to establish the Farnsworth Art Museum, and included preservation of the family homestead as a mid-19th century house museum, which it remains to this day. The Greek Revival style house with its flushboard siding and bold pilasters, was recently restored by the museum, along with the carriage house which stands to its east.

William and Kathleen Fuller House // 1905

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This handsome Tudor residence was built around 1905 for William Oliver Fuller (1856-1941) and his wife, Kathleen Stephens Fuller (1869-1948), and can be found at the corner of Beech and Lincoln streets in the finest neighborhood in Rockland, Maine. Although an architect could not be established at this time, the high-style residence features half-timbered gables, an inset front porch framed by stone pillars, and an absolutely perfect color palette. William Fuller was a newspaper publisher, who created his first newspaper, the Rockland Enterprise when he was 18 years old and in high school. He would go on to become the editor and publisher of the Courier-Gazette, the region’s main newspaper. Kathleen Fuller frequented the newspaper herself through her published poetry and columns and would later become an associate editor and co-owner of the paper.

Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light // 1902

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The Rockland Harbor Breakwater and Lighthouse is arguably the most iconic structure in the coastal town of Rockland, Maine. As Rockland was a major port and harbor, relying on the transportation of lime and shipbuilding for its economy, protecting the harbor was of paramount importance. Major storms in the 1850s highlighted the need for improved harbor protection, but federal appropriations for a breakwater were not approved until 1880. Between 1880 and 1900 the United States Army Corps of Engineers, under a series of Congressional appropriations, built the breakwater, a 4,364 foot long wall in the harbor built of locally quarried blocks of granite. It is truly a feat of engineering! The lighthouse standing at its end was added in 1902. The iconic breakwater is accessible by those who brave the crashing waves and distance to the end of the nearly mile-long walk out to the lighthouse. The structure is today maintained by volunteers and the City of Rockland.

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!

Portland Mariner’s Church // 1828

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Talk about a unique church! The Mariner’s Church in Downtown Portland was built in 1828 and is modeled after Faneuil Hall in Boston and East India Hall, Salem, Massachusetts; and was the first Greek Revival building in Portland (with some lingering Federal flair). It also for many years was Portland’s largest building! Its concept was that of a place of worship and education center for seamen of the port city between their voyages on the open sea. The ground floor was designed to house shops for merchants whose rent would support and maintain the building. The structure is virtually unchanged from how it looked nearly 200 years ago and showcases the importance of the sea to the port towns and cities of New England!

Woodman Block // 1867

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Located next-door to the Rackleff Block, this high-style Second Empire commercial block in Downtown Portland, Maine really turns heads. The Woodman Block (like its neighbor) was built in 1867 from plans by architect George M. Harding, who designed the building for George W. Woodman, a drygoods dealer. This stunning commercial block originally housed Woodman’s dry goods firm, Woodman, True, and Company. It later held a druggist and medicine company. The building retains much of its original architectural character minus the iron cresting which once capped the mansard roof. They don’t make them like they used to!

Portland Central Fire Station // 1924

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The Central Fire Station in Portland, Maine was built in 1924 and designed by William R. Miller & Raymond J. Mayo, architects located at 465 Congress. Lester I. Beal, a draftsman employed by Miller & Mayo, participated in the design. It was erected to contain the administrative offices of the Portland Fire Department, as well as to house fire engines and other apparatus of the inner city district. Portland has one of the oldest fire departments in the nation, 1768, when Falmouth appointed fire wardens to look for fires at night and alert the residents. In 1786, the citizens of Falmouth formed a separate town in Falmouth Neck and named it Portland, after the isle off the coast of Dorset, England. After the Great Fire of 1866 destroyed much of Downtown Portland, a new central station was built in 1867. The structure was deemed obsolete with new, large ladder trucks replacing smaller engines. The entire downtown block was demolished for the current Central Fire Station for the present building. The small building is at the center of a large lot, which is likely a candidate for redevelopment in the future (after some adjacent surface parking lots are developed).

Lobster Point Lighthouse // 1948

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When you walk along Ogunquit’s Marginal Way cliff walk, it is missing one thing, an iconic Maine lighthouse… or is it? This mini lighthouse on the route always has people lining up to snap a picture and its quirky roadside attraction appeal is undeniable. The original Lobster Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1948 by Winfield C. Littlefield of the local family who first settled in the town. The “lighthouse” was designed by Grover S. Perkins. Much like the real lighthouses on the coast, the original structure was badly beaten by the salt air and high winds and parts of the structure were replaced. Notably, in 1993, the top (lantern) was replaced with fiberglass. Additionally, in 2009 the structure was upgraded, all from donations. The iconic roadside lighthouse will continue to ‘light the way’ for the droves of tourists and locals alike who navigate Marginal Way.

Perkins Cove Drawbridge // c.1941

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The Perkins Cove wooden footbridge in Ogunquit, overlooks one of the loveliest little harbors in the Maine coast and spans the narrow entrance to the port. The iconic bridge is perhaps the only double-leaf draw-footbridge in the United States and luckily for us, is right here in Maine! The small channel was once very shallow, but in about 1940, the cove was dredged to make room for larger fishing vessels. A new drawbridge was soon added to allow access to the small peninsula while also permitting fishing vessels to pass underneath. The bridge has been modified a couple times since it was constructed in the early 1940s. The new bridge spurred development of some of the area which was already a mix of fishing shacks and artist studios. Since then, many of the original fish shacks have been converted to restaurants or shops due to the high value of the land now. It was also announced this year that the bridge would soon be demolished and replicated with Federal funds with a new harbormaster building. Hopefully the replacement will closely match the existing, which is a huge draw (pun intended) for the tourists who flock to the area.

Nellie Littlefield House // 1889

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One of the most charming buildings in the quaint village of Ogunquit Maine has to be this Victorian inn, located right on Shore Road, the town’s main thoroughfare. The house had its beginnings in 1889 when Joseph H. Littlefield constructed it for his wife Ellen “Nellie” Perkins and their family of four children. Joseph was a member of the esteemed Littlefield Family, which goes back to before Edmund and Annis Littlefield and their six children traveled from England and settled in the town of Wells in 1641. The family was prosperous in the area, and Joseph used his wealth and position in local affairs to develop summer cottages and buildings at the beginning of the town’s large development boom in the late 19th century and early 20th, catering to summer residents and tourism. The Littlefield House was passed down to Joseph and Nellie’s children after their passing, last occupied by Roby Littlefield (1888-1988), who served in local and state politics. It was Roby who was instrumental to establishing the Ogunquit Beach District, which allowed the government to acquire the beachfront in Ogunquit, making it public. The old Littlefield House is now an Inn, known as the Nellie Littlefield Inn & Spa, and it retains so much of its original charm.

Lake House Hotel // 1797

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Eli Longley (1762-1839) came to Waterford, Maine by way of Bolton, Mass., in 1789 and erected a log cabin in town. As the first settler to build in this part of town, he owned a substantial piece of property, which was frequently travelled through as the area was being developed. Seeing a need for lodging, he built a one-story tavern in the location of this building, which was added onto and modified as demand and the area’s population grew. Longley would also subdivide some of his land for house lots along the new town common, selling to new settlers as they arrived. Longley sold the tavern in 1817, which was acquired later in 1847 by Dr. Calvin Farrar. Taking advantage of a nearby mineral spring, Dr. Farrar opened a successful hydropathic spa, which used natural waters to cure patients of their ailments. The spa was taken over by Dr. William P. Shattuck, who expanded the site as the “Maine Hygienic Institute”, a hospital exclusively for lady patients employing eclectic treatment. This business and the tourism it generated helped shift the town from a sleepy village to a tourist destination by the late 19th century, where city-dwellers would flock to view the natural scenery and breathe in the clean air. In the 1860s-70s, Shattuck “modernized” the Lake House Hotel with the two-story Victorian-era porch and sawn decorative trim.

Cedarbrook Farm // 1792

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Last up on our tour of Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden and now Norway) Maine, is Norway. The town of Norway centers around Pennessewasse Lake, which supported native people in the region for thousands of years. It wasn’t until after the American Revolution that European settlers established the town. By 1789, a sawmill and gristmill were established, the first road was built in 1796, and the town of Norway was officially incorporated on March 9, 1797. Before incorporation, the township adopted the name Rustfield, to recognize the contributions of prominent landowner Henry Rust of Salem, Mass and the community once petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to be named Norage, meaning “falls” in the native peoples’ language. Norway won the name, but the origin of the town’s name remains unknown. The town leaned more towards industry than Denmark and Sweden due to the stronger rivers, and its population increased as a result.

This historic farmhouse sits on the eastern edge of Pennessewasse Lake and is one of the oldest extant homes in town. It was built in 1792 just years after land here was purchased by Nathaniel Bennett in 1790. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bennett resided in the home until they died, childless. The home was eventually purchased by Don Carlos Seitz, publisher of the New York World, who grew up and was educated in town. Seitz operated the property as a gentleman’s farm, and is responsible for naming the property “Cedarbrook Farm”. His estate sold the property to one of his hired hands in 1927. It remains very well preserved and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as the Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bennett House.

Sweden Free Meetinghouse // 1826

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Just a short flight (erh I mean drive) from Denmark, you’ll find Sweden… Maine. Sweden is one of three towns of Oxford County Maine, named after Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway & Sweden). Sweden was once territory of the Abenaki tribe who fled to Canada during the Dummer’s War. Present-day Sweden was first colonized in 1794 by Colonel Samuel Nevers from Burlington, Mass. After the Revolutionary War, where he served, Samuel was given a large tract of land in Maine. The town separated from Lovell and became known as Sweden, likely due the . THe started to clear his lumber on his land, and he returned several times a year to his home in Burlington, Mass. for supplies. In 1796, his friend Benjamin Webber joined him and Samuel gave his friend some land for his assistance. Upon his last visit back to Burlington in 1796, he took his bride Esther Trull by horseback, making the 180-mile journey within 24 hours, a record time for this era. The Nevers cleared out land, laid out roads, and built the earliest civic buildings in the fledgling town, including the town’s Free Meetinghouse seen here in 1826. This building has served as a townhouse, community church, schoolhouse, and grange hall. The building was largely rebuilt in the 1860s, giving it the vernacular Greek Revival appearance we see today.

Boothby House // 1870

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The Second Empire style did not take off in Maine as it did in other parts of New England (and the U.S. for that matter), so it’s always a treat to spot one driving the backroads of the Pine Tree State! This house in Denmark, Maine, was built around 1870 for E. A. Boothby, who worked as Assistant Engineer of the Maine Central Railroad. The Second Empire style is evident here from the mansard (French style) roof, bracketed eaves, and a hooded double-door entry.

Portland Head Light // 1791

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When I think of Maine, I think of rocky coastline, lobster, and lighthouses. Located in Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland, you will find the Portland Head Light, an obscenely beautiful lighthouse, which has provided a beacon to sailors for centuries (and more recently Instagrammers). In 1787, while Maine was still part of the state of Massachusetts, President George Washington engaged two masons and instructed them to take charge of the construction of a lighthouse on Portland Head. Washington reminded them that the early government was poor, and said that the materials used to build the lighthouse should be taken from the fields and shores surrounding the site. The original plans called for the tower to be 58 feet tall, but when the masons were finished, they climbed to the top of the tower and realized that it would not be visible beyond the land to the south. When the masons were ordered to increase the height another twenty feet for visibility reasons, one quit, leaving a single man to finish the lighthouse and a small dwelling. It was completed, and the light, powered by sixteen whale-oil lamps, first shone on January 10, 1791, following its dedication by Marquis de Lafayette. Over the next century, many issues plagued the building and light-keepers, from cold winters and rogue waves icing over the pathways, to a poorly constructed top of the lighthouse, which was re-constructed due to safety concerns. In 1891, the station’s old stone light-keeper’s house was demolished, and upon its foundation a two-story wood double dwelling was constructed. A square brick oil house was also built at the same time along with a flight of steps at the landing. Portland Head Lighthouse was extinguished from June 1942 through June 1945 to avoid aiding German submarines, which did not work as planned. In 1945, the USS Eagle PE-56 just miles off the coast, was sunk by a German submarine (though previously thought to have been sunk by a boiler explosion), only 13 of the 62 crew survived. The lighthouse is now owned by the town, but the US Coast Guard retains control of the light and fog signals.