Bowman-Carney House | |
Location | Bowman Ln., off 128, Dresden, Maine |
---|---|
Coordinates | 44°5′45″N69°46′23″W / 44.09583°N 69.77306°W |
Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
Built | 1762 |
Architect | Flagg, Gersham |
Architectural style | Colonial |
NRHP reference No. | 71000071 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 7, 1971 |
The Bowman House is a historic house museum on Bowman Lane, off Maine State Route 128, in Dresden, Maine, United States. It was built in 1762, early in the area's colonial settlement history, and later served as the office of an ice harvesting business. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1971, under the name Bowman-Carney House. [1] It is now a museum owned and managed by Historic New England.
The Bowman House stands on the eastern bank of the Kennebec River, about 1,200 feet (370 m) north of Maine State Route 197, and a similar distance west of Maine State Route 128. Five of its seven acres are cleared, providing a view overlooking the river. The house is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a hip roof, two interior chimneys, clapboard siding, and a stone foundation. Its main facades, facing toward the river and Route 128, are essentially identical, with centered entrances framed by pilasters, entablature, and gabled pediment. A single-story ell, probably of 19th-century construction, extends to one side. The interior retains many 18th-century features, include wide floors of pumpkin pine, wall paneling, and trim. [2]
The town of Dresden was originally part of Pownalborough, settled in 1754 and incorporated in 1760, which was the first shire town of Lincoln County. This house was built in 1762 for Jonathan Bowman by Gersham Flagg, a local master builder who had recently completed the Pownalborough Courthouse. Bowman was a leading citizen, serving as a judge of probate, and engaged in a variety of economically important local businesses. In the 19th century it came into the hands of James Carney, a blacksmith whose work supported maritime trade, and the house came to be known as the Bowman-Carney House. [3] The property was later adapted for use in the ice harvesting business, with the house converted into an office, and ice storage sheds lining the river. This business peaked in the 1870s, and crashed by the turn of the 20th century. It was then purchased by the daughters of historian Henry S. Burrage, who recognized its historic significance and contributed to its preservation. [2]
Ms. Burrage's friend, William Waters, born and raised in Blakely, Georgia, bought the home and spent close to 40 years investing-in, restoring and enjoying the home and property, including tracking down most all of the original furniture built in 1760 for the home by an expert craftsman in Boston. William was an artist (a student of Lamar Dodd), New York designer and owner of a few successful businesses, including The Firehouse and Lilac Antiques. Waters' family originally hailed from Baltimore and for generations the family antiques were handed down, many of which ended up with Waters, including for example a family grandfather clock.
In 1971, Waters donated the house to Historic New England, retaining a life tenancy. [4] Waters died in 2016. [5] In 2021, Historic New England opened the house as a museum under the name "Bowman House". [4]
Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,961 at the 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner is a nationally accredited Main Street America community. It is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.
Alna is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census. Alna is home to the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum and is noted for its historic architecture, including the early mill village of Head Tide.
Dresden is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, that was incorporated in 1794. The population was 1,725 at the 2020 census.
Lincoln County Courthouse may refer to:
Fort Halifax is a former British colonial outpost on the banks of the Sebasticook River, just above its mouth at the Kennebec River, in Winslow, Maine. Originally built as a wooden palisaded fort in 1754, during the French and Indian War, only a single blockhouse survives. The oldest blockhouse in the United States, it is preserved as Fort Halifax State Historic Site, and is open to the public in the warmer months. The fort guarded Wabanaki canoe routes that reached to the St. Lawrence and Penobscot Valleys via the Chaudière-Kennebec and Sebasticook-Souadabscook rivers. The blockhouse was declared a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968.
The White–Ellery House is a historic house located at 247 Washington Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is owned and operated by the Cape Ann Museum, whose headquarters is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester.
Damariscove is an uninhabited island that is part of Boothbay Harbor in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, approximately 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the coast at the mouth of the Damariscotta River. The long, narrow island is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1,500 feet (460 m) at its widest point. The island has served in the past as a fishing settlement and a United States Coast Guard life saving station.
The Alna Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house on Maine State Route 218 in Alna Center, Maine. Built in 1789, it is one of the oldest churches in the state, with a virtually intact interior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
St. John's Anglican Church and Parsonage Site is an historic religious site in Dresden, Maine. It is the site of an Anglican church built in 1770 in what was then called Pownalborough or Frankfort, and was active until 1779. The church congregation was founded in 1760, and the church and parsonage were built with funding support from Dr. Silvester Gardiner, a major area landowner, and operated until 1779, when Jacob Bailey, the minister, fled the area because of his Loyalist views in the American Revolution. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Wiscasset Jail and Museum is a historic jail on at 133 Federal Street in Wiscasset, Maine. Built in 1811, it is one Maine's oldest surviving jail buildings, serving as the state's first penitentiary between 1820 and 1824. It is now a museum operated by the Lincoln County Historical Society as the 1811 Lincoln County Museum and Old Jail. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The Pownalborough Courthouse is a historic court house at 23 Courthouse Road in Dresden, Maine, USA. Built in the early 1760s, it was the first county courthouse for Lincoln County, which was established in 1760. It is the only surviving courthouse in the state of Maine that was built during the colonial period, and is now a museum owned and operated by the Lincoln County Historical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Farmingdale is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,995 at the 2020 census. Farmingdale is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.
Waldoboro is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak River. The town's strong agricultural and fishing legacy continues today, with recently renewed enthusiasm for traditional natural fiber production, cheesemaking, farm brewing, fermentation, soapmaking, and other lost agrarian arts. Waldoboro is becoming a popular destination, with miles of scenic river frontage, a thriving arts community, and historical interest in its past as a German settlement.
Wiscasset is a town in and the seat of Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The municipality is located in the state of Maine's Mid Coast region. The population was 3,742 as of the 2020 census. Home to the Chewonki Foundation, Wiscasset is a tourist destination noted for early architecture and as the location of Red's Eats restaurant.
The Days Ferry Historic District encompasses a rural village that grew around a ferry crossing on the Kennebec River in what is now Woolwich, Maine. The village and ferry were on the main stage route between Bath and Wiscasset until the 1870s, and retains a concentration of well-preserved 18th and early 19th-century houses. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Dresden Brick School House is a historic school building on Maine State Route 128 in Dresden, Maine. Built in 1816, it is one of the oldest surviving brick district school buildings in the state. It is now a museum property, owned by the local historical society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Head Tide Historic District encompasses a formerly industrial, now rural village at the head of tide of the Sheepscot River in Alna, Maine. The area had been industrially active since the mid-18th century, but its mills declined and were all destroyed by 1949, leaving a predominantly residential area with a number of houses dating mainly to the period before 1860. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Powers House is a historic house on West River Road in Sidney, Maine. Built about 1770, it is an important example of late Colonial architecture in the region. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Thomson Icehouse is a historic ice harvesting facility on Maine State Route 129 in South Bristol, Maine. The site has been used for ice harvesting since 1826, and is now a museum, annually using traditional means to harvest and store ice from adjacent Thompson Pond. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is believed to be the only active ice harvesting operation in the state.
The Wiscasset Historic District is a 101-acre (41 ha) historic district that encompasses substantially all of the central village of Wiscasset, Maine. The district includes at least 22 contributing buildings and two other contributing sites, one being a cemetery whose oldest stone is from 1739. Located on the west bank of the Sheepscot River and settled in the 18th century, Wiscasset was a prominent harbor in Mid Coast Maine, and a major shipbuilding and merchant port, until the War of 1812 ended its prosperity. The village center includes fine examples of Federal period architecture, most built between about 1780 and 1820, including one National Historic Landmark, the Nickels-Sortwell House. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.