Dennysville Historic District

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Dennysville Historic District

Dennysville Historic District, Maine 2012.jpg

The Dennysville Academy building
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Location The Lane, Main and King Sts., Dennysville, Maine
Coordinates 44°54′1″N67°13′45″W / 44.90028°N 67.22917°W / 44.90028; -67.22917 Coordinates: 44°54′1″N67°13′45″W / 44.90028°N 67.22917°W / 44.90028; -67.22917
Area 30 acres (12 ha)
Architectural style Colonial Revival, Federal
NRHP reference # 82000427 [1]
Added to NRHP October 29, 1982

The Dennysville Historic District encompasses the historic town center of Dennysville, Maine. Located near the southern end of the large rural community, its architecture covers more than 100 years of community history, from the early 19th to early 20th centuries. The district extends along Main Street between Maine State Route 86 and Bunker Hill Road, on the west bank of the Dennys River. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [1]

Dennysville, Maine Town in Maine, United States

Dennysville is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 342 at the 2010 census.

Maine State Route 86

State Route 86 (SR 86) is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, located in the far eastern part of the state. It is a minor connecting route, running 10.3 miles (16.6 km) from an intersection with SR 191 near East Machias to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Dennysville. SR 86 runs mostly through unincorporated forest land.

Dennys River river in the United States of America

The Dennys River is a river in Washington County, Maine. From the outflow of Meddybemps Lake in Meddybemps, the river runs about 23 miles (37 km) southeast and east to Dennysville, where it becomes tidal and soon joins the Hardscrabble River estuary to form Dennys Bay.

Contents

Description and history

The town of Dennysville was established in 1784 by General Benjamin Lincoln, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and its settlement was overseen by his son Theodore. The town center grew on the banks of the Dennys River, which provided the power to bring the area's timber to mills and market. The town was economically successful in the lumber industry until virgin timber in the region was exhausted, and the main lumber mill in town burned in the 1930s. [2]

Benjamin Lincoln Continental Army general (1733-1810)

Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln is notable for being involved in three major surrenders during the war: his participation in the Battles of Saratoga contributed to John Burgoyne's surrender of a British army, he oversaw the largest American surrender of the war at the 1780 Siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, he formally accepted the British surrender at Yorktown.

American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, which won independence as the United States of America

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared independence as the United States of America.

The town center is a largely linear area, lining the west side of Main Street, which parallels the river south of State Route 86 (King Street). It extends south just beyond the Bunker Hill Road bridge across the river, and along The Lane and Mahar's Lane west to their junction. This area includes 22 historically significant properties on about 30 acres (12 ha) of land. Most prominent among these properties are the civic buildings and the church, an 1834 Federal-Greek Revival structure built in 1834, which retains its original box pews. The town library, built in 1923, is one of the newest buildings in the district, a distinctive Bungalow-style structure with a stuccoed brick exterior. The Dennysville Academy building is a fine Greek Revival structure built in 1846 and used in later years as a church vestry. Other non-residential buildings include the American Legion Hall (c. 1885), formerly a Masonic lodge, and Allan's Stage and Livery Stable, a horse barn dating to about 1875. [2]

Box pew

Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.

Most of the houses in the district were built before 1850, and are either Federal or Greek Revival in style. They are typically 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 stories in height, of wood frame construction, and finished with wooden clapboards. One house, built about 1860, is notable for its Italianate style. One Federal style house, that of Captain Ebenezer Wilder, was built in 1834, but has later Queen Anne/Eastlake styling applied. There are two mid-20th century houses that are not historically significant. [2]

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maine Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maine.

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