Timber Point

Last updated
Timber Point
TimberPoint.jpg
USA Maine location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location2 Timber Point Rd., Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Biddeford, Maine
Coordinates 43°23′56″N70°23′51″W / 43.39889°N 70.39750°W / 43.39889; -70.39750 Coordinates: 43°23′56″N70°23′51″W / 43.39889°N 70.39750°W / 43.39889; -70.39750
Area86 acres (35 ha)
Built1931 (1931)
Architectural styleArts and Crafts
NRHP reference No. 16000786 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 15, 2016

Timber Point is a historic summer estate in Biddeford, Maine. Located at the city's southernmost tip, and now part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the property was developed in the 1930s by architect Charles Ewing for his family. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. [1]

Contents

Description and history

Timber Point occupies a mostly wooded promontory at the very southernmost tip of Biddeford, across the Little River from the Goose Neck section of Kennebunkport. The estate property, totalling nearly 86 acres (35 ha), also includes Timber Island, just south of the promontory. It is accessed via Granite Point Road, which passes through the Biddeford unit of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, which now includes the Timber Point property. The built elements of the estate include its main house, garage, boathouse and bathhouse, and a number of other outbuildings. The main house is a 1+12-story Colonial Revival wood-frame structure, which presents a broad facade to the southern vista of the promontory, and a projecting gabled entry section to the north. The interior is composed of a series of rooms. The "public" rooms interconnect without hallways. [2]

The property was purchased in 1929 by Louise Parsons Ewing, and was at the time a combination of woods and farmland. Her husband Charles was an architect active in New York City and Maine. He designed the main house and other aspects of the estate, and the couple entertained friends and family there, notably including the artist Rockwell Kent and writers Booth Tarkington and Kenneth Roberts. In 2012 their heirs sold the property to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Biddeford, Maine City in Maine, United States

Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. Twin city of Saco, Biddeford includes the resort communities of Biddeford Pool, Fortunes Rocks, and Granite Point. The town is the site of the University of New England and the annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival. First visited by Europeans in 1616, it is the site of one of the earliest European settlements in the United States.

Kittery Point, Maine Census-designated place in Maine, United States

Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Kittery, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who colonized the shore of what became Massachusetts Bay Colony and later the State of Maine. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, it is home to Fort McClary State Historic Site, and Fort Foster Park on Gerrish Island. Cutts Island is home to Seapoint Beach and the Brave Boat Harbor Division of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

Perkins Township, Maine United States historic place

Perkins Township is an unorganized territory in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Originally incorporated as the town of Perkins, it was later abandoned, and has been uninhabited since the 1940s. The township comprises Swan Island, Little Swan Island and some tidal flats—all within the Kennebec River between the towns of Richmond and Dresden. The Swan Island Historic District comprises most of the township, with 8 buildings, 5 structures and 1,500 acres (610 ha). Some of the buildings date to the 1750s. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The entire township is now protected as the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area, and is under the jurisdiction of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Camping, hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing are permitted between May and October; reservations are required.

Kennebunkport, Maine Town in Maine, United States

Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area.

Castle Hill (Ipswich, Massachusetts) Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

Castle Hill is a 56,881 sq ft (5,284.4 m2) Tudor Revival mansion in Ipswich, Massachusetts built 1926-1928 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Teller Crane, Jr. It is also the name of the 165-acre (67 ha) drumlin surrounded by sea and salt marsh the home was built atop. Both are part of the 2,100-acre (850 ha) Crane Estate located on Argilla Road. The estate includes a historic mansion, 21 outbuildings, and landscapes overlooking Ipswich Bay, on the seacoast off Route 1, north of Boston. Its name derives from a promontory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, from which many early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers immigrated.

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,125-acre (37 km2) National Wildlife Refuge made up of several parcels of land along 50 miles (80 km) of Maine's southern coast. Created in 1966, it is named for environmentalist and author Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring raised public awareness of the effects of DDT on migratory songbirds, and of other environmental issues.

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House Historic house in Michigan, United States

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is a mansion located at 1100 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Shores, northeast of Detroit, Michigan; it stands on the site known as "Gaukler Point", on the shore of Lake St. Clair. The house became the new residence of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford family in 1928. Edsel Ford was the son of Henry Ford and an executive at Ford Motor Company. The estate's buildings were designed by architect Albert Kahn, its site plan and gardens by renowned landscape designer Jens Jensen. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

Winter Harbor Light Lighthouse in Maine, US

Winter Harbor Light is a lighthouse in Winter Harbor, Maine. It is located on Mark Island, a small island between the Schoodic Peninsula and Turtle Island, near the entry to the town's main harbor. The light was built in 1856 and was deactivated in 1933; it is no longer an aid to navigation, and is privately owned. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Winter Harbor Light Station on February 1, 1988.

First Parish Meetinghouse Historic church in Maine, United States

The First Parish Meetinghouse is a historic colonial meeting house at Meeting House Road and Old Pool Road in Biddeford, Maine. Built in 1758, it is the oldest public building in the city, and is one of the oldest buildings of its type in the state. It served as a combined church and town hall until about 1840. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is now owned by the Biddeford Historical Society.

Camp Hammond (Yarmouth, Maine) Historic house in Maine, United States

Camp Hammond is an historic house at 74 Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine. Built in 1889, this large Shingle style is notable for its method of construction, which used techniques more typically applied to industrial mill construction in a residential setting to minimize the spread of fire. George W. Hammond, one of its architects, was owner of the nearby Forest Paper Company. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The Fells Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Fells, also known as the Hay Estate, was originally the summer home of John Milton Hay, a 19th-century American statesman. It is located in Newbury, New Hampshire, on New Hampshire Route 103A, 2.2 mi (3.5 km) north of its junction with New Hampshire Route 103.

City Theater (Biddeford, Maine) United States historic place

Biddeford City Theater is a restored Victorian opera house at 205 Main Street in Biddeford, Maine, United States. City Theater produces and hosts theater, dance and music performances year-round and aims to, “foster an appreciation for the performing arts by using creative avenues to increase community involvement.”

Windermere (Moultonborough, New Hampshire) Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

Windermere was a historic summer estate at the southern tip of Long Island, the largest island in New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee. Developed in the early 1890s, it was one of the largest country estates on the lake's shores. The main house, a three-story mansion built in 1891–92 by Frank Eugene Greene, is the most elaborate such house built in Moultonborough. A 5-acre (2.0 ha) remnant of the estate, encompassing the former main house and some outbuildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The property is now a residential condominium.

Richman Margeson Estate Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Richman Margeson Estate was a historic summer estate in Newington, New Hampshire. Formerly located in the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge but not open to the public, the house was demolished in 2016. The main house, built in 1894, was a rare example of a Colonial Revival estate house in the state and was the only summer estate house of its scale to survive in Newington into the 21st century. The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Dreamhome Historic house in Maine, United States

Dreamhome is a historic summer estate near Bryant Pond, a village of Woodstock, Maine. It is located on 16 acres (6.5 ha) on the west side of Lake Christoper, at the end of Mountain Lodge Road, and includes an estate house, guest house, boathouse, and landscaped grounds designed by Harold Hill Blossom. The parcel is a remnant of a larger property owned by William and Bessie (Collier) Ellery, who had the house built c. 1916. The size and scale of this estate are unusual for the interior of Maine. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

The Higgins Barn is a historic English barn at 256 Oak Hill Road in Indian Point, a rural area in western Bar Harbor, Maine. It is estimated to have been built c. 1810 by Ichabod Higgins, and is one of the oldest structures in the area, dating to the first settlement period of Indian Point. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Cape Arundel Summer Colony Historic District United States historic place

The Cape Arundel Summer Colony Historic District encompasses an enclave of large summer estates on the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine. The area was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century as a resort area for the wealthy of the northeastern United States. It notably includes the Kennebunk River Club and Walkers Point, the location of the Bush compound, which has a Shingle-style house built in 1903. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Chimney Farm United States historic place

Chimney Farm is a historic farm property at 617 East Neck Road in Nobleboro, Maine. The heart of the farm is an early 19th-century farmhouse, which was from 1931 to their respective deaths home to the writers Henry Beston (1888–1968) and Elizabeth Coatsworth (1893–1986). Both were prominent regional award-winning writers, and the farm property played a prominent role on some of their writings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Joseph and Susan Manley Summer Cottage Historic house in Maine, United States

The Joseph and Susan Manley Summer Cottage is a historic house on Club Road in the Small Point area of Phippsburg, Maine. Built in 1887, it is one of the largest and most elaborate summer houses in the community, and is a fine Queen Anne structure designed by a prominent Maine architect. It was built for Joseph Homan Manley, a prominent Maine political operative, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Mosquito Island House Historic house in Maine, United States

The Mosquito Island House is a historic house on Mosquito Island, off the southern coast of St. George, Maine in the Gulf of Maine. Probably built in the late 18th century, it is unique in the state as a Cape style house constructed out of granite blocks. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The island is private property, owned since 1995 by John Malone, one of Maine's largest landowners.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Timber Point" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-11-26.