Farnsworth Homestead
National Register of Historic Places

Farnsworth Homestead

Rockland, Knox County, Maine
Listed
May 24, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
73000241

About this property

The Farnsworth Homestead is a historic house museum at 21 Elm Street in Rockland, Maine. Built in 1854 by William A. Farnsworth, it is an excellent late example of Greek Revival architecture, and was the home of Lucy Farnsworth, the major benefactor of the Farnsworth Art Museum, which owns the house and operates it as a museum property. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Farnsworth Homestead is located in downtown Rockland, on the north side of Elm Street, between Union and Main Streets. It is located directly behind the main gallery of the Farnsworth Art Museum, which faces Main Street. The homestead consists of a main house and carriage house, which are connected by a series of ells. The house is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and a foundation of granite and brick. The main block is finished in flushboard siding, while the ells and carriage house are clapboarded. The corners of the main block have pilasters, which rise to an encircling entablature. The building's gables are fully pedimented. The main entrance is recessed in the center of the three-bay front facade, framed by pilasters and a corniced entablature. The house was built in 1854 by William A. Farnsworth, a prominent local businessman involved in the area's lime rock processing industry. Despite having a large family, most of his properties were eventually inherited by his daughter Lucy, a reclusive spinster who died in 1935. According to the terms of her will, her estate went to establish the Farnsworth Art Museum, and included preservation of the family homestead as a mid-19th century house museum. National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine Farnsworth Museum - Farnsworth Homestead Archived March 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

Location

21 Elm St.
Rockland, Knox County, Maine
44.10324, -69.11018

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Security Trust Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Strand Theatre
Industrial
0.1 mi
Main Street Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Knox County Courthouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Rockland Public Library
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Farnsworth Homestead listed on the National Register?

Farnsworth Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Farnsworth Homestead?

Farnsworth Homestead is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Farnsworth Homestead?

The period of significance for Farnsworth Homestead is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1854.

Can I research the history near Farnsworth Homestead?

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