National Register of Historic Places

Grant, Gooden, House

Isle Au Haut, Knox County, Maine
Listed
December 18, 2013
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
13000926

About this property

The Gooden Grant House is a historic house at Head Harbor in Isle au Haut, Maine. Built in 1911, it is a fine vernacular Queen Anne house, home to one of the island's most colorful characters of the 20th century. Gooden Grant (1876–1975) was one of the island's most successful lobstermen, and the subject of local folkloric oral history. His house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. The Isle au Haut marks the eastern end of Penobscot Bay on the central coast of Maine. The island is roughly 7 miles (11 km) long and 3 miles (4.8 km) wide, oriented roughly north–south. About half the island is preserved as part of Acadia National Park; the rest of the island is a small rural community now dominated by its summer population, with a small town center on the northwest side. Head Harbor is located at the southeastern corner of the island, opening to the south between Eastern Head and Bungee Head. The house of Gooden Grant stands at the head of Head Harbor, on the east side of the island's main loop road. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and granite block foundation. An octagonal tower with turreted roof projects at the southwest corner, and a partially-enclosed single-story porch wraps around the west and south sides, supported by turned bracketed posts. A short way southwest of the house stands an outbuilding, which is treated as a barn. The house was built in 1911 by a local builder named Turner, and was at the time comparable to the finest of the island's year-round residences. Gooden Grant, for whom it was built, was one of the leading fishermen and lobstermen of the small Head Harbor community. Grant was regarded by his peers as one of the most successful lobstermen of the time, regularly making larger hauls and gaining better prices for his goods than others. As the island became more of a target for tourists in the mid-20th century, Gooden was featured in an iconic postcard as one of its "old salts", surrounded by lobster traps. National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine

Location

1 Head Harbor
Isle Au Haut, Knox County, Maine
44.02397, -68.61874

Categories

MARITIME HISTORYOTHER
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

Isle Au Haut Light Station
Industrial
3.3 mi
Saddleback Ledge Light Station
Industrial
5.4 mi
Stonington Opera House
Industrial
9.4 mi
Union Church of Vinalhaven
Civil War
10.7 mi
Webster, Moses, House
Industrial
10.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Grant, Gooden, House listed on the National Register?

Grant, Gooden, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2013.

What type of historic resource is Grant, Gooden, House?

Grant, Gooden, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Grant, Gooden, House?

The period of significance for Grant, Gooden, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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