History House
About this property
The Skowhegan History House is a historic house and museum at 66 Elm Street in Skowhegan, Maine. Built in 1839, this two-story brick house is one of the few of that period to survive Skowhegan's industrialization later in the 19th century. The house has served as a local history museum since 1937. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The History House is set on the south side of Elm Street, between it and the Kennebec River, at the junction of Elm with Norridgewock Avenue and Pleasant Street. It is a two-story brick structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof and two end chimneys. The brick is laid in a modified English bond, with seven rows of stretchers followed by a course of headers. Its Greek Revival styling includes a simple cornice and returns at the gable ends, sidelight windows and pilasters flanking the main entrance, and granite sills and lintels. A fireproof museum wing was added to the rear of the house in 1935. The house was built in c. 1839 by Samuel Philbrick, a potter, later a clerk for Skowhegan Savings Bank, and was a fairly typical small worker's house of the period. Most similar buildings in Skowhegan were lost due to the city's industrialization over the remainder of the 19th century. The first permanent home owner was Arron Spear, a blacksmith, who later sold the house to James H.K. Lord. The house was acquired by Louise Helen Coburn, a local historian, who in 1937, opened its doors as a museum. The rear addition, added at that time, was executed with sympathetic techniques and styling. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday between June and September, or by appointment. Its collections are focused on local history, and include unique documents and artifacts. National Register of Historic Places listings in Somerset County, Maine
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about History House
This page lists History House. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Nearby Battles
Questions about this property
When was History House listed on the National Register?
History House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1983.
What type of historic resource is History House?
History House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for History House?
The period of significance for History House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near History House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near History House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Somerset County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Somerset County.
Explore SomersetCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near History House will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.