National Register of Historic Places

Murch Family House

Vinalhaven, Knox County, Maine
Listed
March 25, 1993
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
93000205

About this property

The Murch Family House is a historic house on Calderwood Neck in Vinalhaven, Maine. Built in 1855, it is the only granite house in a community long known for its granite quarries, and one of a relatively small number of documented stone houses in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The town of Vinalhaven occupies an eponymous island in Penobscot Bay, located on the central coast of Maine. The island has many deep indentations, two of which define its northeastern lobe, which is known as Calderwood Neck. The Murch House is located on the southeastern part of Calderwood Neck, overlooking the channel that separates it from Penobscot Island. The house is a 1+1⁄2-story Cape style structure, built out of ashlar granite blocks, and covered by a gabled roof. The front facade is three bays wide, with a pair of sash windows flanking the entrance, offset to the right side of the facade. The interior is divided into four rooms on the ground floor, with a central chimney. Stairs leading up to the attic space are located along the north wall, in the chamber accessed from the main entrance. Also on the property is a 19th-century barn. It is long rectangular timber-frame structure, with a saltbox profile, that is set on sloping terrain with a fully exposed granite block foundation at the rear. Built about 1855, the house is the only documented granite dwelling on the island, which was well known in the 19th century for its granite. At the time of its construction, the quarries were just beginning to be exploited. This house was built by William Murch, a local mason, using stone quarried from a nearby outcrop. The house was owned for many years by members of the Murch family, who were typically fishermen also engage in subsistence-level farming. National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine

Location

Vinalhaven, Knox County, Maine
44.10009, -68.81757

Categories

AGRICULTUREARCHITECTURE
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

Pleasant River Grange No. 492
Industrial
2 mi
Goose Rocks Light Station
Industrial
2.5 mi
Wharf House
Industrial
3.2 mi
Vinalhaven Public Library
Industrial
3.6 mi
Union Church of Vinalhaven
Civil War
3.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Murch Family House listed on the National Register?

Murch Family House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1993.

What type of historic resource is Murch Family House?

Murch Family House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Murch Family House?

The period of significance for Murch Family House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Murch Family House?

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