National Register of Historic Places

Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate

Strong, Franklin County, Maine
Listed
November 10, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80000218

About this property

The Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate is a historic house on Lower Main Street in Strong, Maine, a small town in rural Franklin County. Built in 1866, it is a remarkably sophisticated example of Italianate architecture, and one of the finest examples of such in the state. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The house is a clapboarded wood-frame structure, two stories high, resting on a granite foundation. It has a hip roof which is topped by a square cupola. A two-story ell extends to the rear of the house, joining it to a carriage house. The main facade is three bays wide, with a central entry sheltered by an ornately decorated Doric-columned portico. The eaves are studded with dentil molding and brackets, and the corners of the building are pilastered. The ell is lined on both sides with porches. The carriage house is roughly square, with a pyramidal roof and a small cupola that is less elaborate than that on the house. The house was built by Alexander Porter, who, along with his brother James, owned a toothpick factory that was a predecessor to the locally significant Foster Manufacturing Company. This house and another built by James were virtual duplicates; the latter was destroyed by fire in 1971. Porter eventually lost his business and property (supposedly due to "temptations of the flesh"), and the family was forced to sell the property. National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin County, Maine

Location

Strong, Franklin County, Maine
44.80446, -70.22003

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

McCleary Farm
Listed
2.8 mi
Barn on Lot 8, Range G
Early Republic
5.8 mi
Union Church
Civil War
6 mi
Whitney, Capt. Joel, House
Industrial
6 mi
Phillips High School
Industrial
6.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate listed on the National Register?

Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate?

Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate?

The period of significance for Porter-Bell-Brackley Estate is recorded as the industrial era.

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