Maine

Rock Rest was a guesthouse for African American travelers run by Clayton and Hazel Sinclair near the affluent town of Kittery, Maine, from about 1946 to 1977. Because of Hazel's careful stewardship, Rock Rest is perhaps the best documented business of its kind from the period of segregated accommodations.

The carriage trails, which include 16 bridges, are a unique example of skillful masonry engineering and landscaping. As early as the 1840s Bar Harbor attracted well-to-do tourists and by 1872 had 15 luxury hotels. It was not until the 1890s, Bar Harbor’s “belle epoque,” that the wealthy, including John D. Rockefeller Sr., Andrew Carnegie, Frederick W. Vanderbilt, and Joseph Pulitzer, built their lavish, architect-designed “cottages” overlooking the island-studded Atlantic at places like Southwest Harbor, Northeast Harbor, and Seal Harbor.

Many believe the McIntire Garrison House, originally known as the Maxwell Garrison, to be the oldest house in Maine. Built circa 1707, the house sits on the bank of the York River, which is rich in historic and archaeological resources. Although unoccupied, the house is part of a complex of historic York buildings. Since the late nineteenth century it has enjoyed iconic stature in the York community and is frequently sketched and painted by artists and antiquarians.

Built on the eve of the American Revolution, the Old Grist Mill attests to the early importance of water power in colonial industry. It also attests to the craftsmanship and durability of colonial building; not only is the mill well-preserved, it remains a working mill, in addition to operating as a museum and meeting facility. The Little River Grist Mill is the oldest surviving industrial building in Lebanon, a town that was part of Massachusetts at the time of its construction.

Formerly Breakwater Court, the iconic Colony Hotel facing the sea remains one of Maine’s few pre-World War I summer hotels. Built in 1913–1914, the sprawling, white clapboard hotel with its green shutters and distinctive red roof retains its historic integrity and continues to function as a quintessential New England summer hotel.

Located in the Ocean Park area of Old Orchard Beach, the Temple is Maine’s only octagonal community church. Ocean Park originated in the late nineteenth century as a wholesome, family-oriented, religious-inspired summer colony, which combined vacationing with worship, contemplation, and self-improvement. Established by the Free Will Baptists and led by Bates College President Oren Cheney as part of the Chautauqua movement, the colony was centered on the Temple, which was built in 1881. The area around the building is called Temple Square and also contains several other camp buildings: B.C.

The Lady Pepperrell House at Kittery Point ranks as one of the most distinguished and carefully preserved examples of a Georgian residence in the country. It is also important because of its identification with Sir William Pepperrell, the only colonial American given a baronetcy for his role in seizing the French Fortress of Louisbourg off Nova Scotia in 1745. A successful merchant, at the time of his death in 1759 he was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies.

This warehouse is the only colonial-era commercial building still standing in the Town of York. Built in 1780, when York was part of the District of Maine in Massachusetts, it is situated on the edge of the York River with ready access to the open sea. The warehouse was once owned by patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock.

The massive Laconia Company Cotton Warehouse #5, part of the Biddeford–Saco textile mill complex, is exemplary of the infrastructure of Maine’s large industrial centers. Built in 1890, this textile warehouse is located at the south end of a long row of brick buildings lining Main Street on Saco Island.

Situated between the Atlantic Ocean and an estuary in Wells, the 268-acre Laudholm Farm is one of the state’s best preserved and finest examples of a saltwater farm. In continued use since the seventeenth century, the property was originally part of the landholdings of Sir Fernando Gorges (1565–1647). Nathanial Clark Jr. acquired part of the land when the Gorges property was divided toward the end of the seventeenth century.