Built 1858 Opened 1858 Added to NRHP 12 July 1974 | NRHP Reference # 74000313 Architectural style Italianate architecture | |
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Location 233 West Main Street, Yarmouth, Maine | ||
The Captain Reuben Merrill House is an historic house at 233 West Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. Built in 1858, it is one of the town's largest and most elaborate 19th-century houses, and is one of three known surviving works of Portland architect Thomas J. Sparrow. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is now home to Maine Preservation, a statewide architectural preservation organization.
Description and history
The Captain Reuben Merrill House is located on the north side of West Main Street (Maine State Route 115), just east of its junction with Newell Road. It is a large three story wood frame structure, with a hip roof, and a three-story ell extending to the rear. It is finished in clapboard siding and rests on a granite foundation. The main facade is five bays wide, with a centered entrance that is sheltere by a hood that acts as a balcony for the second floor. First and second-floor windows are rectangular sash, while the third floor has short rectangular fixed windows.
The house was built in 1858 for Reuben Merrill, a ship's captain who was a native of nearby Cumberland. It was designed by Thomas J. Sparrow, the first major architect originating from Portland, Maine, and was considered the finest home in Yarmouth. It was built by John Dunham, a local master builder, and was built at was then the outskirts of Yarmouth village.
In 2011, the Merrill family leased the home to Maine Preservation, an historic preservation organization.