Built 1856 (1856) Opened 1856 Added to NRHP 18 January 1974 | NRHP Reference # 74000321 Area 4,000 m² | |
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Address 98 Summit St, Fairfield, ME 04937, USA Architectural style Greek Revival architecture | ||
The Connor-Bovie House is a historic house at 22 Summit Street in Fairfield, Maine. Built 1856–58, this house is a locally distinctive example of Greek Revival and Italianate styling. It is also significant as the home of William Connor, a prominent regional lumber baron, and as the home of his son Seldon, a general in the American Civil War and three-term Governor of Maine. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Description and history
The Connor-Bovie House is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, three bays wide, with a side gable roof, clapboard siding, and granite foundation. An ell extends to the rear, joined to a structure that probably served once as a carriage house. The bays of the south-facing main facade are delinated by paneled Doric pilasters, and the windows are framed by Italianate molding. The main entrance is sheltered by a portico, supported by paneled Doric columns, with a porch above. Both the main entrance and the doorway to the porch have flanking sidelight windows.
The house was built 1856-68 by William Connor, one of the proprietors of the main lumber mill in Fairfield, and a major area landowner. Connor's son Seldon (1839-1917), served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and was Governor of Maine 1876-78. The house was sold out of the family in 1939, to William T. Bovie, a surgeon who is credited with invention of the cauterizing "Bovie knife".