Built 1853 (1853) Opened 1853 Added to NRHP 8 February 1985 | NRHP Reference # 85000241 Area 4,000 m² | |
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Location 220 Bristol Rd., Damariscotta, Maine Architectural style Greek Revival architecture | ||
The Huston House is a historic house at 220 Bristol Road (Maine State Route 129) in Damariscotta, Maine. Built in 1853, it is a rare statewide example of a large Greek Revival house with a longitudinal temple front. It now serves as home to the Down Easter Inn, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Description and history
The Huston House is located south of downtown Damariscotta, on the east side of Bristol Road, just south of Huston Cove Road. It is a large 2-1/2 story timber frame structure, with a side gable roof that extends beyond the west-facing front facade to form the temple portico. It is supported by large fluted composite order columns, which rise to an entablature with recessed panels extending around the sides. The ground floor windows are topped by cornices with dentil moulding. The interior of the house retains original woodwork and marble fireplace mantels.
The house was built in 1853 by James Gilmore Huston, whose ancestry included one of the first settlers on the Bristol peninsula. Huston was a prominent local businessman, operating a sawmill, brickyard, and shipping-related businesses, either on his extensive property surrounding this area, or in downtown Damariscotta. Design of the house has been ascribed to Peabody Simmons, a native of Union who had studied architecture in Bangor.