Built 1702 (1702) NRHP Reference # 76000093 Area 4,000 m² Nearest city Scarborough | Architectural style Cape Cod Opened 1702 Added to NRHP 12 May 1976 | |
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The Richard Hunniwell House is one of the oldest surviving structures in the United States state of Maine. Located on Old Country Road near Black Point Road in Scarborough, Maine, this modest single-story building was probably built in 1702-03 by Richard Hunniwell, who had first settled Scarborough in 1684. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It is now owned and maintained by the town.
Description and history
The Hunniwell House is located in central Scarborough, in a triangular wooded island formed by Black Point Road (Maine State Route 207), Old Country Road, and Winnocks Neck Road. It is a 1-1/2 story Cape style wood frame structure, three bays wide, with clapboard siding and a stone foundation. Its windows are 19th-century sash windows, and the main door is topped by a four-light transom window. The interior of the house follows a typical central-chimney plan, with a small entry vestibule with a winding staircase to the attic, and rooms to either side. Trim and decoration are minimal.
Although Maine was settled by European colonists in the 17th century, most of its settlements were abandoned as a result of either King Philip's War (1675–78) or King William's War (1688-97). No 17th-century buildings are known to survive in the state. Richard Hunniwell, a veteran of King Philip's War, was one of the signatories to Scarborough's incorporation in 1684. His wife and child killed in an Indian raid, he was a leader of the local militia and supposedly carried an implacable hatred of Native Americans. The small community was abandoned in 1690 due to continuing Native raids, and was reoccupied in 1702. It is believed that the present Hunniwell House was built early in this reoccupation; Hunniwell was killed in a major raid on Maine coastal communities in 1703, early in Queen Anne's War. The community survived, and Hunniwell's widow (who survived the raid) lived here until her death in 1732.
The house was originally located in a field off Old Country Road. It sat abandoned for many years, until its historical significance was established in 1971 by the local Rotary Club. The house was given to the town, and moved to its present location in 1973, where it has since undergone restorative work.