Andrew Welch Homestead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Andrew Welch Homestead
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1286 Middle Rd., Parsonsfield, Maine |
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| Area | 4.9 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1814 |
| Architectural style | Georgian, Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 02000352 |
| Added to NRHP | April 11, 2002 |
The Andrew Welch Homestead is a really old house in Parsonsfield, Maine. It's special because it shows how buildings were changed and reused a long time ago. This house actually combines two older buildings into one! It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. This means it's an important historical site.
What Makes the Andrew Welch Homestead Special?
The Welch Homestead is located on Middle Street in Parsonsfield. It's a large, old wooden house with a metal roof. It has two brick chimneys and many windows. What's interesting is that it has two front doors! A small barn is also connected to one side of the house.
A House Built from Two Homes
Inside the house, you can clearly see how two different buildings were joined together. One part of the house has a style called Georgian. The other part has a style called Federal. These were popular building styles from different time periods. This mix of styles shows how the house grew over time.
The Story of the Old Tavern
Part of the main house was already standing by 1806. That's when Andrew and Eliza Welch had their first child there. People in the area say that the older part of the house used to be a tavern. A tavern was like an inn or a pub where people could eat and drink.
This old tavern was built by Job Colcord, an early settler. It was located in the town center, right next to the meeting house. The meeting house was a place for religious gatherings. People who went to the meeting house might not have liked having a tavern so close by.
It's believed that the tavern was moved to land that Andrew Welch later bought. Andrew Welch might have bought the old tavern and attached it to his own house. He probably did this to make more room for his growing family. By the 1830s, his son Cyrus and his family also lived there.
