Bass Boarding House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Bass Boarding House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Wilton, Maine |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000396 |
| Added to NRHP | 1988 |
The Bass Boarding House is an old house in Wilton, Maine, United States. It was built in the 1860s. This house was special because it provided homes for workers from the nearby G.H. Bass & Co. shoe factory.
The building is one of the few left in Wilton that were used this way. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Today, it is home to the Wilton Historical Society's Wilton Farm and Home Museum.
What Does the House Look Like?
The Bass Boarding House is a two-and-a-half-story house made of wood. It sits on a strong stone foundation. The house has a pointed roof. The front of the house has three sections with windows.
The main entrance is at the front, on the left side. It has narrow windows next to the door. There are also two windows in the pointy part of the roof. The roof has small windows sticking out on both sides. Inside, the house still looks much like it did long ago.
A Home for Workers
The story of this house began in 1861. That's when Emerson and Rawson Fuller bought the land. Rawson Fuller built the main part of the house soon after. It was his family home until the early 1900s.
Rawson likely turned it into a boarding house before 1911. That year, George H. Bass bought the house. Bass was a skilled leather worker. He had been making shoes since 1871.
Bass bought Fuller's old mill in 1904. He then built his shoe factory on that spot. George Bass needed places for his factory workers to live. So, he bought existing houses like this one. He also built new, smaller homes for his workers. This is why worker housing in Wilton was spread out. It was different from other factory towns that had big, planned housing areas.
Bass owned this house from 1911 to 1937. It was used as worker housing during those years. In 1987, the Wilton Historical Society bought the house.
Wilton Farm and Home Museum
Today, the Bass Boarding House is the Wilton Farm and Home Museum. It is a local history museum. Here, you can learn about the history of the area.
The museum has many interesting things to see. You can find old household items. There are also tools used in different jobs like farming and shoe making. You can see tools from a blacksmithing shop too. The museum also has old clothes and a collection of old Maine bottles. Displays show the local history and culture of Wilton.
See also
