Harward Family House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Harward Family House
|
|
 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Pork Point Rd., Bowdoinham, Maine |
|---|---|
| Area | 11 acres (4.5 ha) |
| Built | 1795 |
| Architectural style | Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001038 |
| Added to NRHP | September 27, 1996 |
The Harward Family House is a special old house in Bowdoinham, Maine. It was built around 1795 and changed over many years. This house is important because it was home to Thomas Harward. His family owned a shipyard nearby that was very important to Bowdoinham's economy for a long time. The Harward Family House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Contents
The Harward Family House
What Does the House Look Like?
The Harward Family House is in northern Bowdoinham. It is a large wooden house with two and a half stories. It connects to a barn at the back. The front of the house faces the street. It has five sections with a main door in the middle.
The house shows different building styles from different times. You can see Italianate details, like decorative brackets under the roof. There are also Greek Revival features, like the way the roof edges are shaped. The corners of the house have flat columns called pilasters. The front door has a fancy frame around it, with side windows and small columns.
A Look Inside the House
Inside, the house mixes several styles. You can find Federal style elements, which were popular when the house was first built. There are also Greek Revival and Colonial Revival touches. These different styles show that the house was updated and changed over many years. Each change added new popular designs to the original structure.
The Harward Family Story
The Harward Family House was built around 1795 by Thomas Harward. He was born in Bowdoinham. Thomas started building ships around 1790 on Swan Island, across the Kennebec River. He built this house and raised thirteen children here.
Thomas's son, John Harward, later took over the house and the family shipyard. The shipyard was busiest in the 1850s. John updated the house during this time, adding the Greek Revival and Italianate styles that were popular then.
The Harward shipyard faced money problems in the late 1850s. It eventually closed in 1869. Even though it wasn't as big as shipyards in other towns like Bath, it was very important for the local economy in Bowdoinham. The Harward Family House stands as a reminder of this important family and their role in the town's history.
