Jean-Baptiste Daigle House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Jean-Baptiste Daigle House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4 Dube St., Fort Kent, Maine |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1839 |
| Architectural style | Acadian Log |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000833 |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 2013 |
The Jean-Baptiste Daigle House is a very old and special house in Fort Kent, Maine. It was built around 1840. This house is important because it's a rare example of an Acadian log house. It's also the only one known to still be close to where it was first built. The house was built by a father or son, both named Jean-Baptiste Daigle. It was moved a short distance about 20 years after it was built. Today, the logs are covered by siding, so you can't see them from the outside. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
Contents
What the Daigle House Looks Like
The Daigle House is a rectangular building. It has one and a half stories. It sits at the corner of Dubé Street and East Main Street (United States Route 1) in Fort Kent.
Outside the House
The outside of the house is covered with Masonite siding. It has a roof that slopes down on two sides, called a side-gable roof. There is one brick chimney in the middle of the roof. The front of the house faces west and looks balanced. It has a main door in the center with two windows on each side. A small porch with a gable roof covers the front door. The side walls have two windows on each floor. There is also a louver (a slatted opening) in the attic. At the back, there's a small part that sticks out, also with a gable roof. The back door is an original, thick wooden door.
Inside the House
The inside of the house usually has a central hallway. This hallway leads to four rooms on the first floor. It also has stairs going up to the second floor. On the second floor, there is one bedroom on the south side. The north side has a large, unfinished open area. Here, you can see the original log construction of the house. The inside parts of the house are different in various places. However, it still has its original wide pine floors. You can also see the exposed log walls in the downstairs northwest room.
How the House Was Built
The Daigle House was built using a special method. It's called the traditional Acadian piece sur piece method. In this method, logs that have been cut are placed one on top of the other. These logs are set into a frame made of posts and beams. This frame helps support the roof. This building method is different from others used in the area. For example, it's not like the ways early English settlers built homes. It's also different from how Swedish immigrants built houses later in the 1800s.
History of the Daigle Family and the House
The land where the Daigle family owned their property was once part of a big argument. This argument was between Massachusetts (which Maine was part of until 1820) and New Brunswick. This argument was finally settled in 1842. This happened with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. This treaty made the Saint John River the border near Fort Kent.
The Daigle family had owned land in this area since at least 1790. That's when they received a grant from the British. Different old papers show different dates for when this house was built. Some say 1839, and others say 1844. The year 1844 was when the younger Jean-Baptiste got married. The house stayed in the Daigle family until 2007. Then, it was given to the Fort Kent Historical Society. The society is now getting the house ready to become a museum.
