Slate House (Brownville, Maine) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Slate House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 123 Church St., Brownville, Maine |
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| Area | 25 acres (10 ha) |
| Built | 1860 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 95000217 |
| Added to NRHP | March 10, 1995 |
The Slate House is a very special house located at 123 Church Street in Brownville, Maine. It was built around 1860. What makes it unique is that its walls and even its base are made completely from a type of rock called slate.
A local company, the Brownville and Piscataquis Slate Company, built it for their boss. People think it's the only house in New England built this way. It also has a fancy Italian-style design. In 1995, the Slate House was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important historical places in the USA.
Contents
What Makes the Slate House Special?
The Slate House sits on a large piece of land, about 25 acres, just north of Brownville village. It has two floors and is shaped like a square. The roof is gently sloped and has decorative brackets under its edges.
A small building, like a shed, connects the main house to a carriage house. The house has wooden trim that separates the first floor from the foundation. The front corners have wide wooden posts.
How Does It Look Up Close?
The front of the house faces west and has three sections that match on both sides. On the first floor, two windows are on either side of the main door. On the second floor, single windows are on each side of a round-arched window above the door.
The house has a wooden frame inside. But its foundation, the part that holds it up, is made from stacked pieces of slate. Even the steps to the front door are made from big pieces of slate. The front and side walls are covered with wavy-edged slate tiles. The attached shed and carriage house are also made of wood. They have a different kind of siding called board-and-batten. Inside the house, many of the original features are still there.
A Bit of History: When Was It Built?
People used to think the Slate House was built around 1848. However, looking at how it was built and the history of the slate quarry, it seems it was actually built in the early 1860s.
The quarry, where the slate came from, started working in Brownville around 1843 or 1844. Samuel Crocker, a businessman from Boston, owned it. He started the Brownville and Piscataquis Slate Company in 1855. By 1860, they were making a lot of slate for roofs.
Who Lived There First?
The first person believed to live in the Slate House was William Sparrow. He was the quarry's superintendent, or manager, in the early 1860s. Records suggest that the quarry company built this house to show off how their slate could be used in different ways.
The house stayed with the quarry property until 1924. Then, it was sold to private owners. The quarry itself stopped working for good in 1910.
Why Is It So Unique?
Houses made of slate are mostly found near slate quarries in Vermont. But even those houses don't have the same fancy style as the Slate House. Using slate for walls had some challenges. For example, before insulation was added, it took a lot of wood to heat the house in winter.
