Sunset Lodge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Sunset Lodge
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Stockholm, Maine |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1932 |
| Built by | Ward, Bruce |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001304 |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1994 |
Sunset Lodge is a special old summer house located by Madawaska Lake in a quiet, natural area of northern Aroostook County, Maine. It was built in 1932 using peeled logs by Bruce Ward. He was the person who started Ward Cedar Log Homes, a company famous for making log houses. This building is important because it was one of the first log homes built by his company. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, which means it's recognized as a historically important place.
About Sunset Lodge
Sunset Lodge sits on a small piece of land right by the southern shore of Madawaska Lake. It's in a rural area not far from Stockholm, Maine.
The building is a single-story house with a pointed roof. It has a few smaller sections attached to it, like sheds. The main part of the house and these sheds are all made from peeled logs. These logs are from red cedar trees. They are joined together at the corners in a special way, with the ends sticking out a bit.
The front of the house faces the lake. It has two windows on the first floor and a smaller window higher up. The main door is on the east side, inside a small shed-like area made of smaller logs. There's also a screened porch on the southwest side, perfect for enjoying the lake views without bugs. Inside, the ground floor has two main rooms. There's also a loft area upstairs with a log railing.
The Builder: Bruce Ward
Bruce Ward grew up in Aroostook County, Maine. In 1927, he started his own company called Northern Cedar Company. At first, his business mainly focused on making peeled logs for things like telephone poles.
The story goes that he had extra logs. This made him think about using them to build houses. The very first building his company constructed was an American Legion hall in Yarmouth, Maine, in 1931. Sunset Lodge was built just one year later, in 1932, for his own family to use as a summer home. Later, he built two more houses for his family in Presque Isle, Maine, which they lived in all year round.
Bruce Ward started selling kits for log homes in 1935. His company's products were shipped to places as far away as Wisconsin. Bruce Ward passed away in 1944. After his death, his company was sold outside of his family. Today, it is known as Ward Cedar Log Homes.
