Valley Lodge (Baldwin, Maine) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Valley Lodge
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Steep Falls, Maine |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1792 |
| Architect | Brown, Ephraim |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000138 |
| Added to NRHP | September 19, 1977 |
Valley Lodge is a very old and special house located on Saddleback Road in the quiet countryside of Baldwin, Maine. It was built way back in 1792 by one of the very first people to settle in the town. This makes it one of the oldest houses still standing in the rural part of Cumberland County. Because it's so important, Valley Lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
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Exploring Valley Lodge: A Historic Home
Valley Lodge sits right on Saddleback Road. This area is in the middle of Baldwin, a spread-out country community. Baldwin is located on the western edge of Cumberland County.
What Valley Lodge Looks Like
The main part of the house is two and a half stories tall. It's made of wood and has a pointy roof, called a gabled roof. The outside walls are covered with overlapping wooden boards, known as clapboard siding.
Behind the main house, there's a smaller, one-story section. This part also has a gabled roof. There's a cozy porch with a slanted roof in the corner where the two parts of the house meet. The house faces mostly south and is on the east side of the road.
The front of the house has five sections for doors and windows. These parts have simple decorations from the Federal period, which was a style popular long ago. Inside, the house has a unique layout. This is because it was built and changed over many years. Across the road, there's also an old barn from the 1800s.
The Brown Family and How the House Grew
Two brothers, David and Ephraim Brown, moved to this area in 1788. At that time, it was mostly wild land. Their father had received this land for his service in the American Revolutionary War.
Both brothers built houses here. David's house is no longer standing. However, Ephraim's original house is actually inside the Valley Lodge we see today!
Building a Home in 1792
Ephraim first built a smaller, one-and-a-half-story house in 1792. This style is called a Cape house. A few years later, his family grew, and he needed more space.
So, Ephraim built the larger, two-and-a-half-story house around his first one. This created a completely new front for the house. The Valley Lodge property stayed with Ephraim Brown's family for a very long time, well into the 1900s.
