The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum was the home of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

general, Bowdoin College president, and Maine Governor Joshua L. Chamberlain for over 50 years. Located at the corner of Maine and Potter Streets in Brunswick,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, the house is now open seasonally to the public and is in the process of being restored as it was when Chamberlain lived there.

History of the House

1824 to 1859

Jesse Pierce most likely built the original south-facing

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

cape that would become the Chamberlain Museum not long after he purchased a tract of land on Potter Street in 1824. After Pierce lost the property to creditors in 1829, the land and house were purchased by Mary Ann Fales in 1830, who owned the home until 1836. During this time, Fales rented out extra rooms in the home, including three rooms where

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

and his first wife lived while Longfellow taught at Bowdoin College.''Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum 2009 Tour Manual'', page 6. Pejepscot Historical Society, 2009. After the home passed out of the hands of Fales, it went through a steady succession of owners. A prominent local builder named Anthony C. Raymond lived in the home from 1836 until 1838, when it was purchased by David & Alice Dunlap. The Dunlaps kept the home until 1849 and were followed by Edward Fisher (1849–1851), George B. Upham (1851–1852), Roswell Hitchcock (1852–1856) and finally John Wild (1856–1859).

1859 to 1983

In 1859, Professor Joshua L. Chamberlain purchased the home for $2,100 after renting an apartment in the building for two years with his wife Frances Caroline Adams and their two children. After Chamberlain had returned from serving in the Civil War, in 1867 the family sold part of their property to Eldridge Simpson and moved their entire house down the street to the corner of Maine and Potter streets so that it faced

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. After the move, several architectural changes were made to the exterior, including the addition of a

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

trim and chimneys decorated with

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Maltese crosses. When Chamberlain was chosen as the president of Bowdoin College in 1871, he decided that rather than moving into the President's House on Federal Street he would renovate his own home to accommodate guests. Using equipment from local shipyards, the entire home was jacked up into the air and a new floor built underneath it. This newly-added first floor is generally

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

in style, though there are elements of both

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

and

architecture as well. During the 1890s, Chamberlain added a

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

to the rear of the home, and in 1907 he had the

crenellation A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

s removed. Upon Chamberlain's death in 1914 his daughter, Grace Allen inherited the home and its contents. Grace rented rooms in the home from 1916 until her death in 1937, when her daughter, Rosamond Allen, inherited the home. Rosamond sold the home and most of its contents to Emery Booker in 1939, who divided the building into seven apartments which were primarily used by Bowdoin College students. In 1983, the

Pejepscot Historical Society The Pejepscot History Center (formerly known as but legally retaining the name of Pejepscot Historical Society), located in Brunswick, is the fourth oldest historical society in the state of Maine. Founded in 1888, the society's mission is to prese ...

purchased the building from Booker's estate for the price of $75,000, and opened the home as a museum in 1984. Noted visitors to Chamberlain's home included

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

Fitz John Porter Fitz John Porter (August 31, 1822 – May 21, 1901) (sometimes written FitzJohn Porter or Fitz-John Porter) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most known for his performance at the Se ...

Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

, Carl Schurz, William Pitt Fessenden, Lot Morrill,

William P. Frye William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and the ...

Eugene Hale Eugene Hale (June 9, 1836October 27, 1918) was a Republican United States Senator from Maine. Biography Born in Turner, Maine, he was educated in local schools and at Maine's Hebron Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and served for n ...

, and James G. Blaine.

Museum

The Pejepscot Historical Society currently operates guided tours of the museum from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend. Rooms visited on the tour include the Dining Room, Curvy Room, Entryway, Longfellow Parlor, Library, Governor's Room, Architectural History Room, and Formal Parlor. Some of the items currently on display in the museum are the boots Chamberlain wore at the

battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, his ceremonial governor's chair & desk, Chamberlain's saddle for his horse Charlemagne, and the

minié ball The Minié ball or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the French Minié rifle, for muzzle-loading rifled muskets. It was invented in 1847 and came to prominence in the Crimean War and ...

which nearly took Chamberlain's life at the

battle of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

. During the winter of 2013-14, severe cold froze the water and heating pipes of the house, causing them to burst and pour water into the first floor. This resulted in serious water damage on two ceilings and a wall in the downstairs parlor and dining room, and to some of the period furniture. The incident sparked a reorganization of the

Maine State Museum The Maine State Museum is the official Maine government's museum and is located at 230 State Street, adjacent to the Maine State House, in Augusta. Its collections focus on the state's pre-history, history, and natural science. Permanent exhib ...

's disaster plan, resulting in the formation of the Cultural Emergency Resource Coalition (CERC).

Notes

External links

Official siteGoogle Map & images of Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum
{{coord, 43.9104, -69.9638 , format=dms , type:landmark_region:US-ME , display=title Buildings and structures in Brunswick, Maine

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

Historic house museums in Maine Museums established in 1984 Museums in Cumberland County, Maine

American Civil War museums in Maine History museums in Maine Tourist attractions in Brunswick, Maine