The Moore-Mayo House is a historic house on Lighthouse Road in
Bass Harbor, a village of
Tremont, Maine
Tremont is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southwestern side of Mount Desert Island, known to locals as "the quiet side."
Tremont includes the villages of Bass Harbor (or McKinley), Bernard, Gotts Island, ...
. The architecturally vernacular house was built beginning in 1947 by the authors
Ruth Moore
Ruth Moore (1903–1989) was an important Maine writer of the twentieth century. She is best known for her honest portrayals of Maine people and evocative descriptions of the state. Now primarily thought of as a regional writer, Moore was a sign ...
and
Eleanor Mayo, who lived and wrote there until their respective deaths in 1989 and 1981. Moore in particular has been cited as a major mid-20th century writer of Maine culture. The house was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2004.
Description and history
The Moore-Mayo House is set on the west side of Lighthouse Road, on a property which extends down to the shore. The main house is set near the road, sheltered from it by a lilac hedge. Overgrown fields extend down to the shore, where there is a small wood-frame "camp" cabin with deck. The main house is a single-story vernacular wood-frame structure, which grew organically over time as the two women expanded it. It has a main square component at its center, with wings added to the west and south sides. These sections are each covered by a gable roof whose rafter ends are exposed.
The core of the house was built in 1947 by Ruth Moore and Eleanor Mayo, with help from Mayo's father Frederick. Architectural elements of the house were recycled from an old
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
camp site, second-hand materials, and beach-combed lumber. The structure was fitted with plumbing and electricity in 1948, and the two wings were added over the following years. The floors and walls are finished in pine, and there are builtin pine cabinets in the kitchen and bedrooms. The camp at the shore was built in 1962.
[
]Ruth Moore
Ruth Moore (1903–1989) was an important Maine writer of the twentieth century. She is best known for her honest portrayals of Maine people and evocative descriptions of the state. Now primarily thought of as a regional writer, Moore was a sign ...
(1903–89) and Eleanor Mayo (1920-81) were both born in the area, and met in 1940. Moore had already been published by then, but her major critical success followed. She was lauded critically by contemporaries and later commentators for her social commentary, wit and language in writing, and her depictions of rural Maine, following in some degree the trail blazed by Sarah Orne Jewett
Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...
and others. Mayo published five novels before becoming involved in local politics; she was the first woman to serve on the Tremont board of selectmen.[
]
See also
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Houses completed in 1947
Houses in Hancock County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Maine