The Rangeley Trust Company Building is a historic former bank building at 60 Main Street in the center of

Rangeley, Maine Rangeley is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2020 census. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a resort area. The town includes the villages of Rangeley and Oquossoc, as well as ...

. It now houses the Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society Museum. It is a single-story brick Classical Revival building, designed by William R. Miller and built in 1905-06. It was Rangeley's first brick commercial building, and housed its first bank. From 1922 to 1979 it served as Rangeley's town hall. It 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 1989.

Description and history

The Rangeley Trust Company Building stands facing roughly east on the west side of Main Street (

Maine State Route 4 State Route 4 (SR 4) is a long state highway located in southern and western Maine. It is a major interregional route and the first such route to be designated in the state. The southern terminus is at the New Hampshire border in South Berwick, ...

) in the center of Rangeley village. It is a small single-story brick structure, three bays wide, with a flat roof and a concrete foundation. The entrance is in the center bay topped by a dentillated pediment. It is flanked by plate glass windows topped by

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

windows, which are framed by brick

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. The facade is topped by a broad

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and wooden

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

, with a low brick

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

above. The main space in the interior, originally the bank lobby and teller area, is finished with tongue-and-groove wainscoting. Toward the rear of the building there is a vault, the office of the bank president, and stairs leading to the basement. The basement has a small metal jail cell located beneath the vault. The town of Rangeley was established in 1860, but experienced significant growth in the late 19th century with the advent of outdoor vacation activity spurred by the adjacent

Rangeley Lake Rangeley Lake, located in Franklin County, Maine in the United States, is fed by several streams. Its waters flow out from the lake's northwestern corner via the short Rangeley River into Mooselookmeguntic Lake, then Upper and Lower Richardson ...

's reputation as a fishing locale. The Rangeley Trust Company was founded in 1905 by Harry Furbish, a local businessman active in both lumbering and insurance, as a vehicle to finance the area's economic development. Furbish retained Lewiston architect William R. Miller to design this Classical Revival building, which opened for business in 1906. Furbish operated his businesses out this building until 1922, when the bank moved to larger quarters. It was then converted for use as town hall (around which time the basement jail cell was added). In 1979 the town gave the building to the local historical society, which now uses it as its headquarters and museum.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Neoclassical architecture in Maine Buildings and structures completed in 1905 Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Maine Town halls in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Maine 1905 establishments in Maine

Description and history

See also

References