Turner Town House
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The Turner Town House is an historic
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
on
Maine State Route 117 State Route 117 (SR 117) is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from SR 112 in Saco to SR 219 in Turner. Route description SR 117 begins at SR 112 in Saco. It travels north through Buxton and Holli ...
in
Turner, Maine Turner is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,817 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Turner, Turner Center and North Turner. The town is part of the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine Metropolita ...
. Built in 1831, it is one of the oldest buildings of its type in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.


Description and history

The Turner Town House is located in the village of Turner Center, on the north side of SR 117 just west of the First Universalist Church. It is set back from the road, on the south bank of the Nezinscot River. It is a small single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and fieldstone foundation. The main facade faces south, and is five bays wide. The bays are arranged symmetrical but with irregular spacing, with three sash windows flanking two virtually identical entrances. Each window has a single large shutter mounted to its left. The exterior is otherwise devoid of significant stylisting elements. The interior consists of a single large chamber, whose floor is sloped in a V shape from the front and back toward the center, where the town officials sat during town meetings. This feature is believed to be unique among Maine's town houses. The town of Turner was incorporated in 1787, and its earliest town meetings were held in a local church. From 1822 to 1830 meetings were held in a local school, at which time the town engaged in a series of acrimonious meetings concerning the location of a dedicated town house. The dispute was centered over issues of the town's growth, which had begun in the eastern part of the town, but had in recent years developed more rapidly to the west. The town house was built in 1830 at a site nearer the geographic center, but was surreptitiously disassembled and relocated three times by competing groups within the town, before being fixed in place at this location.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Androscoggin County, Maine


References

{{National Register of Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1831 City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Town halls in Maine Buildings and structures in Androscoggin County, Maine Turner, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Androscoggin County, Maine