Woodlawn, also known locally as the Black House, is a historic estate located a quarter mile from downtown Ellsworth, Maine, at 19 Black House Drive. The Black House Museum is open to the public seasonally and the grounds are open every day, dawn to dusk. The museum was home to three generations of the Black family and features many of their possessions. The family patriarch, John Black, was an agent for a major landowner in the region, and built the mansion house in 1824–27. There are over two miles of hiking trails, a nationally sanctioned croquet court, gardens, fields, and forest open to the public all year. The Black House Museum 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 1969.

Description and history

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

businessman

William Bingham William Bingham (March 8, 1752February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. Bingham was o ...

purchased a very large tract of land in

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 north ...

not long after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and sold half of it in 1792 to an English company. The company sent John Black, then just eighteen, to Maine to act as its agent. Black worked in cooperation with Bingham's agent, David Cobb, eventually marrying Mary Cobb, his daughter. Mary and John had eight children and John, at the age of 44, built this three-story brick mansion with elegant Federal and Greek Revival styling. Bricks for the house were shipped from

, and construction by masons from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

took three years (1824–27). The building's main facade features a porch across the full width of the main block, supported by Doric columns and topped by a balustrade. The roof is surrounded by a balustrade with panel sections. A single story addition to the left of the main block also has a roof ringed by a balustrade. Behind the main house is an attached Ell that was used for cooking and housework, then became home to the resident caretakers. It now provides staff offices. Behind these buildings an event space is under construction that sits on the footprint of a carriage and horse barn. There is also a small sleigh barn and a newly constructed carriage barn with a permanent exhibition. The family tomb is located near the southern end of the property. The estate was given, complete with most of the contents, to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations in 1928 as indicated in the will of George Nixon Black Jr. The Trustees manage the property as a museum, park and event space. Facilities on the estate include three miles of field walking and forest hiking trails, the only regulation size croquet court in the state, a community garden, sledding and skating in the winter as well as many community events. The barn events venue will be open year-round and will be available for rent as well as serving as the archival storage facility and educational programming. Downeast Senior College is based at Woodlawn and operates from the former Caretaker's Cottage near the trailhead.

References

External links

Woodlawn Website Link
{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1827 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Georgian architecture in Maine Buildings and structures in Ellsworth, Maine Museums in Hancock County, Maine Parks in Maine Historic house museums in Maine Houses in Hancock County, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Maine 1827 establishments in Maine