June 12, 2009
Conservation
Jeanne Curran, (207)287-3156
AUGUSTA, Maine – The restoration of a 244-year-old house that once was the headquarters for Benedict Arnold will be celebrated next week with an open house and numerous historical exhibits.
The Major Reuben Colburn House, built in 1765 and located in Pittston, was Benedict Arnold’s headquarters in 1775 for his expedition to Quebec. The colonial home, which is a Maine state historic site managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, has been restored and includes new museum exhibits, including one about famous Kennebec Valley midwife, Martha Ballard.
The open house will be held:
”The Colburn House is a real historical gem and is a fun and informative way for us to learn about this time period,” Will Harris, Bureau of Parks and Lands director, said. “I hope many Mainers and visitors to our state will take the opportunity to visit this historic site.”
“We want to use this free open house as an opportunity to let people know that the site is again open and offering a newer, more educational experience to visitors,” Tom Desjardin, BPL park historian, said.
An opening ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. The open house will feature tours of the house; artifacts from the Arnold expedition; a display of an 18th century American Indian birch bark canoe; 18th cooking in the restored beehive oven; historic craftspeople, including a blacksmith; re-enactors portraying an American Indian and an 18th century shipwright; flintlock musket demonstrations; and tours of the bateaux museum.
“We want it to be an exciting and informative day, one that gives visitors a real feel for a colonial American homestead along the Kennebec River,” the park historian said.
Funding for the Colburn House restoration came from several sources, Desjardin said. They include: $25,000 from the November 2007 bond issue; a $7,000 donation from the Arnold Expedition Historical Society; $6,000 in labor from the Kennebec County Sherriff’s Office; $10,000 from Jewett Construction Co. of Pittston; private donors; and countless hours of volunteer work.
The history of the small house is a fascinating one and provides an important glimpse into colonial American life in Maine, Desjardin said.
Colburn and his parents and siblings moved to Pittston from Dracut, Mass., in 1763. He later bought 100 acres of land along the Kennebec River from his father. He built a three-story Federalist-style house, with deep-water anchorage, and established a saw mill, gristmill and boatyard at the site. The businesses allowed settlers to migrate easily into the region.
Colburn and his family were known to have a good relationship with local American Indians, and they often would wake to find their American Indian friends sleeping on the hearth in their keeping room, Desjardin said.
In 1775, Colburn was given a down payment by Gen. George Washington of the Continental Army to build 200 bateaux for Arnold’s expedition to Quebec. He had all the boats ready when Arnold arrived at the Colburn House on September 21, 1775.
Colburn’s brother, Oliver, led a group of 42 men who accompanied the expedition through the Maine woods in order to continually repair the bateaux.
Colburn was never paid for his work in building the boats despite making repeated efforts toward the U.S. Congress. In 1799, a friend suggested that if Colburn had a letter from Washington himself, Congress surely would reimburse him. Colburn then traveled to Mount Vernon to get the letter, but arrived only to find that Washington had died the night before.
The unique structure was owned by the Colburn family until 1941. In the 1840s, Reuben Colburn’s grandson remodeled the home and added an ell, carriage house, and a new barn. The State of Maine acquired the property in 1973.
The house contains five fireplaces, including an original working beehive oven in the keeping room. The hearth tiles, fireplaces, and much of the woodwork in the house is original to its construction in 1765.
Desjardin said that the restoration included extensive work to preserve the colonial homestead, while adding modern amenities. All of the buildings were painted, all utilities were buried underground, and new electrical wiring was installed throughout the three buildings at the homestead. The caretaker’s apartment in the ell also was completely renovated, and new floor supports and sills were built on the carriage house, he said.
More importantly, all of the rooms of the main house were restored to their historic period. Major plaster, masonry, and paint restoration was done in each one.
In particular, the keeping room fireplace was completely restored, with the beehive oven restored to working condition for the first time since the 1840s. Major restoration also was done to the rest of the keeping room, Desjardin pointed out.
The size of the space open for exhibits in the main house has been increased, the park historian said. In addition, all new museum exhibits have been placed throughout the main house, he said.
Outside the structure, the herb and flower gardens have been restored by master gardeners, and a new picnic area has been established along the waterfront.
“This really was a labor of love, an attempt to restore a small but important historic site,” Desjardin said. “The Colburn House not only represents something unique to Maine, but also is a special chapter in American history.”
The property is a state historic site operated with the help of many local volunteers. It is open for tours in July and August on weekend afternoons.
For more information, contact Tom Desjardin, BPL park historian, at 287-4975
Or go to: http://www.maine.gov/colburnhouse
Or: http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/parksinfo/colburnhouse/openhouse.pdf
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