Found on Port Road, the Gates House is a Federal-style home with early nineteenth-century characteristics, such as the low-pitched hipped roof and windows consisting of small panes of glass. Situated on a steep slope near the edge of the Machias River, the house is two stories at the road and three at the river. The building has a narrow L-shaped footprint. It has clapboard siding and a main entrance framed by pilasters, a 5-paned fanlight, and projecting cornice. While the original builder is unknown, a trader named Nathan Gates bought the house along with the adjoining wharf, barn, and store in 1813. Lumbering was the primary industry in the area throughout the nineteenth century and the wharf served as a terminal for the Machiasport-Whitneyville Railroad hauling wood to coastal schooners. The house remained in the Gates family until 1929 and then served as a clam business. In 1966, it was purchased by the Machiasport Historical Society and is currently the organization's headquarters and museum.
Year Listed: 1975
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=3015ac16-09e9-4d9c-8f49-dbcd7c7d0362