The General Peleg Wadsworth House, located on a hill west of the Saco River, is a two-story dwelling with a side-gabled roof that sits on a granite foundation. Unlike many Federal-style buildings, the front facade is longer than typical. Although the entryway is central with a portico, General Wadsworth built the house to a larger specification to accommodate a sizeable centralized room with high ceilings to host town meetings, civic and social functions, and drill local militia during inclement weather and in the winter months. Wadsworth served throughout the entirety of the Revolutionary War. He commanded the land forces on the peninsula of Castine and was taken prisoner in Thomaston, Maine. He escaped and made his way to Portland where he built a home on Congress Street after the war. He is the grandfather of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The Portland home is known as the Wadsworth-Longfellow House and is also listed in the National Register. Wadsworth moved to Hiram in 1808. His grandson, Henry, spent many summers during his youth at this property.
Year Listed: 1974
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=dcb3fbc3-f124-41d6-a493-6219223f937e