Located south of downtown Hallowell on a hill overlooking the Kennebec River, the Vaughan Homestead was the estate of Benjamin and Charles Vaughan, whose grandfather was Hallowell's namesake. The homestead consists of the main house, summer house, barn, gate, terraced garden, and lawns. The house was originally constructed in 1797 and was a two-story hipped roof building with four rooms on each floor and four chimneys. In the early nineteenth century a front porch and two-story rear ell were added. Later additional wings were added including a two-story octagonal one on the west side. Charles Vaughan arrived in Hallowell in 1791 to settle the family's land and his brother Benjamin joined him in 1797. Benjamin held law and medical degrees, but never practiced in either profession. Instead, he was a private secretary to Lord Shelburne and upon marrying Sarah Manning, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, he became involved in his in-laws business. Benjamin grew interested in democratic ideas and through Lord Shelburne participated in the negotiations that concluded the American Revolutionary War. He later became a member of Parliament, but he left Europe for his pro-revolutionary ideals and settled in Hallowell where he amassed quite a library and published numerous treatises, including a memoir of Benjamin Franklin. The Vaughan Homestead is owned by a non-profit, which also oversees the adjacent Vaughan Woods, and is open to the public seasonally.
Year Listed: 1970
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=a421f393-fa32-42bb-b01e-26a72b694663