Holmes Cottage, c.1820 - Calais, Washington County
Thought to be the oldest known dwelling in Calais, the Holmes Cottage is a one-and-a-half story building with a side-gabled roof and a large central chimney. The front facade is dominated by a projecting vestibule added in the late nineteenth century. The wood framed and clapboard sheathed structure sits on a fieldstone foundation on Main Street. Local folklore dates the house to 1805-an era when the community was small and with little means. What is more likely, however, is that the house was not built until c.1820 when the lumber industry developed in Calais.