The Alfred Shaker Historic District encompasses buildings from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Located on Shaker Hill Road, the area is approximately 300 acres. It sits on a hillside and is bordered by stone walls and forested lands. Development of the area began in 1793 with the construction of a Meeting House. Soon after, several two-story dwellings, shops, and agricultural outbuildings dotted the landscape. There are twenty structures in total.

One of Portland's few surviving Federal period homes, the William Minott House is a three-story wood frame structure. Clad in flush tongue-and groove boards on the facade and clapboards on the other elevations, it has a low-pitched hipped roof with two chimneys on either end. The facade is symmetrical with a central entry door. The door is framed by sidelights and topped with an ornate elliptical fanlight. Above the door on the second floor is a three-part rectangular window.

The Blackhawk Putnam Tavern, a two-story house in the Federal style, overlooks the town of Houlton at the intersection of US Route 1 and US Route 2. Purportedly the oldest wood frame building in Aroostook County, it also features Greek Revival-style elements such as pilasters and an entablature. It's distinctive portico, or porch, was added in the early twentieth century. It was built in 1813 for Aaron Putnam by master carpenter Amos Wormwood of Alfred. Located near the Military Road (Route 2), which was completed in 1828, the house also operated as a tavern.

The First Church of Belfast demonstrates the influence of Asher Benjamin's design guides on early New England architecture. Architect Samuel French largely borrowed Benjamin's "Design for a Meeting House" for his work for the First Church of Belfast, which was constructed for a congregation founded in 1796. In addition to its stately Federal-style architecture, the church's most easily-recognizable features include its clock faces and its open belfry, complete with a Paul Revere bell.

The Captain James Morison House is an excellent example of a late Colonial era rural residence in inland Maine. The dwelling sits on a granite foundation, is two stories, and sheathed in clapboard siding. The facade is symmetrical with a central door topped with a bracketed hood (added later), and the gabled roof has two chimneys. Other structures on the property include a barn and shed. Captain Morison, a Revolutionary War veteran, joined the Continental Army soon after the siege on Boston.

Located between York Harbor and Cape Neddick, the Moody Homestead is a relatively modest, late Georgian-style two-story, side-gabled structure, sheathed in clapboards. The facade is symmetrical with a central entry. The entry door is framed by pilasters supporting a narrow cornice and topped by a narrow transom. Each end of the building has a one-story projecting vestibule, the south facing containing a secondary entry door. The second floor windows are slightly shorter than those on the first floor and sit just below the eaves.

Designated a National Historic Landmark, the McIntire Garrison is one of the most notable examples of a garrison remaining in Maine. Located just north of the York River in rural York County, the McIntire Garrison is a two-story side-gabled log building with an overhanging second story and a central brick chimney. The building has wood clapboard siding on the long sides and wood shingles on the ends. A central entry is located on the south elevation facing the river, which provided the primary means of transportation at its time of construction.

Henry Sweetser Burrage was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on January 7, 1837, the son of Jonathan Burrage and Mary Upton Burrage. He prepared for college at Pierce Academy and graduated from Brown University in 1861. After a year at Newton Theological Seminary, he enlisted as a private in the 36th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and rose to the rank of major. Wounded in the shoulder at Cold Harbor, he was captured at Petersburg and spent time in Libby Prison.

Edward Kalloch Gould was born in Rockland, Maine on September 28, 1865, the son of John L. Kalloch and Rosetta J. Gould as well as the adopted son of Stephen Gould. Edward Gould attended Rockland public schools and graduated from Rockland High School. After taking courses at Rockland Commercial College, he studied law for three years and was admitted to the Maine bar in 1888.

Earle Grey Shettleworth, Jr. was born in Portland, Maine on August 17, 1948, the son of Earle G. Shettleworth, Sr. and Esther Knudsen Shettleworth. He was educated in Portland public schools, graduating from Deering High School in 1966. He received a B.A. in Art History from Colby College in 1970, an M.A. in Architectural History from Boston University in 1979, and an L.H.D. from Bowdoin College in 2008.