The Hannibal Hamlin House is a historic house at 15 5th Street in
Bangor, Maine. Built c. 1848–51, this well-preserved Italianate house was the home of
U.S. Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...
from 1862 until his death in 1891. From 1933 until 2007 it served as the official residence of the president of
Bangor Theological Seminary. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1979.
Description and history
The Hamlin House is located on the northwest side of 5th Street, just south of Hammond Street in a residential area west of Bangor's downtown area. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a
mansard roof (a later addition) that provides for a full third floor. The front portion of the house has flushboard siding, while the rear ell is
clapboarded. The roof is composed of decoratively cut slate shingles, and has paired brackets in the eaves. The street-facing facade is two bays wide, with a
hip-roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
porch extending across its width, supported by square posts with paired brackets at the top. The main entrance is on the northeast side, under a similar porch with a projecting
vestibule.
The house was built sometime between 1848 and 1851 by William T. Hilliard, a clerk of the local court and deputy collector of customs. It was purchased in 1862 by Hannibal Hamlin, during his single term as Vice President of the United States under
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. Hamlin made this house his home until his death in 1891, adding the mansard roof and third story in 1870. Hamlin was from 1836 to his death a major figure in Maine politics, serving the state legislature, the United States Congress (both House and Senate), as first a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and from 1856, as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
. He also briefly served as
Governor of Maine
The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.
The current governor of Maine is J ...
in 1857.
[
In 1933 Hamlin's son donated the house to the Bangor Theological Seminary, which used it for many years as the official residence of its president.][ The house was sold (along with the rest of the seminary campus) to developers in 2007.]
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlin, Hannibal, House
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Italianate architecture in Maine
Houses completed in 1848
Houses in Bangor, Maine
1848 establishments in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Bangor, Maine