The Ingalls House is a historic house on Main Street in
Mercer, Maine
Mercer is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The town was named after the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War hero Hugh Mercer. The population was 709 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Geography
According to ...
. Built c. 1835–37, it is a particularly elaborate local example of Greek Revival architecture, made more distinctive by the relatively advanced use of stoves as a heating system at the time of its construction. The house was built by a son-in-law of
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
General
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...
, and was owned for many years by Hannibal Ingalls, a prominent local businessman. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1975.
Description and history
The Ingalls House is set on the south side of Main Street, between its junction with Rome Road and Bog Stream and a short way west of the cluster of buildings that mark the center of the village. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a side gable roof clapboard siding, and a granite foundation. It originally had two chimneys, one at either end, but the one on the right has been taken down. The north-facing front facade has a typical 18th-century symmetrical five-bay facade with a center entrance. The entry is flanked by sidelight windows and framed by simple Greek Revival trim. A single-story shed-roof porch extends across the front, supported by fluted Doric columns. Its entablature extends around the sides of the porch, giving them a partially pedimented appearance. The main roof's side gables are also fully pedimented, with a narrow entablature extending around the building, and simple pilasters at the corners.
The interior of the house follows a typical central-hall plan, and has restrained Greek Revival woodwork. Its most unusual feature is the heating system, which was, by the architectural evidence, originally designed for heating provided by stoves rather than open fires. This would have been a technologically advanced choice for central Maine, where many houses were still built with full fireplaces. None of the original stoves was retained when the house heating was modernized in the 20th century.
[
The house was built in 1835-37 by Ebenezer Thatcher, whose wife Julia was the daughter of ]American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
General and Maine land magnate Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...
. Later in the 19th century it was owned by Hannibal Ingalls, a prominent local businessman.[
]
See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Greek Revival houses in Maine
Houses completed in 1835
Houses in Somerset County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, Maine