The J. G. Deering House, also known as the Dyer Library/Saco Museum, is an historic house at 371 Main Street in
Saco, Maine
Saco ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,381 at the 2020 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as Saco Valley Shopping Center. General Dynamics ...
. Completed in 1870, it is a fine local example of Italianate style. Built for Joseph Godfrey Deering, it was given by his heirs to the city for use as a library. 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 1982.
Architecture and history
The Deering House is located on the south side of
United States Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ma ...
, a short way north of Saco's central business district. It is a -story brick strucuture, with limestone and wooden trim elements. It has a side-gable roof with a denticulated and bracketed cornice, with a front-facing gable above the centered entrance. The main facade is three bays wide, with the entrance sheltered by a wide single-story flat-roof porch supported by square columns. Above the entrance are paired round-arch windows, with a half-round window in the gable above. The entrance is flanked by three-side bays, with single sash windows above. A two-story
ell
An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", an ...
extends to the rear, and is further extended by a single-story ell which joins the house to a period carriage house.
To the north of the house stands the -story brick complex of the former York Institute.
The house was built in 1869–70 by Joseph Godfrey Deering, who began in business as a grocer, but got involved in the lumber industry, creating one of Maine's largest lumber companies. This house was supposedly the first in
York County to have running water and indoor toilets. Deering's heirs undertook a series of extensions and alterations to the property, hiring architects
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine. ...
and
Joseph Stickney Joseph Stickney (1840–1903) was a wealthy coal broker, hotelier, and socialite, mostly active in Pennsylvania. He was a native of Concord, New Hampshire, and made a fortune before the age of thirty by investing in the coal business.
Biography
Sti ...
to design them. Deering heirs gave the house to the city in 1955 for use as a library. The Dyer Library built the ell connecting the house to the carriage house.
[ The library merged with the adjacent York Institute in 1976 to form the organization now known as Dyer Library/Saco Museum.
]
See also
*
References
External links
Dyer Library/Saco Museum web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deering, J. G., House
Libraries in York County, Maine
Buildings and structures in Saco, Maine
Italianate architecture in Maine
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Houses in York County, Maine
Museums in York County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in York County, Maine
Historic district contributing properties in Maine
Houses completed in 1870