Skolfield-Whittier House, Brunswick, Maine

One of my favorite recreational activities is visiting house museums. I have seen some beautiful restorations and interpretations of historic homes, and some notable for their architectural features or collections of decorative arts. My favorites, however, are those that simply still exist, as untouched as possible, from the day the original occupants left (either to other locations or the great beyond).

This past weekend we revisited the Skolfield Whittier house in Brunswick, Maine (a part of the Pejepscot Historical Society). The house museum section is one half of the property built as "twin" houses in the 1850s.

It was enlarged by the family in the 1880s, and had many Victorian alterations and redecoration. It was used only in summers from the mid 1920s, until it was turned over for use as a museum. What makes visiting this house so wonderful is that it has virtually no restoration, and everything (and I mean everything) is still there, from the major furnishings down to boxes of laundry soap. A highlight of the house is a Victorian double parlor that was probably on ly barely used since its 1880s refurbishment. Other rooms show the accretions of time, as new items were added over the years (but they apparently were reluctant to dispose of the old items). There is no other term I can use other than "time capsule".

If you are an old house type person, or just visiting Maine, check it out:


http://community.curtislibrary.com/pejepscot.htm