These two phot0s are of the personal home of the manager of the York Manufacturing Company. The House is very large with two floors and many windows. The two windows at the top of the house are similar to those on the old Dyer Library building. This house was not built by the same architect, but it is a similar style. The house has been kept original, and is established as a hisotirc building by the town of Saco.
Today the house is a private residence, so I was unable to go inside, but just from the outside one can see noticeable traits of the time. For example, the use of columns, which created an upscale look, and also the use of windows which allowed the house to be much brighter. I am sure that the door in the photo is not the original but the rest of the house seems to be original.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
York Manafacturing Company owned the Saco mills, and created one of the largest factory centers in the world. The house was built for the first mill agent who was to live outside of the mill. His name was Franklin Nourse. He was from an old New England family, and was brought in to run the mills in Saco. More important than him may be his daughter, Edith Nourse Rogers, who went on to serve 35 years in Congress.
Horace Waldwin was the designer of the house, and from the photo above we can see the detail that he put into it from the columns and the upper windows. Wadlin designed many of the buildings in Saco. He was the cousin of Cornelious Sweetser, who was a prominent Saco resident as mentioned earlier. It was a unique move for the company to have this man live off of the mill property.
This building has been chosen as a historical site by the town because of its ties to the mills and also because it was one of the buildings designed by Wadlin. This house represents a time in Saco when business was booming and many of the residents were wealthy and could live in houses like these. Almost every house on Maine Street is this size or bigger. Saco is trying to preserve its history of a booming city during the early 20th century.
