If thoughts of the late 19th century conjure images of Robber Barons and Captains of Industry, you're not far off. But the battles of labor vs. industry weren't always so contentious, and among the robbers were a few "Enlightened Industrialists," who used their wealth to spur local growth and development. In 1884, a farmer named E.B. Mallett, from the town of Pownal, Maine (just next to Freeport), became the best kind of rich when he inherited $700,000 from an uncle, and invested a large portion of the money in local business and philanthropic ventures, including a shoe factory, just across the street from where L.L. Bean now stands.
Among Mallett's many projects included construction of a number of cottages throughout town for housing workers of the factory. In doing so, Mallett joined a movement of benevolent industrialists that were gaining steam at the time. The Mallett Houses, as they came to be known, were mostly single family, Queen Ann style cottages, four of which were built in a row on Depot Street (then called Oak Street). The wood-framed, one and a half story cottages have ornate shingle and trussed gable designs, bay windows and entry porches built on top of a rubble stone foundation.
The building at 57 Depot Street is one of the last remaining worker cottages, and is in dire need of a tune up. After sitting empty for over thirty years, the house is nothing but a shadow of its former self, and was recently purchased by Freeport Community Services. Together with Energy Circle and Warren Construction Group, the house will be revived, retaining the history, elegance, and character of the last 100+ years, while preparing the home for a transition to a highly efficient, healthy, comfortable, and fossil fuel free future.
But before looking too closely at where this house is going and what it will become, take some time to see where it's already been and what it's done. The history of this house is one for the record books and, thankfully, has been captured as part of the historical preservation mitigation efforts, commissioned by Energy Circle as part of the Deep Energy Retrofit process.
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