Dresden’s Bowman House. Courtesy of Historic New England
Historic New England’s 1762 Bowman House in Dresden opens to the public for the first time on July 1. Guided tours will be given every Thursday on the hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tour size is limited. Tickets must be pre-purchased at HistoricNewEngland.org/BowmanHouse. Admission is $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $15 for students and children. Tours are free for Historic New England members. Bowman House is located at 22 Bowman Lane. Ticketed visitors should meet guides at the white tent in front of the house.
Visitors can enjoy the property along the Kennebec River. Bowman House grounds are open daily dawn to dusk. All visitors must follow posted rules.
Bowman House is a rare survivor of 18th century elegance on the Kennebec River. Built in 1762 for lawyer Jonathan Bowman, the Georgian-style mansion was built by Gershom Flagg, the same architect who built the nearby 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse. The story of the two buildings are inextricably linked. Both were financed by the Kennebec Proprietors, a group of Boston investors, to service what they thought would become a regional commercial and legal center.
Jonathan Bowman was sent to Pownalborough by his Uncle Thomas Hancock, the wealthiest merchant in pre-Revolutionary War Boston and a member of the Kennebec Proprietors. Bowman was appointed to a number of legal positions, becoming a judge in 1772. He supplemented his legal work income with significant participation in the booming lumber and shipping business going on right outside his doorstep, with ships travelling between the Kennebec, Boston and points South, Europe and the West Indies.
Bowman created a home whose stylish interiors would have fit into the finest Boston mansions of the time, and later, a fitting home for his wife Mary and their four children.
After Bowman’s death, the house was purchased by James Carney, a local man who became a successful blacksmith servicing farmers and the busy Pownalborough waterfront. He also built a 181-ton ship on the site. James and his wife Joanna raised twelve children in the house, and were leaders in charitable efforts in their community. In the 1870s near the end of the Maine ice industry boom, Bowman House became offices for the Lincoln Ice Company who owned it until 1911.
After decades of ownership by historic preservationists trying to preserve the property in its degraded but amazingly untouched condition, Bowman House was purchased by artist, entrepreneur and historic preservationist William Waters and his partner Cyrus Pinkham in 1965. After giving the house to Historic New England in 1971, Bill spent 51 years restoring the elegant interiors and filling the house with Bowman pieces and beautiful 18th century objects and furniture. His devoted stewardship now allows visitors a glimpse into the sparkling and elegant world of the 18th century as seen through the eyes of a designer, collector and ardent historic preservationist.
For more information about Bowman House, visit HistoricNewEngland.org. Private tours are available subject to staff availability and must be arranged at least two weeks in advance by calling (207) 882-7169.
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