9 Barrell Lane Extension
York Harbor, Maine 03911
My 17th Historic New England house visit would be the last with my husband Bill. The photo above and all interior ones were taken June 15, 2019, but the four exterior ones below were taken on October 19, 2018. This is such a beautiful spot, great for walking around outside and enjoying the water. We had to wait all winter, a total of eight months before it opened two years ago today.
One thing I noticed right away was there was no grand staircase in this house. As a matter of fact most of the interior was quite plain.
This was a small mudroom-type area just before you enter the parlor.
"Sayward-Wheeler House was owned by one family through direct lineage from 1719 to 1977. The house changed little in the nineteenth century, due to the declining wealth of Sayward’s descendants and in deference to the family’s patriarch. In the twentieth century, descendant Elizabeth Wheeler purchased the property as a vacation retreat and to preserve her ancestral home. Today, the parlor still contains furniture and portraits that were there on the eve of the Revolution. It is believed to be one of the best-preserved colonial interiors in the nation."
The photo that appeared on their website shows a much more beautiful picture of the living room, than mine above.
Tourists have to wait on the lovely porch outside these windows, but who would mind that. All the tours we went had a limit of visitors, usually 10-15. And, nobody had to make a reservation. The cabinet is shown below.
The tall clock, purchased around 1770, was too tall for the low ceiling room, so Mr. Sayward had to remove the finial.
Photos of kitchen and dining room.
I was happy to see a genealogy fan chart.
Three bedrooms below.
