Louise Miller provides a guided tour for Wiscasset Middle High School students at the historic Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta Sept, 18. Students DAntae Dawkins, Yashaswini Dikonda, Gabriella Dotson, and Spencer Smith-Pinkham study the unique characteristics of the colonial brick oven. (Photo courtesy Wiscasset Schools)
High school students from Wiscasset Middle High School visited Damariscotta’s famous Chapman-Hall House on Sept. 18 to gain a deeper appreciation for the Maine’s colonial history.
During their visit, the the students examined the lifestyle and economic development in Midcoast region during the colonial era. Elijah Bouchard, an AP United States history student, was fascinated how the lifestyle of English settlers shared similarities with tasks people perform today.
He said, “Baking a batch of colonial cornbread required the brick oven to heat up for four hours, and you could check the temperature not with a thermostat, but by hovering your hands inside the oven to gauge the temperature.”
Wiscasset Middle High School AP United States history students Xoe Morse, Ijesity Rhinebolt, and Elijah Bouchard listen to Lincoln County Historical Association Education Director Louise Miller during a tour of the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta Sept. 18. (Photo courtesy Wiscasset Schools)
Wiscasset American history and AP United States history students studied English colonial history by touring the Chapman-Hall House, led by Louise Miller. Eric Dubay noticed the timing Nathanial Chapman arrival in colonial Damariscotta corresponded with the beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754.
Ijesity Rhinebolt, an AP United History student learned about life during the 1750s, “Survival in the Chapman-Hall House was predominantly built around the viability of the brick fireplace,” Rhinebolt said. “The fire would be a place for congregating with your family, enjoying a meal, and even keeping out illness from the chilling winters.”
Madelynne Richardson’s favorite part of the Chapman-Hall House tour was seeing the changing of wool and linen clothing through the different eras. “It’s interesting seeing how the female attire like the smock, waistcoat, apron and the petticoat would change based on tasks that she was doing and different weather patterns,” Richardson said.
The Chapman-Hall House was built in 1754 by one of the area’s first permanent English settlers. It is the oldest standing house in the Damariscotta, and one of the oldest in the state of Maine.
