Will Fearn and Lauren Fowler stand in the arch that marks the entrance to their property in Damariscotta Mills on Wednesday, June 3. The couple built the surrounding wall out of the four cords of firewood that will be used to heat their home. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
It all started as a solution to a storage problem.
Three years ago when Will Fearn and Lauren Fowler became fed up with the high cost of heating oil, they switched to a wood stove. But their small property had a limited footprint and not enough space to hold all the wood they ordered to heat the house for the winter. So they built a wall.
It wasn’t originally intended to be an art installation but inspired by the nature that surrounds them, the couple became increasingly creative.
Fearn and Fowler moved to Damariscotta Mills in 2022 as part of what Fearn called “the COVID exodus” from Florida. They have family in Lincoln County and searched for over a year before finding the small home on Ladds Hill Road.
“When we moved to Maine, we had a list of things we wanted in a house,” Fearn said.
He dreamed of having a water feature, but Maine did them one better. The Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder abuts their back yard.
“We got lucky,” Fearn said. “It’s a really cool place to live.”
The wall project started simply but grew in scope and ambition as visitors to the fish ladder exited via a path next to the house. They would often stop to admire the unique display of stacked firewood.
“Oh neat,” Fearn thought. “This is a thing that people find interesting. What do I do to make it even cooler?”
So he built it taller – almost 5 feet – and he added windows. When he couldn’t find inexpensive wagon wheel windows, he built his own from scrap wood in his garage.
“Am I classically trained woodworker? No? Do I have Ryobi tools? Yes,” he said.
Fearn pointed out that his brother, a local contractor, gave his stamp of approval to the plywood and glue construction.
Whimsey is part and parcel of the project, especially the windows.
“I love how they have little ledges for things to be on,” Fearn said.
Baby Groot from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies peeks out from one. From another, a traveling gnome keeps an eye on the sun-dappled street.
“I kind of want to hide more small surprises,” Fowler said of the many nooks and crannies available to them.
“Like little fairy doors,” Fearn suggested.
The construction of the wall itself is a simple process. It starts with used hemlock planks laid over the low rock wall that existed when they bought the house. Then the wood is stacked in even rows. No nails or glue is used to hold it together, just the weight of the wood with specially stacked square pillars on the corners. The windows are all added on the same row and the walls are built around them.
Fearn said he did a calculation of the cost and figured at $375/cord of wood he was able to build the wall for around $1,200.
But of course, the wall’s primary purpose is still as a heating source.
The wood will season over the course of the year and when the snow comes, Fearn will add a tarp over the top. Then the wall will be slowly disassembled, starting with the sides, to ensure the home stays cozy through the colder months.
Fearn said rot hasn’t been a problem. Nor have critters other than a small family of mice one year. Since the wall is only one log thick, it’s not a great nesting habitat, although squirrels still like to run along the top.
Fearn and Fowler acknowledged that the wall would not happen without a great deal of help from friends, neighbors, and family members. Each May when the wood is delivered they gather to help build the stacks.
“That’s the most appreciated part, people helping put the wood up,” Fearn said.
Four cords of wood are dumped along the road side over two weekends and Fowler said it takes six to eight hours to get the logs placed and then sweep the wood chips from the road.
In addition to its use as firewood, the wall has inspired additional projects, like the secret garden behind the windows. Fearn and Fowler appreciate the privacy the wall offers as well.
There a small lilac tree blooms in the spring and a young dogwood fills out a corner. They’ve added a few plants, some garden ornaments, several hanging baskets, but this year they stepped it up.
“We went to Moose Crossing and bought a bunch of different things,” Fowler said.
Hostas are a favorite filler plant. Fowler and Fearn don’t claim to be master gardeners; rather, they said they are experimenting with a variety of flowers to “see what happens.”
Hostas and other plants fill the small garden inside a firewood wall in Damariscotta Mills on Wednesday, June 3. The wall and garden echo the romanticised view Will Fearn and Lauren Fowler had of Maine when they moved here from Florida in 2022, they said. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Despite the other home maintenance tasks awaiting their attention, the wall and garden often take precedence.
“Kinda wish we had finished the shingling around the windows,” Fearn said. “There’s definitely the passion projects and then the nonpassion projects.”
Fearn actively solicits new ideas for the wall from anyone who may have a suggestion to offer. This year his cousin Lukas Fearn contributed a graceful wooden arch to the entranceway.
There’s another new addition waiting in the wings for next year. Fearn’s mother came across a carved spirit figure at an estate sale and gave it to him for his birthday this year.
For Fearn and Fowler, living next to the fish ladder feels like a privilege. Like many of the residents of Damariscotta Mills, they feel a sense of stewardship and they enjoy interacting with both neighbors and out-of-towners who are drawn to Nobleboro every spring for the alewife harvest. Many of them stop to admire the nearby wall of wood.
Fearn said the compliments are his favorite part. He’s already planning next year.
(Bisi Cameron Yee is a freelance photojournalist and reporter based in Nobleboro. To contact her, email cameronyeephotography@gmail.com.)
