Reading in the parlor of the Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta. The house will be open for tours during a coopersmith demonstration over Pumpkinfest weekend. (Photo courtesy Lincoln County Historical Association)
In celebration of Pumpkinfest, Chapman-Hall House will offer a special demonstration of the cooper’s trade on the grounds of the historic home at the head of Main Street in Damariscotta.
In colonial times, the cooper fashioned barrels, wooden tubs, buckets and other stave items that fulfilled a multitude of needs. The public is invited to observe Jeff Miller at work from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13.
The Chapman-Hall is the oldest known house in Damariscotta today. A rare Maine example of a plank-on-frame building, it was built in 1754 by Nathaniel Chapman, who moved with his wife and family to Damariscotta, then called Nobleboro, in the 1750s
A housewright by trade, Nathaniel was encouraged to make the move by his stepbrother Anthony Chapman, who had settled in the area now known as Back Meadow.
The Hall name became part of the house’s history when the Chapmans sold the property in 1835 to the newly married couple, Tilden and Elizabeth Hall, who were from Waldoboro. The house stayed in the Hall family until 1907.
This is the last weekend that the Chapman-Hall House will be open for the 2024 season. It is still available for school tours by appointment until the end of the month. Admission is $10; children 16 and under are free.
The coopering demonstration is open to the public, free of charge, and is not part of the house tour. The Chapman-Hall House is one of three historic sites maintained by the Lincoln County Historical Association.
The Lincoln County Historical Association is a nonprofit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For more information, go to lincolncountyhistory.org.
