The History of

the Auburn Harpswell Association

 

The information below is excerpted from Notes on the History of The Auburn Harpswell Association by Dana Porter Carson (1985)

 

Auburn Colony was founded in 1876, when a group of businessmen from the Auburn-Lewiston area purchased the Captain Nathaniel Pinkham farm in Harpswell Maine, to fill their desire to establish a summer colony and retreat for their families on the coast of Maine.

 

The Pinkham farmhouse, built in 1789, was enlarged by a shed-like addition and converted into a large dining hall with a kitchen, some office space and a few bedrooms for the hired help. The barn was partitioned to house the horses and coaches owned by the residents. Twenty identical white cottages, each 17 ft. X 30 ft., and an Assembly Hall that served as a chapel, music and recreation hall, were also built.

 

On November 5, 1899,  a fire started in the cottage closest to the road and quickly engulfed all twenty cottages. The only buildings left unscathed were the Assembly Hall, stables and Dining Hall.

 

In 1902, fourteen new cottages had been built; ten of these still remain. The shingle style cottages form an extended S shape, and are larger and more spaced out than the original cottages.

 

The kitchen of the present Dining Hall was part of the original converted farmhouse; the front part of the structure that houses the dining room itself and bedrooms above was built between 1901 and 1908.

 

The Association was incorporated in September 1916 and one share of stock was issued to each of the 14 Cottage owners. In succeeding years, the Association acquired the land to the east of Route 123, thus preserving the Colony view of Bailey's Island. The Association has also acquired other parcels adjoining the original 4 acres acquired in 1876, resulting in a present land ownership of approximately 20 acres.

 

Fires again struck the Colony in 1930 and 1948. The two cottages closest to the highway burned in 1930 due to defective wiring. In August of 1948, the next two cottages were lost when a kerosene water heater in the cottage closest to the road overheated.

 

In the early 1900's, the Colony was run like a hotel. The cottages were rented or loaned to friends and relatives for those weeks that they were not occupied by the owners. A couple named the Drowns served as cook and manager for many years. Later serving as manager was Frank Coffin, whose son became a Congressman and then judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Alice Bibber managed the Dining Hall in the 1930's. Walter Stout was the cook and manger in the 1950's. More recently the managers have been Mr. & Mrs. Charles Allcock, Clement Wilson, The McFarlanes and then Anne and Dick Moseley. 

 

Finally, in 1962 a saltwater swimming pool was built close to the ocean and the tennis court next to the flagpole, which both serve as favorite gathering spots for the athletic and the not so athletic.   In more recent years, the pool has been changed over to chlorinated water.

 

Many of the cottages are still owned by descendants of those in the original colony, or those of the early years in the second series of cottages. Several associate members are related to some of the early members.  Despite the current tendency of most of the cottages to be rented for at least a portion of the summer, there still remains a strong sense of community and history among the members.