Wiscasset in Lincoln County, Maine — The American Northeast (New England)

Nickels-Sortwell House 1807

Wiscasset, Maine

— The Museum in the Streets —

Nickels-Sortwell House 1807 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2017

1. Nickels-Sortwell House 1807 Marker

Inscription.
In 1807, Captain William Nickels built one of the finest examples of high Federal style architecture in New England, a mansion of beauty, style, and sophistication. From the elegant entrance to stunning interior detailing, this is a house designed to proclaim the wealth and taste of its owner.

Eight years later, Captain Nickels, his wife and daughter were dead from a spotted fever epidemic and his estate was bankrupt. The family home became a hotel for the next 84 years, enduring multiple owners and benign neglect.

In 1899, wealthy industrialist Alvin Sortwell and his wife Gertrude of Cambridge, MA bought the house as a summer home for their family of six children aged 8 to 17, plus servants. The old house came alive with children, friends, fun, and laughter.

Gertrude Sortwell furnished the house with beautiful furniture in the Colonial Revival style, combining 18th century antiques with high end reproductions. She and her daughter Frances were stalwart preservationists who restored the house to its former glory. Frances died in 1957, leaving her magnificent home to Historic New England as a gift to

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the village she loved.

This is a house museum open seasonally to the public.

Erected by The Museum in the Streets®. (Marker Number 15.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1807.

Location. 44° 0.178′ N, 69° 39.958′ W. Marker is in Wiscasset, Maine, in Lincoln County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (U.S. 1) and Federal Street (Maine Route 218), on the left when traveling north on Main Street. Marker is located next to the sidewalk, near the northwest corner of the intersection, directly across the street (to the west) from the subject Hickels-Sortwell house. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 121 Main Street, Wiscasset ME 04578, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Midcoast Maine.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in New England,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are

Nickels-Sortwell House 1807 Marker (<i>wide view; house across street to the left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2017

2. Nickels-Sortwell House 1807 Marker (wide view; house across street to the left)

within walking distance of this marker: Hilton House, 1892 / Sunken Garden, 1904 (a few steps from this marker); Lower Main Street and Wiscasset Bridges 1847 - 1939 (within shouting distance of this marker); Rundlett Block - 1872 (within shouting distance of this marker); Stacy House - c. 1825 / Albee House - 1904 / Wiscasset Inn - 1920 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Common (about 300 feet away); Wawenock Block • 1858 (about 400 feet away); Downtown Stores c. 1892 (about 400 feet away); R.H.T. Taylor Store in 1882 (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wiscasset.

Regarding Nickels-Sortwell House 1807. National Historic Landmark (1970), National Register of Historic Places (1970), and Wiscasset Historic District (1973)

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Wiscasset, Maine - Museum in the Streets

Also see . . .
1. A prime example of Federal architecture.
Nickels-Sortwell House is a National Historic Landmark and one of the region’s finest examples of high Federal-style architecture. Built by successful ship owner Captain

Nickels-Sortwell House (<i>front view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2017

3. Nickels-Sortwell House (front view)

William Nickels, the house epitomizes the brief period when shipbuilding and the maritime trade brought wealth and sophisticated tastes to this coastal Maine village. Jefferson’s Embargo of 1807 devastated Wiscasset economically. The Nickels family was forced to sell the mansion in 1814. During much of the 1800s it served as a hotel for a growing number of summer visitors to Maine’s coast. (Submitted on April 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Nickels-Sortwell House.
The house was purchased in 1899 by Alvin F. Sortwell, Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and redecorated by his family in the then-fashionable Colonial Revival style. The solarium in the northeast corner was added by the Sortwells, as was the present entry portico, which replaced a broader porch added during the hotel period. The Sortwells also repurchased a parcel to the rear of the house that had been subdivided from the Nickels holdings, and built a carriage house on it. (Submitted on April 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Nickels-Sortwell House (<i>wide view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 30, 2017

4. Nickels-Sortwell House (wide view)

Marker detail: Fourth of July parade at the Sortwell House. image. Click for full size.

circa 1905

5. Marker detail: Fourth of July parade at the Sortwell House.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 29, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 529 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.