Harrington House

Harrington House. . , Harrington House, the headquarters of the Freeport Historical Society, was built in 1830 by Freeport merchant Enoch Harrington for his bride, Eliza. It was once part of a 14-acre parcel that included extensive gardens and orchards across the street and behind the carriage barn, which the society now leases out as retail space and parking. The house was constructed with locally made brick and local granite in a transitional Greek Revival style, with a wooden fan over the main entrance that harkens back to the earlier Federal style. , , Enoch Harrington died in 1848, and for a period in the 1880s his widow Eliza rented the house. Lydia and Isaac Fogg owned the property in the late 1800s, and rented several rooms to boarders. For over five decades in the twentieth century, state legislator and prominent citizen Levi Patterson and his wife Nettie lived in the house. They rented some of the second floor and attic rooms to shoe factory workers during this period. Miss Helen Randall, a local artist who died in 1976, was the last individual to own the property, which the Freeport Historical Society acquired in 1977 through the generosity of Eleanor H. Smith. , , In 1988 the Freeport Historical Society undertook an extensive project to restore the house and its significant historic features. It retains most of its original interior design and finishes, and stands today as a reminder of a quieter time for Freeport's Main Street. , Freeport Historical Society presents rotating exhibitions and programs at Harrington House, and its library and archives are available for research by students, genealogists, scholars and others, by appointment. The society also owns Pettengill Farm, a saltwater farm just outside town.