Nickels-Sortwell House, Federal architecture mansion in Wiscasset, Maine.
The Nickels-Sortwell House is a three-story mansion in Wiscasset featuring a flushboard front facade, clapboard sides, and Corinthian columns framing the entrance portico. The structure extends approximately 83 feet (25 meters) deep and contains original period furnishings and decorative arts that reflect early 19th-century taste.
Built in 1807 by Captain William Nickels when maritime trade flourished in Wiscasset, the mansion faced immediate hardship from the trade embargo that year, forcing the family into financial decline. After the Nickels family departed, the property became a hotel for several decades, serving travelers on Maine's coastal route.
The interior displays Federal design choices that shaped daily life for its residents, such as the spiral staircase anchoring the entrance hall and window seats positioned to capture natural light. These features reveal how prosperous families organized their homes and spent time in different rooms.
The house welcomes visitors through guided tours managed by Historic New England during warmer months, allowing access to the furnished rooms and decorative collections. It is best to plan your visit in advance and check current conditions, as the site operates seasonally.
After the Sortwell family purchased it around 1899, the house underwent major restoration work to return it to residential grandeur, reversing the hotel modifications that had reshaped its interior. This revival reveals how later owners valued the original Federal design enough to restore what decades of commercial use had altered.
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