Forest Lodge, National Register of Historic Places site in Upton, Maine.
Forest Lodge is a homestead of seven buildings on a 1.8-acre triangular parcel on the north bank of the Rapid River in Upton, Maine. The oldest structures, the Winter House, Summer House and Guide House, stood before 1933; the Riches added two woodsheds and a workshop, and later owners built the Guest House and Fly Shop. The Summer House, the largest, keeps Rich's typewriter and rolltop desk.
The oldest buildings on the site, including the Winter House, Summer House and Guide House, stood before 1933, when Ralph Rich moved in and met Louise Dickinson as she portaged a canoe between Lower Richardson Lake and Lake Umbagog. The couple adapted the seasonal camp for year-round living; after Ralph's death in 1944 Louise spent winters on the coast and summers here until selling in 1955. The property joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Louise Dickinson Rich moved in in 1934 and adapted the seasonal camp for year-round living; she took up writing to supplement the family income, and her 1942 book We Took to the Woods recounts her first six years there. The property, its few year-round residents and seasonal visitors recurred in her writing for forty years.
Forest Lodge lies within Upton but is cut off from the rest of the town; reaching it requires a long drive through an adjacent county to the Carry Road, which passes through the property. The main buildings stand on a loop road south of Carry Road, closer to the Rapid River. The site is private property, so visits depend on the owners' permission.
The property lies within Upton but is cut off from the rest of the town: reaching Carry Road, which passes through the site, requires a long drive through a neighbouring county. The Summer House, the largest building, still holds Rich's typewriter and rolltop desk.
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