Hardscrabble Farm, farm in Searsmont, Maine
Hardscrabble Farm is a historic farmstead in Searsmont, Maine, featuring a one and a half story main house built in the 1840s with Greek Revival details and connected outbuildings. The wooden structure displays a symmetrical front with sidelights and a side-gable roof, linked to a barn through a series of progressively smaller ell sections typical of 19th century New England farm design.
The farm was built in the 1840s and changed ownership several times: first to the Lincoln family, then to the Weed family starting in 1852. Later owner Bert McCorisson acquired it in the late 1800s and held the property until his death in the 1930s.
The name Hardscrabble draws inspiration from a property once owned by Ulysses S. Grant, connecting the farm to broader American history. Writer Ben Ames Williams used this place as his summer home and drew characters and settings from the local community for his stories set in a fictional Maine town.
The farmstead sits just south of the village center along Maine State Route 131, making it accessible for visitors. Open fields and wooded areas surround the property, allowing you to walk around the buildings and explore the landscape.
Writer Ben Ames Williams connected this farm to his literary work by setting his stories in a fictional Maine town modeled after the surrounding area. One of his characters, Bert McAusland, was directly inspired by Bert McCorisson, the farm owner, making the site a link between real life and literature.
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