Oaklands, Gothic Revival mansion in Gardiner, United States.
Oaklands is a stone Gothic Revival mansion overlooking the Kennebec River in southern Gardiner. Its two-story main block has a hip roof, and a three-story ell extends west. The walls are ashlar granite quarried in nearby Hallowell, with a crenellated parapet and a projecting bastion-like turret at one corner.
Oaklands Farm was granted in the 18th century to Silvester Gardiner, a Kennebec Proprietor; the state confiscated it during the Revolutionary War after he fled as a Loyalist. His grandson Robert Hallowell Gardiner recovered the land, promoted the growth of the town of Gardiner and served as its first mayor. The stone house was built in 1835–36 to a design by Richard Upjohn, early in his career, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The estate's name survives in local use as "Oaklands Castle," a nod to its crenellated parapet and corner turret. The farm itself remains working land, with sheep, cows, goats and pigs raised on the property, so the house is seen within an active agricultural setting rather than a park.
The house sits on a farming property in southern Gardiner with considerable space around it and several outbuildings in the vicinity. Visitors should be prepared for open grounds and rural surroundings when visiting the site.
The building displays a crenellated parapet running along the roof edge, a feature that evokes medieval fortifications and strengthens its castle-like quality. A projecting turret-like structure positioned at one corner of the facade adds to this medieval appearance.
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