96 Limerock Street

While serving as Attorney General, Charles Littlefield hired the Gardiner Maine-based architect and builder, Edwin E. Lewis, to design and build a new home for his family.  They were living at 19 Limerock Street at the time and Charles purchased a building lot just a few blocks away at number 96 for $400.

Lewis only designed and built for about a dozen years, but he was prolific – delivering more than two dozen homes and commercial projects. In 1890, he started four projects: a Union Hall in Danforth, a Masonic Hall in Waterville, and two stately Victorian homes. One, of course, is now LimeRock Inn… the other became the Greenville Inn on Moosehead Lake.

When the Limerock house was completed 1892, it was valued at $4,500. As you look at the photos below, you’ll probably notice some changes over the early years. The original home had a beautiful attached octagonal barn, which was lost to a fire after 1900. Between 1892 and 1900, Littlefield added bay windows off the east façade and sometime thereafter the turret.

1892 c.1900 2024

The gilded full-length mirror in the entry hall was a house-warming gift to his wife, Clara Ayer. As the daughter of an Army General and the wife of an Attorney General, she always wanted to look her best before leaving the house. It’s been said that the silver-coated mirror was appraised at 10% the value of the house when it was installed!