Ever since the movie Gettysburg based on the novel Killer Angels, America has rediscovered Joshua Chamberlain. This college professor turned soldier is featured in the story of the Union victory in Pennsylvania in 1863. Count us among those who are fascinated with the story of this Mainer. Today we visited the Joshua L Chamberlain Museum in Brunswick in the only house he ever owned. It’s on Maine Street across from the Bowdoin College campus where he was a professor before the war and college president after his four one year terms as governor of Maine. While waiting for the tour to begin we did a little walking tour to view his statue on campus and visit his grave in the nearby Pine Grove Cemetery. The hour long house tour gave us more insight into Chamberlain the man, with glimpses into his upbringing, his marriage to a strong willed member of the Adams family of Boston, his children and grandchildren. The house itself is an intriguing story. Originally a modest house on a side street, it was moved to Maine Street and lifted so that an imposing first floor could be added underneath the original house. Prior to the Chamberlains residency parts of the house had been rented at one time to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, another of the notable professors at this prestigious school founded in 1794. History! Such fun to dig a little deeper and discover the tangled web of connections!
Turns out moving houses has been going on longer than I thought.
You’d have loved the challenges involved in moving this one.