Wallace--Haskell Homestead

House facade and north elevation facing southwest, with barn at left

Photograph by Michael Goebei-Bain, courtesy of Maine State Historic Preservation Office

Quick Facts

Location:

268 W. Point Rd., Phippsburg, Maine

Significance:

art, entertainment/recreation

Designation:

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference number: SG100000526

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

private

The Wallace/Haskell homestead is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the home of prominent American artist Ernest Haskell from 1906 to his death in 1925. Haskell began his career in New York as an illustrator, later studied in Paris, and finally worked in Maine during his mature period as an important American artist specializing in etching. Mr. Haskell created some of his best work at the homestead including many etchings focused on the local Maine landscape. After Earnest Haskell's death his wife continued living on the property and ran the Haskell Camp in Maine for children from 1927 to 1938. The camp lodge and office were constructed in 1927 along with cabins that no longer exist. The existing barn was used for crafts and the home was the director's house. The camp was reopened as Camp Casco Bay for the summer of 1941 to British children living in foster homes on the eastern seaboard. The children were sent to the United States to escape the bombing of London and in many cases were housed separately from siblings also in the States. The camp was not continued after the United States entry into World War II. The buildings are eligible for their association with Recreation and Entertainment in the context of the development of summer camps for youth in the early twentieth century. The property is eligible at the local level.