Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
This house, which Captain Joseph Decker built in 1774 on Westport Island, had a connection to the French Queen, Marie Antoinette, during the French Revolution.
Captain Stephen Clough, Captain Decker's son-in-law, owned it 1793, when he was in France. Legend has it that he planned to save Marie Antoinette's life by taking her to Maine on his ship "Sally" to live in this house. However, she was arrested before he could intervene. When Captain Clough returned home, he brought with him French china, furniture, and clothing, said by some to be Marie Antoinette's.
At least four other places in America, including an entire village called "Azelium" near Athens, Pennsylvania, were also made ready for the French Queen and her court.
In 1838 gundalows, or flat-bottomed boats, pulled by oxen hauled the house across the Sheepscot River to a site in Edgecomb that overlooks the river.
In more recent times three generations of the family of Lea Wait, a prominent mystery and historical fiction writer, have owned the house. In 2020 Wait and her husband, artist Bob Thomas, live in the house, where they run an antique print business.
About This Item
- Title: Marie Antoinette House, North Edgecomb, ca. 1915
- Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Creation Date: circa 1915
- Subject Date: circa 1915
- Location: North Edgecomb, Lincoln County, ME
- Media: Glass Plate Negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
- Local Code: LB2007.1.101819
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company
- Legends
- Marie Antoinette, Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France, 1755-1793.
- North Edgecomb (Me.)
- Photographic postcards
- Postcards
- Westport Island (Me.)
People
Other Keywords
- Boys
- Children
- Flowers
- France
- Girls
- historic home
- home
- Houses
- Islands
- Marie Antoinette House
- Rivers
- Royalty
- Sea captains
- Ships
For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
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