The Later Years

The Pownalborough Court House building was large enough so that it served various purposes in addition to being a residence. At one time or another, it served as a tavern, an auction hall, a post office, a church, and a dancing school. But always the “Old Court House,” as the family fondly called it, was the place to which scattered relatives returned each summer.

Eventually the building fell upon hard times, and in 1954 it was sold to the Lincoln County Cultural and Historical Association. It was at that time in a state of considerable disrepair, and the Association embarked upon a program of gradually restoring it to its original state.

It is today a very handsome building, with wide floor boards, old paneling and beamed ceilings. In addition to the great furnished courtroom on the second floor, the building contains the judges’ chambers, spinning room, tavern, bedrooms, parlor and kitchen.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has held arguments in the courtroom two times in the recent past, on September 29, 2003 and on October 13, 2011.

Memorial Day is celebrated every year with a wreath-laying ceremony in the historic cemetery and a cannon and musket salute from Goodwin’s Company of Living Historians. Many people attend this popular event.

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