KENNEBUNK –  There’s a motto, a quotation from an Italian Renaissance poet, painted in the elegant main entry of this stately home in the town’s Historic District. “Parva sed apta” (mihi) it reads: “Small, but just fine” (for me).

Such becoming modesty enhances the charm of the 3,621-square-foot home, which has a remarkable pedigree. Built in 1782, it is “significant for its late-18th century Georgian architecture and its association with American history,” in the words of Maine Preservation.

Prosperous and prominent shipbuilder Hugh McCulloch, for whom the house is named, bought the property in 1801. His son, by the same name, was born in the house and served as Secretary of the Treasury to three presidents, beginning with Lincoln. Today, the house is offered for sale for the first time in 215 years, by a McCulloch descendant.

It is a cherished family home of endless historical and architectural fascination. Highlights include several fireplaces (with beehive oven, in the drawing room); handsome moldings of both the Georgian and Federal periods; pocket Indian shutters on 12-over-8 windows; and extraordinary Independence Day 1776 wallpaper in a southwest living room closet. The H and L hinges in the main entry are seen again upstairs, where bedroom walls could be suspended from the ceiling to create a larger space for meetings or ballroom.

It is also a home with contemporary appeal.  A newer sunroom, and huge deck, overlook the back lawn and gardens of the property’s pastoral seven acres, with 1,020 feet and a dock on the Kennebunk River (you can sail down to the Port). The updated kitchen features granite surfaces, birch cabinetry and high-end, stainless appliances. The total of 10 rooms allows floor-plan flexibility, particularly in regard to a master suite on the two-bath second story.

The Hugh McCulloch House, at 160 Summer St., Kennebunk, is listed for sale at $598,000 by John Downing of Downing Real Estate Agency. Taxes were $7,900 in 2015. For more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact John at 985-3328 or at jdd@downingagency.com.

The Home of the Week is produced by the Marketing Department of the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Photos by Dave Clough, www.davecloughphotography.com.

Send HOW suggestions to jrolfe@pressherald.com.


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