Ogunquit residents fight to save historic home

The Captain Maxwell House in Ogunquit, which dates to the first decades of the 19^th century, may soon be demolished.
Photo by Jessey Taylor

OGUNQUIT - Approximately one dozen citizens turned up at the Ogunquit Planning Board meeting on March 24 in an attempt to save the Captain Maxwell House from demolition.

The old farmhouse and barn were erected in 1845 and Ogunquit residents aren't ready to let this piece of the town's history go down without a fight.

Rhonda Desisto, who owns Panache Gallery in Cape Neddick, purchased the property with the intent on moving her gallery there. According to Desisto, it was not her original intention to tear down the building. However, upon hiring architects Harvey Wells and Sean Huston, who are well known for their restoration projects, she was informed that the building was beyond repair. The building had been neglected for too long and it would be more cost efficient to tear it down and erect a new one rather than repairing the existing structures, according to Wells.

"The main house and the other buildings were in such bad shape that we didn't feel it was much worth looking at in terms of repair due to cost and feasibility because they appeared to be on the brink of falling down," said Wells.

Wells explained to the board that the house suffered from many structural problems and appeared to be significantly out of alignment. Some of the specific problems Wells listed with the house included rotted sills, walls that did not meet the state's energy standards, weakened porch structure and nonconforming stairs.  

"After taking a look at all this, Sean Huston and I reluctantly concluded that there wasn't a whole lot left to this building that could be restored," said Wells.

The board was scheduled to start the review process to have the three structures demolished and replaced with a 2,000-square-foot retail building, which would resemble the original structure, and parking for 17 vehicles. However, the design review application was found incomplete due to the lack of requested documents and the process was put on hold until the next planning board meeting in April. The board did allow abutters of the property who were present at the meeting to speak.

Michael Puglisi, property manager of The Seasons, located across the street from the Captain Maxwell House, was present at the meeting to serve as a voice for one of the property's residents who was strongly opposed to a business replacing this single-family dwelling. Puglisi argued that the area was already "a very dangerous spot" due to high traffic congestion and adding another business to the area would only worsen the problem.

"If [Desisto] is such a good businessperson, then why would she buy a property that is defective and then come to the board and ask for a variance and a waiver to tear everything down?" said Puglisi.

Ray Benack, resident at The Seasons, said that many members of the association are out of town for the winter and weren't even aware of the situation. Benack requested that notification be sent to each of the residents of the 30 dwellings inside The Seasons informing them individually of the proposed changes rather than one letter to the association.

"I think it is the responsibility of the Land Use Office to let us all know what is going on," said Benack. "We all pay taxes and I think it's important, especially in the winter when most of us aren't even here, that letters go out to each of us."
Although the request initially met some resistance from the board, it was ultimately agreed that individual notification of upcoming meetings involving the Captain Maxwell House would be sent to each of units in The Seasons. 

Peter Ford, whose property abuts the old farmhouse, said that his property is just as old as the Captain Maxwell House and if he made the repairs to keep his home intact Desisto should be able to do the same.   

"I'm sure that the structure next to me, although it is falling apart a little bit, is just as old as mine and I repaired my home very, very easily." said Ford.

Ford was also in strong opposition to turning the single family dwelling into a business. Ford claimed that another business in town would take away from Ogunquit's original charm.

"One of the reasons I purchased a home in this town was because of character," said Ford. "Now you are going to completely change the entry to the downtown area."