Historic New England: Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum & Visitor Center

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A striped header image reading Historic New England: Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum & Visitor Center

In mid August of 2022, I took a trip to southern Maine, visiting six properties owned by Historic New England houses over the course of two days. The first of these houses was Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum & Visitor Center, once home to a local romance novelist. Compared to Willa Cather for her use of “local color”, or using dialectical spellings for speech alongside detailed descriptions of the landscape and the people in it, Jewett’s books shared the stories of Maine characters familiar to her and her neighbors.

Three-quarters view of a white Georgian style house with dark shutters. A black and blue sign reading Sarah Orne Jewett House 1774 With the Historic New England logo on the bottom right corner. A white Federalist style house behind a white picket fence by a sidewalk.

Jewett’s two houses, built next door to each other, originally belonged to her grandfather and father. The older building, purchased by her sea merchant grandfather in the 1820s, was originally constructed by the Haggens family in the 1774 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The house tour covers this space. The neighboring house where Jewett grew up, called the Jewett-Eastman House for its own entry on the Register, acts as admissions, a small gift shop, and an art gallery. Additionally, the house has an elegant and accessible bathroom with blue wallpaper. The entire complex is part of the South Berwick Historic District.

A fireplace with blue delft tile, some a solid color and some depicting idyllic rural life A sign titled Watch This Space: Expressions of Queer Ecology by Maine College of Art & Design Alumni A small room with a wooden sign table. A blue vase with white, fresh flowers sits on top. A locked, white door is behind the table. A aper towel roll holder is nailed to the door. To the right of the door is a black, plastic garbage can with a lid. A sing and soap dispenser are in the corner. The room is covered with blue and white wallpaper with organic shapes  A white sign with black text reading SOUTH BERWICK HISTORIC DISTRICT. In the middle of the sign is a tile-like insignia of a flower and leaves. A metal sign reading THIS PROPERTY JEWETT-EASTMAN HOUSE HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

The Sarah Orne Jewett House is in the classic Georgian style, its symmetry acting as a symbol of the family’s wealth. The library, parlor, and dining room are all decorated more-or-less in a mix of Victorian and Colonial Revival styles, with a few special pieces to hint at its famous owner. Porcelain owls refer to one of Jewett’s nickname, “Owly”, for her wide eyes and ability to see everything around her, which she translated onto the pages of her novels. A table in the front parlor held a collection of her favorite things, a common conversation starter for upper-class Victorian era women. The upstairs rooms are similarly decorated, with the highlight being Jewett’s writing desk in the hall near the front window.

A Victorian parlor with a fireplace, curios table, floral wallpaper, floral rug, and seating around the edge of the room A curios table covered in a white tablecloth with figurines, pictures, and books. A dining room with a small wooden table and chairs, a fireplace with a decorative covering, gold-and-blue wallpaper with a matching carpet, and paintings hung on the walls. A fireboard depicting the Greek god Hermes, wearing his winged hat and carrying his caduceus, or magic staff, sitting in a chariot attached to a pair of Pegasuses A cozy library with a tiled fireplace, a clock with a lyre shaped body hung on a bright red wall among photographs and paintins, and a table with a red and black paisley table cloth covered with books and an oil lamp. A hall with green floral carpeting, matching green and red wallpaper, white crown molding, a wooden raling, and a writing desk on the far right corner. A large window with a semicircular top section. In front of the window is hung a smaller stained glass window depicting a yellow lily. A bedroom with a poster bed, matching chair, fireplace, and portrait over the mantel. A bedroom with floral wallpaper, poster bed, colorful rugs, and wooden furniture. A bedroom with a poster bed, red floral wallpaper, a green patterned carpet, and wooden furniture A room with dark brown wooden floors, a round table surrounded by four mismatched chairs, a plain fireplace, and a pair of decorative muskets over the mantel

Jewett was a fascinating person, which the tour clearly conveyed. Her chronic illness, understanding of herbs and traditional medicine, close relationship with heiress and fellow writer Annie Fields, and tragic accident ending her writing career could each be a story on their own. Unfortunately, the tour guide became overwhelmed by the amount of worthy material and had difficulty pacing the tour, lingering for too long in the early rooms and frequently repeating facts. A tightly written, timed script would have alleviated these issues and made the tour more enjoyable both for the visitors and the guide.

A pink rose against a green, leafy background A green, shady garden in front of a tall fency. A red, brick, two-story building stands behind the fence. A portrait of a woman wearing a light colored dress with a high collar. A boutonniere made of a rose is pinned to the front of her dress. The painting is set in a thick golden frame and hung on a wall covered in silver and blue wallpaper.

Tours of the house run on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Historic New England’s open house in June through mid October with tours on the hour at 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tickets are standard Historic New England pricing: $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $7 for students, and free for Historic New England members (like me!). The house is not accessible by wheelchair, and the stairs might be too steep for people with low mobility. A virtual tour is available on the website.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 6/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 5 Portland St, South Berwick, ME 03908, USA