Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Bowdoin College

WCG Team

Project Specs

year completed

2015

Gross floor area

5,500 sq ft

Partners

Barba + Wheelock Architects
DeBlois Electric
Johnson & Jordan
Ray Labbe & Sons
Northeast Spray Insulation

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is one of Maine’s most significant historic landmarks, best known as the home where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote much of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Working with Bowdoin College and the design team, Warren Construction Group helped preserve and restore this National Historic Landmark while adapting it for modern campus use.

The project focused on restoring the home’s original exterior appearance, uncovering and preserving historic details that had been altered through decades of renovations and previous uses. Inside, the building was thoughtfully reimagined to provide offices, collaborative workspaces, and a public writing room that honors Stowe’s literary legacy.

Through careful historic preservation and craftsmanship, the renovation protects an important piece of American history while ensuring the building remains a vibrant part of the Bowdoin College campus for generations to come.

In a letter Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote about the house, “I am lonesome nights in this rattletrap house where every wind shakes out as many noises are there are ghosts in Hades—screeching snapping cracking groaning.” Numerous renovations have been made since Stowe and her family left the home, and in the process of stripping back the layers, Bowdoin College Project Manager, Don Borkowski, noted damage from at least two significant house fires.

Project Photos: David Kurtis Photography