THOMASTON — Maine Historic Preservation has stepped in as a resource and an advocate for a historic house in Thomaston left vacant and deteriorating for the past 12 years.
 
The Fales Homestead, at 59 High Street, was recently listed among the 21st Annual List of Maine’s Most Endangered Historic Places. Placement on the list allows MPH, the out-of-state owner, and the community to agree upon a new steward who can guarantee the property’s restoration and maintenance.

At this point, however, the heir to the most recent owners is unreachable, despite continuing to pay taxes every three years, according to Peggy McCrea, Chairman of the Town appointed Historic Thomaston Resource Group.

The 233-year-old Homestead is one of the earliest, as well as one of the last remaining 18th-century houses in Thomaston.

The home showcases an innovation for its era – the use of graduated clapboards, narrow at the bottom and increasing in width as the boards march to the roofline. These graduated clapboards were intended to help to decrease exposure to harsh Maine winters since weather damage to a house is usually the worst within the feet closest to the ground. 

The Fales’ south-facing structure (facing toward South Thomaston on Route 131) has weathered many of those winters since David Fales built the original Cape-style dwelling, with steep, slaked roof, in 1786. (Fales’ brother Leonard is listed with MHP as the original owner, but Thomaston historical records state otherwise.)

The MHP considers the Homestead to be an excellent example of a Colonial low-posted Cape where rooms were built around a central chimney, and each room had a fireplace built within that chimney to provide warmth throughout. It also has vertical planking inside, according to Thomaston house historian FLS Morse in his book, Thomaston Scrapbook.

As the Fales Family evolved and changed into the mid-19th Century, so too, did mild alterations to the structure and the property. Yet, the aspects making it historic were saved. 

By early 20th Century, five Fernald sisters had taken ownership until Gladys Fernalds’ passing 70 years later, in 1990.

Starting in 1995, a retired couple, Ernest and Patricia Roebke, owned the property until Ernest’s passing in 2007. Their heir, Tracy Roebke, possibly also known as Tracy Coughlin, continues to hold title to the deed.

In 2006, McCrea started to be concerned for the property’s future. 2006 happens to be the year that Patricia died, according to Ernest’s obituary.

The large, once-thriving property that extends down to the once-rushing Mill River where lime kilns dotted along a shoreline road, now shadows the fact that that area at the intersection of routes 1 and 131 was once the center of town. 

In 2009, the barn began to deteriorate and fall in on itself. Weeds have grown high enough to hide the once-pristine lawn as well as the “big house, little house, back house, barn” concept.  

Code Enforcement Officer Bill Wasson got involved at that point, according to McCrea. 

“It’s called in other places ‘an attractive nuisance,’” she said, “where kids might get in there and then they hurt themselves.”

So, when Maine Historic Preservation put out their annual request for Maine communities to nominate endangered property’s, the Fales Homestead was nominated.

“It’s just so sad to watch this happening,” said McCrea.