Tour of the Blaine House

At the beginning of May our homeschool co-op was able to take a tour of the Blaine House. This was actually the first time my family & I had been inside. The Blaine House is the Governor's Residence. My husband and I had attended a picnic there a couple years ago for an event he was invited too.

The tour only covers the main floor due to the fact that the second floor is where the Governor and First Lady reside. As a result, the tour is very short. The biggest reason it's taken me so long to plan a trip here is due to the restrictions placed on groups.

As homeschoolers, we are a packaged deal. Typically any group contains moms and multiple kids. The Blaine House only allows five adults to attend per group but up to 25 children. As you can see, we didn't even come close to that child limit. This was the first group that went, but we had to have two time slots due to the adult limit. However, it worked out well.

We were given a brief talk about the history of the house and how it became to be owned by the State of Maine. It was originally intended to be passed down to the son in the Blaine Beal family. However, he was killed in France in World War I. As a memorial to him, the family donated the house to the state.

State events are still held inside. The parlor is rather large as is the state dining room. Although, I have to admit, the room I liked best was the study and not just because of the bookshelves. Mr. Blaine was friends with Abraham Lincoln. On the desk there was a pass given to Mr. Blaine to travel during the Civil War signed by Abraham Lincoln.

Visitors to tours first start here. 

Although, during state events this room 

(which spans the length of the house) is used for receptions. 

The Study

The framed wallpaper? Mr. Blaine wanted his study to look just like Mr. Lincoln's and so he patterned it after it. The paper in the frame is authentic, it is from Mr. Lincoln's study. The room was matched to it. I think the moms appreciated all of this just a bit more than the kids.  

Pass signed by Abraham Lincoln

All the little details throughout the house were amazing. The woman who gave our tour talked about cleaning the rooms so I have to assume she works in a capacity of more than a tour guide. She was very knowledgable about all the various items and the history behind the house.