Historic Bath Mansion of Maine’s First Governor in “Maine Homes by Down East”

Our extraordinary listing at 40 Whiskeag Road in Bath was featured in the Maine Homes by Down East August issue story “Famous Mainers Slept Here,” highlighting a trio of historic homes that recently sold across the state with impressive former residents. The property was the original summer house for Governor William King, who served as Maine’s first governor in 1820.

The home was represented by Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty agents Kathy Leeman and Cristina Stirratt and sold in June for $945,000.

Learn more about the history of the property in the excerpt from the story below:

King’s Castle

HEAVYWEIGHT: A general in the state militia in the War of 1812 and a leader in the movement to separate from Massachusetts, William King became Maine’s first governor, in 1820. His summer house was Maine’s first Gothic Revival, a circa 1812 granite farmhouse atop Bath’s Whiskeag Hill.

HIGHLIGHTS: Built by King, or as an English hunting lodge — sources differ — the 4,758-square-foot estate features multi-paned lancet windows, a central cupola, two horse barns, and 38 acres of perennial gardens, hedgerows, fruit trees, and forests. Recent owners converted a sunroom into a chapel with towering stained-glass windows and added a 16-by-40-foot in-ground pool.

HISTORY: Despite Maine’s prohibitionist leanings, King reportedly coaxed his guests to imbibe. A judge who refused a glass of wine with dinner was enticed to pour some on his dessert melon. To a teetotaling physician, King cajoled, “Won’t you have a spoon, Doctor? Recently [a judge] would not drink my wine, but he ate it with a spoon.”