Housing Options

From small shacks on the mill site, to tents and small wood buildings, early Millinocket residents needed to be creative in finding living spaces. In those early years, almost anything that provided shelter was used. Over time, the residential area of the town expanded, from across the tracks, to the Medway Road area (old tote road) and along Millinocket stream and more.

 Three unique choices included the use of homemade cement blocks, Sears-Roebuck catalog homes, and using grinder stones as part of a house’s foundation.

            Charles Morgan constructed a cement block building on Penobscot Avenue large enough to accommodate both living quarters for his family and space for his business (undertaker). A letter in the museum’s collection written by Morgan’s daughter, Ruth, tells the story. Charles Morgan returned from WWI and worked as a carpenter. Later, he became an undertaker. Morgan purchased a lot on Penobscot Avenue for his cement block building. He made a mold from wood for the blocks. This mold would allow for several blocks to be made at once. After the blocks were “set” or “cured,” he would make more. Morgan succeeded in completing his building and it was large enough for his family to live on the second floor. The first floor was taken up with an embalming room and casket display. There was a garage underneath for the hearse and the family car, a Model A sedan. This building still stands today, but the outside look has been altered over the years. Today the building houses a law office.

            From 1916-1940’s, you could buy a “kit house” from the Sears Roebuck catalog! The kit included the entire house with numbered parts, instruction books, paint and nails. In the 1920’s, they put out the Sears Honor-Bilt Modern Homes catalog featuring over 100+ house models including summer cottages and garages in a variety of styles.

Your kit house would arrive at the railroad station. All lumber was pre-cut and ready to be assembled. A basic plan was purchased and various embellishments (porches, inside bath etc.) could be added. If you couldn’t afford an inside bath, you had an outhouse option. A sample of one seven room home with tower was $871.00. This included lumber, laths, shingles, flooring, ceiling, gutters, sash weights, hardware, painting material, mill work, pipe and building paper. All labor, cement, brick and plaster were the responsibility of the buyer. Therefore, the total house cost was expected to be under $1600.00.

            Several homes used mill grinder stones as part of the foundation. One example is the Peluso house in Little Italy. These stones can be still be seen as you ride around the older sections of Millinocket.