Name/Title
Oliver Shead/E.A. Holmes House | 130 Water Street, Eastport, MaineDescription
-WATER130
H7-0D4-03
Address:
130 Water Street
Eastport, Maine
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Federal
From Eastport Walking Tour Brochure, 2010:
Although greatly changed by E. A. Holmes in the late 1800s, this house was built in 1802 by Col. Oliver Shead and was one of the first two-story framed houses built in Eastport. Oliver Shead came to Eastport in the 1790s as a clerk of Nathaniel Goddard. In 1802 he became the first postmaster of Eastport and held that position until his death in 1813 at the age of 36. In 1807 he was Eastport's first representative to the Massachusetts General Court. He was the second captain of the town militia and rose to the rank of colonel in the 3rd Regiment and commanded the militia at Fort Sullivan at the beginning of the War of 1812.
• From Eastport Sentinel, April 16, 1890, p.2,c.4-6
“A Walk up North End.
... His neighbor, Mr. E.A. Holmes, has taken the house next north, the first two story house on the island, built by Col. Oliver Shead, and afterwards occupied by Solomon Rice, and James H. Andrews, and on the site erected a spacaous and attractive modern house, portions of the original building, sufficent to make a connection between the past and the present going into its construction. The adjacent grounds are carefully kept, and from the bluff above looks out the North End Giant whose likeness the skillful hand of Mr. Shea enables us to give here [has reproduced an illustration of a sketch of the rock nace] and like “that awful face of stone,” as the poet Whittier calls it, which is hited[?looks like “hited,” but not absolutely(sure, perhaps a typo for “hinted”?] above the Franconia Notch in New Hampshire, the giant is invisible to those who stand directly in front, but must be looked upon from a distance. At this season when the trees are not in leaf a far off glimpse can be got of him from the Washington street sidewalk just above the Quoddy, but the best point of view is from neaer the further end of the bridge above the electric light works, looking South between(Mr. Holmes out-buildings. Some years ago a Cincinnatti[spelled with 2 “t”s] artist who was greatly taken with the figure and made a sktech of it, called it Mozarts head, claiming that it boze a striking resemblance in the profile of the great composer. ...
