The Martin Farm

See below for what the site looked like in 2005. Also see the Reminiscences page.

The Martin Farm lies on Town-owned property on the banks of the Sebasticook River off lower Peltoma Avenue.

Moses Martin (1733-1850) and his wife, Anna Parker, with several children moved from Norridgewock, Maine to Pittsfield (then called Plymouth Gore) in the late 1790’s purchasing land from Lovell Fairbrother. They first lived in a log cabin erected in 1794 on the banks of the Sebasticook River off what is now Peltoma Avenue. In early 1818, Moses Martin built the first framed house in Pittsfield at the same location. The Martins were the parents of 12 children, and in their declining years lived in the old home, cared for by their son David.

In later years, their grandson, William Perry Martin, owned and occupied the Martin Farm. The Farm was devastated by a fire in 1965 (click on photo at right to enlarge), and is now marked only by a granite rock placed in 1923 by the Elizabeth Pierce Lancey Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The D.A.R. placed a bronze tablet on a granite rock at the site and although the tablet is long lost to vandals, the granite rock marking the spot remains.

The Pittsfield Historical Society and the Maine State Organization of the Daughters of the American Revolution rededicated the historical marker placed at the site of the homestead of Moses & Anna (Parker) Martin with a celebration on Aug. 4th, 2007, in an event at the First Congregational Church.

Mrs. Anna Parker Martin’s spinning wheel (below) is in the care of the Pittsfield Historical Society at the Depot House Museum on Central Street, Pittsfield.

Spinning wheel that once belonged to Anna Martin. On display at the Depot Museum.

Martin Farm House site in 2005

Photos below by Kathy Palmer.

In preparation for replacing the plaque, these photos were taken to show the state of the site today. The original plaque was presented by the DAR. The marker was in the form of a boulder of Maine granite, bearing a bronze tablet, on which is the D.A.R. insignia and the inscription:

          1818-1923
       The site of the
      FIRST FRAME HOUSE
        Marked by
       Elizabeth Pierce Lancey Chapter
      Daughters of the American Revolution

When the plaque was placed in 1923, the original house still stood on the site and was owned and occupied by William Perry Martin, a direct descendant of the builder, Moses Martin. Mr. Martin, with his wife, Anna, and three children came to Pittsfield, in 1794. Their first dwelling was a log house; the present house was built in 1818. It burned in 1965.