Grant House - York, ME

In 1662, Henry Lynn sold a parcel of land on the York River to James Grant (The Drummer), one of the Scots captured at the Battle of Worcester, September 19, 1651, one year after Robert1 Junkins was captured by Cromwell's army.

In 1729, Robert1 Junkins' son, Alexander2, purchased the land and owned it for the next 100 years. A ferry was operated there, across the York River for many years until a bridge was built for Route 1, the main road to Portsmouth. Some of the basic portions of the house, now known as the Grant House, are believed to have been built by Alexander2.

In 1830, the property was sold to James Fernald of Kittery, in 1874, it was sold to Joseph Grant and in 1906, the Grant family gave the property to three churches, the First Congregational, Second Congregational and the Christian Church. In 1920, the three churches sold the property to the Goodrich/Breckenridge family who later gave it to the town of York.

Most of the existing house was built in the mid- to late-1800s. The house stood empty for many years and eventually the town of York announced that it was going to have the house torn down as it could no longer pay for the maintenance and insurance. A group of interested York citizens formed a rescue committee. In 1993, they were able to force a vote on the fate of the house. The committee offered to restore the house at no cost to the taxpayers and the citizens of York overwhelmingly supported that offer. Since then, the house has been used as a meeting place for the Board of Selectmen and other Boards, for wedding receptions and more recently for the York Parks and Recreation Department offices.

Directions: From I-95 exit (Exit 7) at the Route 1 traffic lights across from York's Chamber of Commerce building, travel south on Route 1 to the next set of traffic lights at the top of the hill. Continue south on Route 1 approximately 1.5 miles. Grant House (also known as Goodrich Park) is located on your right just before the York River Bridge on Route 1.

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