Lord, James C., House
a.k.a. Callahan House
497 Main St., Lewiston, METhis substantial and interesting example of late 19th-century eclectic architecture, combining elements of the Italianate, Queen Anne, and High Victorian Gothic styles, is important as one of the few known works of architect Jefferson Lake Coburn, in addition to the basic merit of its design. It further stands as a classic example of a prosperous merchant's house of the period conveying as it does the feeling of dignity and security so important to the rising Victorian middle class.
As early as 1872, James C. Lord had established a grocery and provision business in Lewiston at the corner of Lisbon and Cedar Streets. From this time until 1885 he resided at 491 Main Street, one lot from the corner of Mountain Avenue. Lord had acquired both lots in 1850 and it was on the empty corner that he built his new house (497 Main Street) in 1885.
From Lord, the house passed to John N. Wood in 1890 and Wood's widow in turn sold it in 1920 to Timothy F. Callahan, who for many years was prominent in Lewiston political circles.
Born in 1835, Jefferson L. Coburn, after an honorable military career in the Civil War as a lieutenant in the 1st Maine Cavalry, established himself as an architect in the Lewiston-Auburn area. He became well known in central Maine and executed commissions in Presque Isle and Vassalboro as well as in his local area.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.