One cold winter day in 1869, Charles Ames Washburn stood
at one of the large mansion windows within the family estate.
He reflected on two lines of a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
He stood in a mansion, built & rebuilt through his and his brothers'
hard work, drive, success, and leadership.
They intended it always to be a place to which family could return,
could come home and be together.
Just days after completion of the structure - fire almost took it from them.
They rebuilt before the winds of winter came.
It was a time when need for Reconstruction occupied all States within the Re-United.
He reflected on how these two lines by Tennyson so aptly described
the howling winds that swept across the Norland fields in front of him.
"When the long dun wolds are ribb'd with snow,
And loud the Norland whirlwinds blow..."
THE BALLAD OF ORIANA by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
at one of the large mansion windows within the family estate.
He reflected on two lines of a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
He stood in a mansion, built & rebuilt through his and his brothers'
hard work, drive, success, and leadership.
They intended it always to be a place to which family could return,
could come home and be together.
Just days after completion of the structure - fire almost took it from them.
They rebuilt before the winds of winter came.
It was a time when need for Reconstruction occupied all States within the Re-United.
He reflected on how these two lines by Tennyson so aptly described
the howling winds that swept across the Norland fields in front of him.
"When the long dun wolds are ribb'd with snow,
And loud the Norland whirlwinds blow..."
THE BALLAD OF ORIANA by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
About Us
The wheel of time turns slowly at Norlands. The past is not merely preserved and remembered at Norlands. It is brought to life as we re-create the activities, re-learn the skills, and re-connect with the attitudes and values of 19th-century rural Maine.
Norlands is a multifaceted living history museum and working farm where costumed interpreters discuss the Norlands' community during the mid-1800's. You may even meet a historical member of the community who lived in the Norlands’ neighborhood. Through Community Activities, Educational Programming, Rural Arts Courses, and touring the timeless estate, you will be immersed in the life of historic rural Maine. And, you will get to know Norlands' founders - the remarkable Washburn family. 
The Washburn women, three sisters, became wives, then lost husbands. They became mothers, and one died in childbirth. They moved West but came home to be caregivers. Their steadfastness made "coming home to Norlands" the touchstone of FAMILY.
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Maine's oldest operating Living History Center, serving the public since 1973.
National Register of Historic Places The Norlands is the ancestral home of the Washburns, one of the great political and industrious families of the 19th century. Of the ten children born to Israel and Martha Washburn, seven sons rose to serve.
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