Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Under the provisions of the Historic Sites act of August 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States.

Sited on a knoll overlooking an 18th century mast yard on the banks of the Fore River in the Stroudwater Village section of Portland, Tate House - an elegant Georgian townhouse with a unique clerestory set in its gambrel roof - was built in 1755 for George and Mary Tate and their family. George Tate, the senior mast agent to the British Royal Navy, held a prominent position in the colonies because Britain's navy supremacy depended on a steady supply of mast that came from logging the massive white pines in New England. By law all white pine trees over twenty-four inches in diameter were property of the King and were marked with the sign of the "broad arrow" (three axe slashes). George Tate was responsible for overseeing the marking, removal, and loading of these "sticks" (as they were called) into the holds of ships waiting in the Fore River so they7 could be transported to the great shipbuilding cities in England. Like the tax on tea, the broad arrow mark came to symbolize the tyranny of the Crown and reactions to the Broad Arrow Policies (the precursor to eminent domain) helped to foment the Revolution in the Province of Maine. Tate House Museum (in the James Means House) stands as a physical reminder of the economic importance of the colonial mast trade and its role in our history as a source of the American Revolution.

Having survived the destruction of Falmouth during the Revolution and the fires that devastated Portland during the nineteenth century, Tate house os the only pre-Revolutionary in Greater Portland open to the public. It offers area students, members of our community, and visitors from around the world an intimate experience of eighteenth-century domistic life and gives them the rare opportunity "to connect with Maine's colonial roots." Because Tate House is an exceptional structure for interpreting the heritage of the United States, it is one of only 2,500 historic places in the country that has the distinction of a National Historic Landmark. Recognizing its significance, a Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) that records achievements in American architecture, engineering, and design first documented Tate House in 1936.

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