WOODLAWN- AN ESTATE OF HISTORY Woodlawn Museum (the Black House) stands as a testimony to the exceptional accomplishments of Colonel John Black. However, its true significance can be grasped only in the context of major developments which comprise much of Maine's history, especially that of Down East Maine in the nearly one hundred years following the onset of the American Revolution. It is a history of which Col. Black is a major author. Still a part of Massachusetts at the end of that war, Maine was characterized by an abundance of natural resources-coastline, woodlands, and rivers. Yet, other than Native Americans, it could claim but few settlers, by necessity stouthearted individuals who managed to eke out an existence on the water, in the woods, or out of the soil. The need for money was the impetus that caused Massachusetts in 1786 to institute a lottery to encourage settlements in the eastern sections of Maine, subsequently to be referred to as the Kennebec (large portions of today's Somerset County) and Penobscot (the current areas of Hancock and Washington Counties) tracts. This effort's failure to translate Maine lands into money occasioned a renewed attempt-- but also unsuccessful-to sell townships to those Massachusetts citizens of means. In 1791, real land speculation took off. Henry Knox and William Duer, both well-known Americans, completed with the Massachusetts Land Committee a highly-leveraged deal to purchase the above-referenced two tracts of land, roughly one million acres each, at approximately 10 cents per acre. Their efforts to find buyers were to be influenced by the collapse of a so-called Scioto Company whose Northwest Territory holdings were envisioned as appealing to French Noblemen who stood to lose much in the ultimate outcome of the French Revolution. One of those who had left a tumultuous France for the new United States of America was Madame Bacler de Leval whom Mr. Duer tried to interest in the Maine lands as the site of her envisioned French asylum. But Mr. Duer went bankrupt; no French nobility arrived; Madame de Leval married and moved to New York. The apparent rescuer of the Maine adventure was the prominent, very wealthy Philadelphia citizen, Mr. William Bingham, who, through his agent, negotiated the purchase of Mr. Duer's claims and part of those of Mr. Knox. With his national and international reputation as a successful business man and his important connections with such European banking houses as Barings of London and Hopes of Amsterdam, he set out in 1793 to attract buyers/settlers to these two tracts of Maine wilderness bordered by the Kennebec River and the earlier-settled coastal areas. Highlighted in the promotions were the regions' great natural resources. Mr. Baring's appeals to wealthy Europeans, through both letters and the personal efforts of his agent, Mr. William Jackson, to invest in the land were about as fruitful as those earlier attempts of Messrs. Duer and Knox. It was then that Mr. Bingham decided to appoint an on-site agent to protect his holdings from timber thieves, to survey the territories, and to find buyers for parcels of land. Populating this earlier purchased property was a condition attached to his acquiring the land from Massachusetts. In 1795, General David Cobb of Taunton, Massachusetts, was so employed. He was a man with a reputation as a doctor, an army officer, a patriot in the Revolutionary War who fought in various battles and was an aide to General George Washington, a judge, a representative to the Massachusetts General Court, a Speaker of the House, and a representative from Massachusetts to the Third US Congress. Having lost a 1795 contest for re-election, he was receptive to Mr. Bingham's offer to serve as his agent in Maine. Meanwhile, Mr. Bingham had acquired additional seacoast property in Gouldsborough, Trenton, Ellsworth, and Mt Desert. Consequently, General Cobb had oversight of over 2,000,000 acres, "most of it unsurveyed, unexplored, and uninhabited." (Anonymous, The Black Mansion: Historical Introduction (p. 10). He began at once "the puffing of Maine" (Ibid., p. 11) in local Boston papers. The generous incentives offered those who would settle in this vast, resource-rich wilderness simply did not yield the desired results. Upon retrospect, it was General Cobb's vision of the agricultural potential of these woodlands that may have doomed all his efforts to but the most modest of success. In fact, he boasted of his focus on farmers "of the first breed of the Old Colony-the descendents [sic] of Ancestry from the West of England and untainted with disorganized blood either Savage or Civil, and whose industry will make a wilderness to blossom like the Rose and the flinty surface of the Rocks to rejoice with fertility." (Ibid., p. 11) Such optimism is all the more remarkable when seen in the context of all the problems he was to encounter, such as those created by the pre-1784 settlers who appropriated to themselves a right to lands not owned and the conditions created by nature. Following his June 8, 1795 arrival in Gouldsborough, he wrote to Mr. Bingham about "people almost blind by the bites of flies and musketoes [sic]." He went on to project, that Mr. Bingham could "have no conception of the hosts of these devils that infest the thick forest in summer months." (Ibid., p. 13) Efforts to sell land to the extant settlers were crippled by their poverty. So, to advance his vision of these Maine lands, appeals were made to "wealthier farmers" of more settled sections of the nation. General Cobb viewed the unrestrained cutting of forests the reason for the devaluation of the soil that he, possibly without close investigation, described as the "finest in the world." He passionately urged respect for property and the growth of agriculture. Consequently, he spared no effort to reign in the lumber trade to protect Mr. Bingham's investments. For Mr. Bingham, the Maine purchase represented enormous expense and little return, a situation that was to strain the Bingham-Cobb relationship. He continued to seek European buyers through the efforts of Mr. William Jackson. In November of 1795, General Cobb was called to Philadelphia, in anticipation of the arrival of the son of Sir Francis Baring, Alexander, who was coming to America on behalf of a group of European bankers, particularly Barings of London and Hopes of Amsterdam, now interested in purchasing land. The deal, completed in February of 1796, gave Mr. Baring one-half interest in the "Penobscot million" and one-half interest in a third tract of acquired property north of this million-acre expanse. Sir Baring, to become Lord Ashburton, was himself to play a role in both the economic and political history of Maine in general and Down East Maine in particular. Along with Daniel Webster, he negotiated the treaty that resolved the disputes over Maine's northwest boundary. But history continued to follow a bumpy course after 1796. The strain on Mr. Bingham's resources from the Maine investments (he had spent $60,000 from 1796-1801 alone) and other developments, both personal and financial, caused him to seek a way out of the deal-but not at any cost. He died in 1804. Nor was General Cobb happy. The ongoing trouble with timber thieves, the tensions that had developed between him and Mr. Bingham over finances and general expectations, the lack of any concrete achievements-these factors took their toll. He did not know how to proceed after 1804, although the trustees of Mr. Bingham's estate had assured him of support. By the time that estate was settled, there were the consequences of the War of 1812 with its embargo, especially hard on eastern Maine, thereby making more difficult an economy in trouble. To the very end, General Cobb envisioned Maine's success primarily in terms of its agricultural potential. In 1822, the General returned to Taunton, Massachusetts where he died in 1830. Obviously, such conditions could never have permitted the construction of Woodlawn. That another vision of Maine would prevail is explained by the role of Colonel John Black who looked beyond the trees to see the forests as Maine's greatest financial resource. It is Sir Francis Baring or Lord Ashburton who is responsible for bringing John Black to Maine and thereby for measurably shaping its economic history. An Englishman born in 1781 in London, John Black was hired by Sir Francis to serve as a clerk to General Cobb and to Sir Francis' agent, Mr. John Richards. He arrived in Gouldsborough in 1799. His exceptional talents resulted in his assuming an ever-increasing role in the affairs of the Bingham-Baring Maine partnership. In 1802, he married General Cobb's daughter, Mary. When the Ellsworth sub-agent, Mr. Donald Ross, died in 1805, Mr. Black was eventually appointed his successor and moved to Ellsworth in 1810 where he would live and transform Mr. Bingham's original investment into a high-yield performer. Mr. Black took part in the War of 1812 and was broadly recognized for his patriotism, his friendly personality, his honest ways, and his exceptional business abilities. As his father-in-law, General Cobb, was edged out of the picture, Col. John Black was moving to its center. He was eventually appointed general agent of all the Bingham estate's Maine properties. It is important to note that his focus was not on agriculture but on lumber trade, which was to grow exponentially in the 1830's, 40's, and 50's. The contrast between the Cobb's early home in Gouldsborough and the Black Mansion in Ellsworth can be viewed as a critique of the different visions for the area held by these two men. Woodlawn Museum (The Black House) in Ellsworth captures the essence of the history of post-Revolutionary War and mid-Nineteenth Century Maine. Rebecca Robbins, in her monograph, "Colonel John Black of Ellsworth," published in 1978, claims, "Black can indeed be credited with helping launch Maine's lumbering industry, for he quickly saw that timber was the State's prime resource." Col. Black's duties as Mr. Bingham's agent, his success in the lumber business which made him not only very wealthy but provided the heirs of Mr. Bingham resources undoubtedly beyond his fondest dreams, and his success as a retailer brought him into contact with many people. His voluminous papers, located at Woodlawn, are estimated to contain materials relating to over 3200 individuals. He built Woodlawn between 1824 and 1828 and furnished it with items dated as early as 1650. There he and his wife, Mary Cobb, raised a family. After his death in 1856, his second wife and widow remained in residence at Woodlawn until her death in 1874. Son George, who inherited his father's business enterprises and Woodlawn, left Ellsworth for Boston in the 1860's, returning but occasionally. In 1865, he ended his agency of the Bingham lands and liquidated in 1870 the family's businesses. His son, also named George, inherited Woodlawn in 1880 and spent summers in Ellsworth until his death in 1928. His will bequeaths Woodlawn to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations "as a public park: the house and grounds and wood roads to be kept as they now are ... the main house to be always kept in order and open to visitors under reasonable regulations but not to be occupied." And so stands, today, in Ellsworth a magnificent estate, essentially unaltered, on 180 wooded acres with magnificent trails. The red brick house, of the Federal period, with features and contents truly remarkable, is a treasure. To appreciate fully Woodlawn's significance, one should view it as an embodiment of national and international developments that would help give shape to America-particularly the Down East section of the Pine Tree State. The Black House connects a difficult, challenging past and the present. It serves as a testimony to the vision and abilities of a man who saw the heart of the Maine economy in the 19th century to be in those very trees that others viewed as a barrier to agricultural development of the land. That Col. Black named his residence Woodlawn appropriately summarizes the story. The governance of the Black House is essentially determined by the will of George Nixon Black and by the purposes and bylaws of the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. A brief examination of each of these instruments is instructive. The will of George Nixon Black specifies that the Black Estate, "called Woodlawn, including the land, buildings, furniture, and pictures therein," was to be bequeathed to the City of Ellsworth, Maine as a public park; the house and grounds and wood roads to be kept as they now are, a caretaker to be employed, who shall be permitted to occupy the kitchen and adjoining rooms in the "L" of the house only; the main house to be always kept in order and open to visitors under reasonable regulations, but not to be occupied. The will further states that Mr. Black was "greatly interested in not having the trees cut for any purpose whatever." Also given to the City of Ellsworth were the portraits of General David Cobb, my great grandfather, and the portraits of my grandfather and grandmother Black, my father and mother, my sisters and myself, and all furniture which belonged to General Cobb, now in Boston, Manchester or Ellsworth houses, and direct that they be marked as such respectively and kept as a memorial at said Woodlawn. I also give to the said City of Ellsworth...the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars, to be safely invested; the income of said Fund to be used forever in keeping the house, land, roads and property in order and repair, and to pay for a caretaker. In a second codicil to this will, dated August 23,1911, Mr. Black directed that the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, a corporation organized under Chapter fifty-five of the Revised Statutes of 1883 of the State of Maine, its organization having been ratified by chapter three hundred sixty-nine of the private and special laws of 1903 of the legislature of said State of Maine rather than the City of Ellsworth be the recipient of the estate. He regarded the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations to be more experienced than was Ellsworth in administration, "more suitable for the care of such a trust." The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations itself has a fascinating history. Its creation is in large measure the result of a vision or concern of Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard from 1869 to 1909, who had been for years a summer resident of Northeast Harbor. In 1901 he suggested to neighbors and friends the formation of an organization to conserve and maintain the natural beauties of Mt. Desert. The impetus for this suggestion was the increase in private ownership of vast areas of the Island, a trend President Eliot saw as resulting in depriving the public of access to "many beautiful hills, points and beaches." (The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations: An Historical Sketch and a record of the Holdings of the Trustees, 1939 (p. 7). To avoid this, he envisioned an organization "to secure and maintain reservations for public use." (Ibid., p. 7) President Eliot was following a precedent established by his son, Charles, who created an organization whose members were substantial Massachusetts citizens to be known as the Trustees of Public Reservations who "would be empowered to acquire parcels of real estate possessing natural beauty or historical interest and to hold them for public use and enjoyment." (Ibid., pp. 7-8) The Maine counterpart to this Massachusetts entity was to have a similar purpose, namely, "to acquire, hold, and maintain and improve for free public use lands in Hancock County which by reason of scenic beauty, historical interest, sanitary advantage or for other reasons may be available for the purpose. (Ibid., p. 8) The meeting called by President Eliot for considering this proposal was held September 12, 1901. Thus was born the organization to be known as the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. Its incorporation was confirmed by the Maine legislature in 1903. Eight men incorporated this entity. It was headquartered in Bar Harbor and claimed 44 members in its first year. Its original intent, as a volunteer organization, was simply "to preserve for public enjoyment the scenic and historic sites of Mount Desert." (Ibid., p. 7) The organization received from wealthy individuals thousands of acres, all tax exempt. In 1913, there was an unsuccessful Maine legislature attempt to deny the HCTPR its tax exemption-an effort initiated in response to the growing concern of the Island residents about the large tracts of land which were being removed from the tax rolls. However, the issue was sufficiently weighty to cause the Trustees to look for alternative ways to accomplish their purposes. So, in 1914, Mr. George B. Dorr, First Vice President of the corporation, went to Washington to have the Trustees' holdings consolidated in a "national monument or a park." (Ibid., p. 12) On July 8, 1916, President Wilson signed the executive order "establishing [sic] the Sieur de Monts National Monument." (Ibid., p. 13) Three years later, Congress passed an act establishing Lafayette National Park. In 1929, President Coolidge approved a bill changing the name to Acadia National Park "and authorized the inclusion in the Park holdings of lands beyond the boundaries of the Park." (Ibid., p. 12) The record noted that in 1929 the Trustees received under the will of George Nixon Black of Boston the "noble old Black Mansion (Woodlawn) at Ellsworth." The bequest included the house with its unique collection of old time furnishings and pictures, the carriage house and its ancient vehicles, the well-kept gardens and grounds, the remarkable woodlands accessible by the roads built by Colonel Black more than a century ago, and a modest fund for insurance, repairs, and upkeep. The Estate is administered by a special committee of the Trustees of which Mr. Richard W. Hale has been the efficient chairman ever since the trust was accepted. (Ibid., p. 13) The vast previous holdings of the Trustees had, for all practical purposes, passed on to the Federal Government for care and maintenance, leaving "the Black Estate [as] the largest and most important unit under the care of the Trustees." (Ibid., p. 13) Today, Woodlawn is legally owned by the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. Its purpose is defined by the articles of incorporation of this organization; its responsibilities are additionally prescribed by the will of George Nixon Black. The governing body of the Corporation is identified as the Board of Trustees, to be composed of the elected officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and individuals duly elected by the Nominating Committee. The Board of Trustees may have up to 21 members but no fewer than 11. The Bylaws (included in the appendix of this handbook) state that the Board of Trustees shall have general management and control of the business, property and work of the Corporation" and that the Board "may, by general resolution, delegate to committees of their own number, to the executive director or to officers of the Corporation such powers as it sees fit and shall specify the manner and frequency with which they shall report to the board." (Article III, Section 1). WOODLAWN'S NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE Located in Ellsworth, ME, Woodlawn is a late Federal-style brick house built between 1824 and 1827 based on Plate 54, "Plan and elevation for a house which is intended for a country situation," in Asher Benjamin's American Builder's Companion. Advanced for its time, the house remains a significant example of early 19th century domestic architecture in Maine. The house was occupied for 100 years by three generations of the Black family. The furnishings of the house are all original, allowing present day scholars to study one of New England's most comprehensive family collections still in tact. Woodlawn is also the repository for the extensive Black family archives which help illustrate the economic and political development of Maine, and the house stands as a reminder of the nascent historic preservation movement of the early twentieth century that resulted in the saving of important historic sites and the founding of Acadia National Park. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 as a site of local significance. However, the national significance of this property is multifaceted and needs to be recognized for the many ways that the individuals associated with it influenced the economic growth and political definition of our nation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Four of the broad National Landmark themes can be used to assess Woodlawn when considering its significance in the national context. The shaping of the political landscape, the development of the American economy, the transforming of the environment, and the changing role of the United States in the World community are all understood better at a national level when examined through the lens of Woodlawn. A brief history of the individuals associated with Woodlawn is a good beginning for the investigation of these four themes. In 1793, William Bingham of Philadelphia speculated in the rapid settlement of the Maine frontier by purchasing two million acres of land that became known as the Kennebec Purchase and the Penobscot Purchase. He hired General David Cobb, once a top-ranking aide to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, to act as his land agent for the Penobscot Tract. The sale of land did not proceed as hoped and soon Mr. Bingham found himself overextended financially. He sold half of his interest in the land to the Baring and Hope banking companies of London. John Black, a nineteen-year-old clerk in the Baring Bank, was sent to America to assist General Cobb in the administration of the land. Over time, this assignment proved advantageous to all involved. From this business relationship William Bingham found financial security, Alexander Baring began a long personal, political, and successful business association with America, and John Black found a new home and his life's work. While David Cobb served as the first Land Agent in Gouldsboro, Maine, it was not long before John Black was overseeing the business. Black soon became a naturalized citizen, married General Cobb's daughter, and succeeded his father-in-law as Penobscot Agent, eventually taking over the administration of both the Kennebec and the Penobscot Tracts. He has been cited by Richard Wood, in his book A History of Lumbering in Maine 1820-1861, as the most active of all the land proprietors in the District of Maine (then part of Massachusetts) and the agent responsible for abandoning the misguided plan to promote the agricultural development of Maine lands, and redirecting it to the exploitation of the natural timber resources. Thus, Black promoted the development of the lumbering industry that still fuels Maine's economy today. Many individuals profited from John Black's vision for the land, but few attained the success that Black himself did. He manufactured lumber, exported his own, and that of others, on ships he owned and then imported goods through businesses he set up for his sons to run. At one time, Black and his sons were shipping lumber to Europe, the Caribbean, points along the east coast, and even to the Pacific coast. As his success as agent for the Bingham lands grew so did his personal wealth. When he died in 1856, an article in the Ellsworth American boasted that he left"…probably the largest estate ever left by any person in the state east of Portland." During his lifetime, Black was associated with many of the personalities who helped shape the early nation. Although he never held state or national office himself, Black widely influenced the politics and commerce of Maine as it entered Statehood in 1820, and up until his death in 1856. At various times John held the position of town clerk, Justice of the Peace, and Colonel in the Massachusetts Militia. He often lobbied in the State government for issues that would benefit the economy and political well-being of Maine. Associated with Woodlawn is the significant archival collection that is housed there. All of the business records of Colonel Black and his sons exist as do significant personal letters, schooner records, and business letters that link Colonel Black with over 3,200 individuals or businesses in Maine and beyond. Other documents in the archives include maps, receipts for purchases made for Woodlawn when it was built as well as later on, and letters between other members of the Black family. Although the Colonel's grandson, George Nixon Black Jr., bequeathed numerous other family papers relating to General David Cobb to the Colonial Society of Massachusetts in 1928, some primary documentation pertaining to General Cobb remains at Woodlawn. This collection of nineteenth century documents is vital to an understanding of the lumbering industry in down east Maine from both an economic and a political point of view. One particularly important part of the Black archives is a set of correspondence between John Black and his English employer, Alexander Baring (more widely known as Lord Ashburton). The correspondence occurs at the time Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton were negotiating the U.S.-Canadian border in 1842. During the period of negotiations, Colonel Black traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Lord Ashburton. Few Englishmen had a greater affection for and understanding of Maine than did Lord Ashburton and John Black. It is evident that Ashburton held John Black's opinions in high esteem and that Black may have influenced the course of the boundary dispute talks. By honesty, astute observation, and a broad national and international sensibility John Black rose from the position of clerk to become one of the wealthiest men in Maine. But the significance of Woodlawn and those associated with it is not limited to John Black alone. His son and grandson maintained and augmented the family fortune and influence. Both George Nixon Black and George Nixon Black Jr. conducted their business from Boston. While there is still much to be learned about the social position of the Blacks, it parallels that of many families who attained great wealth during the industrial revolution. George Jr. was influenced by his peers in Boston and participated in many of the interests common to the upper class at the close of the nineteenth century. He built the famous shingle style summer cottage "Kragside" in Manchester Massachusetts and collected fine European and American art and furniture. His legacy reflects his interest in preserving the colonial American heritage, and honoring the men who built this nation. George was a member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. At his death he bequeathed large sums of money and his collections to cultural institutions, the most significant being the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It was he who left Woodlawn to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations to be kept as a public park in perpetuity. The influence that John Black and his family had on the development of Maine is still affecting the State today. When John Black arrived in the District of Maine, it was generally viewed as the last frontier left in New England. His role as land agent for William Bingham and the Baring Bank of London put him in a position to assess the potential of this land. Seeing the success of smaller lumbering operations, he quickly ascertained that the future of Maine lay its woods, bringing him great personal wealth. Lumbering became the economic backbone of Maine and marks the first and still continuing effort to harvest America's vast natural resources. For two generations the Blacks profited from the land. By the third generation, it is significant to find George Nixon Black Jr. transferring Woodlawn and its surrounding 180-acres to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservation, an organization that was founded to preserve forests and scenic lands in the area. This group donated much of the land that is now Acadia National Park to the federal government, making it the largest gift of land to the government east of the Mississippi and the only private group to found a national park. Thus, the principle member of the third generation of the Black family sought to maintain his grandfather's legacy through the twentieth century practices of land conservation and historic preservation, shifting the family's interests from commerce to land conservation. www.woodlawnmuseum.com  ©2008 Woodlawn Museum