The Cattail Press

The Corinna House

This is a picture of the Corinna House. It was on the north side of Main Street in Corinna, Maine toward the Dexter Road. I’ve read that this hotel had 20 rooms and the capacity to seat 25 people in its dining room.

The railroad tracks are just visible running across the photo, near where the men are standing. The railroad came through Corinna in 1866, so this photo must have been taken after that date.

Here is another picture from the different position.

My guess is this picture of Main Street was taken later than the photo above. Notice the railroad signal on the white post just on the right edge of the photo. That was not in the first picture. This picture must have been taken before 1897, any later and the Stewart Library Building would be visible.

The next picture is from a post card you may have seen before.

The presence of the completed Stewart Library Building tells us that this hand-colored post card (printed in Germany) was made from a photo taken after 1898. The Corinna House is still there.

Just behind the person with the bicycle there is a building with an awning on the front and the high mill section. That is the Ireland Brother’s Grist Mill. It was completed in 1905. The Odd Fellows Building, which is not in this picture, was built in 1907. So, if all that is correct, this photo must have been taken around 1906.

Does anyone know more about the Corinna House? Can anyone verify the dates? Please leave a comment below if you can tell us more about these pictures and these interesting buildings.

Picture credit: David Leavitt Collection