View at Somesville Me. 77.

View at Somesville Me. 77.

"View at Somesville Me. 77." Field, Farm, Waterway, Lumber, Buildings, Signs [Library], Residences "This is the view looking north from the mill pond in Somesville. The small, hipped-roof building is the 1894 Library. Behind it is the long AC Fernald's store. Fernald came from Sutton Island and opened a store, undertaker's shop, and post office in this building in the 1860s. Before the library was built, about 200 books were kept in AC Fernald's store. The [undertaking business] is still run by Fernald family today. The store was called Fernald's until the 1980s, when a new Fernald's Store was constructed. It was later used for Port in a Storm Book Store. In the field behind the store can be seen the Somes House. George A. Somes inherited the family property in the late 1800s and promptly expanded the old Cape house, which was built using some of Abraham Somes' 18th Century home. I believe the original part of the compound is the center building, without dormers. The house to the left and the one to the far right were later additions which allowed the Somes House to house some 150 guests at a time. Guests included Louis Comfort Tiffany, Alfred Vanderbilt, Joseph Pulitzer, JP Morgan, President William Howard Taft, and Mary Cassat. The Somes House operated into the 1950s, when parts were torn down."--Willie Granston, 2011