It has had many names, occupants and uses since its construction and remains as one of our most recognizable historical landmarks
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Fuller Mansion – 83 Elm Street
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On May 17, 2024, the Hartland Historical Society purchased the former Fuller Mansion aided by generous public support of an ambitious fundraising campaign to secure a dedicated home for our collections. For more information on our latest campaign to fund repairs and renovations so we may open our beautiful new location to the public, please see our Make-It-Home Fundraiser page.
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Several significant events occurred prior to construction of the Fuller Mansion which sprung from the matrimony of Henry Clay Fuller & Mary Isabelle Linn on December 25, 1874 forever uniting two of Hartland’s most influential families at the time.
Henry Clay Fuller (1854-1903) was born in Hartland on February 12, 1854, the 5th of 8 children of James Fuller, Jr & Sarah Underwood and was raised at his parents’ homestead on Elm Street next to the Baptist Church. James, himself a son of pioneer settler James Fuller, Sr, moved from West Hartland to the Village in the 1840s and was very active in town affairs serving as Town Selectman, Town Clerk and Post Master. James also operated a large general store in Warren Square where he later rebuilt a smaller store following a major fire in late 1878.
James Fuller, Jr & Sarah Underwood Residence – Elm Street
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James Fuller, Jr owned large tracts of land on Elm Street with a couple of additional houses built by 1860 including the house below his personal residence eventually occupied by his son Henry C. Fuller and his wife Mary I. Linn.
Elm Street – 1860
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Mary Isabelle Linn was the 5th of 6 children of Archibald Linn & Grace Wilson. She was born November 18, 1856 in a part of Leicester, Massachusetts known as Cherry Valley after her parents had come from Scotland in 1848. Mary came with her family to Dexter then to Hartland where her father had built the original Linn Woolen Mill in 1863 and was raised at her parents’ home on Commercial Street with her 2 surviving older siblings Thomas Archibald Linn & Robert Wilson Linn.
Archibald Linn & Grace Wilson Residence – Commercial Street
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Henry attended Hartland Academy then received further education in Westbrook before he first began working at his father’s original store in Warren Square. Soon after his marriage to Mary in 1874, Henry was hired by his father-in-law, Archibald Linn, to work at the Linn Woolen Mill. As noted in his obituary, “He was taken into the Linn Office in a confidential capacity, and as he became an expert in wool manufacturing, relieved Mr. Linn of the cares of management for many years.”
Henry Clay Fuller
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Following their marriage, Henry & Mary moved into the existing house built on his father’s Elm Street property as indicated below in an edited photo taken from the Baptist Church Steeple. A daughter and 5 sons would be born to them between 1875 and 1889 but 2 of their sons would not survive past infancy.
Elm Street – c1877
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Henry & Mary’s Elm Street Residence with its new attached stable as noted on the 1883 Map of Hartland Village.
Elm Street – 1883
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Following Archibald Linn’s death on November 18, 1889, Henry soon became President of the newly reorganized Linn Manufacturing Company with Mr. Linn’s written support as noted in his Will. Henry’s tenure as President of the Linn Manufacturing Company was very successful and the company’s woolen mill operations in Hartland grew extensively under his leadership. Archibald Linn’s only surviving sons, Thomas Archibald Linn & Robert Wilson Linn, were also top level officers of the newly reorganized company which began construction of an additional woolen mill building on Main Street in 1890 previously proposed by Mr. Linn before his death.
New Linn Woolen Mill on Main Street
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Henry & Mary’s Elm Street Residence as depicted in this crop from the original 1896 map noted in the legend as #39 “H.C. Fuller Residence”.
Henry & Mary (Linn) Fuller Elm Street Residence – 1896
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As noted in several articles from the era, Henry & Mary hosted numerous social events at their Elm Street residence over the years but undoubtedly none as dear to them than the wedding of their only daughter Grace Wilson Fuller to George Teel Osborne on December 1, 1896. George had previously moved to Pittsfield from his native Massachusetts with his widowed mother Anna (Teel) Osborne who became one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Hartland Public Library. Following their marriage, Grace & George moved to Pittsfield.
Fuller-Osborne Marriage – December 1, 1896
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Like many other citizens of Hartland, Henry & Mary celebrated Independence Day at their Elm Street homestead.
July 4, 1898
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In 1901, Henry Fuller expanded operations of the Linn Manufacturing Company with a new business venture operating as the Fuller-Osborne Company along with his son-in-law George Teel Osborne and his brother-in-law Thomas Archibald Linn. The new company’s primary focus was in clothing production with its nationally famous Sebasticook Walking Skirt soon leading its numerous offerings but it also had several other business interests including real estate, newspaper printing and a greenhouse operation.
Original Sebasticook Walking Skirt by Fuller-Osborne Manufacturing Company
(Purchased and Donated by Friends of Hartland Historical Society)
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Henry & Mary had already lost 2 sons, Carroll Fuller (1884-1886) & Ralph Linn Fuller (1889-1890), when tragedy struck the family once again upon the death of their 25yr old daughter Grace (Fuller) Osborne and her unnamed son on March 30, 1901 in Pittsfield following childbirth. The funeral was held at her parents’ home where Grace was born June 5, 1875 and had married in 1896. She and her son were interred at Pine Grove Cemetery.
Grace Wilson (Fuller) Osborne Obituary – 1901
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In 1901, Henry Fuller built his first greenhouse on Elm Street across the street from their residence under the business banner of the newly formed Fuller-Osborne Company operating as “Scotch Thistle Greenhouses” under his personal guidance. Several newspaper articles transcribed below from The Pittsfield Advertiser chronicled some of the new greenhouse’s early timeline:
1901 – “The new greenhouse recently completed by Henry C. Fuller is a fine addition to the business enterprise and will be a great convenience to the people of Hartland and vicinity as heretofore they have had to depend upon getting their cut flowers, etc., from out of town. It is 70 x 22 feet with spacious wings, and is fitted with all the necessary heaters, etc., to get the very best results at all times of year from the plants. He has bought a large number of plants for it, and the same have been set out for three or four weeks. He has a young man in charge who came from Scotland and one who thoroughly understands the business. Mr. Fuller thinks now that he will build another house of the same size next year and that he will have quite a business in this particular line.”
1902 – “The Scotch Thistle Greenhouses, which have been built by the Fuller-Osborne Company in this village this past season are now completed and the growing of flowers of all kinds is progressing finely. The owners of this new enterprise announce that they are now ready to supply anything in this line at short notice. The houses are under the charge of a florist who has had much experience in this work and he knows how to produce the daintiest and sweetest flowers imaginable.”
1902 – “A particularly beautiful display of flowers may be seen at any time now at the Scotch Thistle Greenhouses. The business is growing rapidly, orders being shipped all over the state. The display of chrysanthemums is especially fine. George T. Osborne has our thanks for a beautiful bunch of roses which were sent from the Scotch Thistle Green Houses at Hartland. Mr. Osborne tells us that the greenhouses, which have been built at that place this season, are now completed and that flowers of all kinds can be furnished customers at short notice.”
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Henry & Mary owned a substantial amount of personal real estate in Hartland and other areas most of which would be inherited by Mary upon his death. Among some of their known property investments noted in newspaper articles below were the Park House on Main Street and the Hartland House on Elm Street. Henry also had several other personal business interests outside his Hartland affiliations including co-ownership of Newport Woolen Mill where he served as Treasurer and on the Board of Directors for Pittsfield National Bank. Henry was also an 1883 Charter Member of Lodge No. 101 of International Order of Odd Fellows in Hartland.
Newport Woolen Mill
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In the prime of his successful rise as a highly respected leader in manufacturing and business, Henry was stricken with Tuberculosis in late 1902 and passed away on March 11, 1903 at 49yrs old at Boston City Hospital where he gone for advanced treatment. Henry was survived by his wife Mary and sons James Elmo Fuller, Guy Goss Fuller & Elmer Linn Fuller. He was interred at Pine Grove Cemetery with his 3 predeceased children Carroll Fuller, Ralph Linn Fuller & Grace (Fuller) Osborne.
News of Henry’s death was printed on the front page of the Pittsfield Advertiser with bold headlines as transcribed below:
Death of H. C. Fuller
Prominent Hartland Man Died in Boston This Morning.
WAS PRESIDENT OF LINN WOOLEN COMPANY.
Expired in Boston City Hospital After Comparatively Brief Illness of Tuberculosis.
Prominent and Successful Woolen Manufacturer, His Death Great Loss to Hartland.
Funeral Arrangements Not Yet Made.
“A telegram received here announces the death of Henry C. Fuller at Boston early this morning. The end came shortly after midnight. Mr. Fuller was President and General Manager of the Linn Woolen Company at Hartland, and was one of the best known and most successful woolen manufacturers in Maine.
His health had not been robust for some time, and his condition was such about the first of February that he became confined to his house. Continuing to grow worse, about two weeks ago, accompanied by Mrs. Fuller, he went to Boston and was admitted to the Boston City Hospital, probably the best institution of the kind in that city.
When the end came, all of his immediate family were at his bedside, except one son, Guy, who left Pittsfield on the Pullman last night, but did not reach Boston in time to see his father alive. Mr. Fuller’s death was due to Tuberculosis. The remains will probably arrive here tomorrow morning, and the funeral arrangements will be announced later.
Henry C. Fuller was born in Hartland about 49 years ago. He was a son of the late James Fuller (Jr), a prominent citizen of Hartland in the earlier history of the town. Henry received his education in the public schools at Hartland, and at the Hartland Academy, finishing his school career at Westbrook.
Then he went into business with his father, who was conducting a large general store in Hartland on the corner where the store occupied by E. E. Davis now stands. The old Fuller store and its connecting buildings was burned a long time ago.
In the year 1875, or thereabouts, Mr. Fuller married Miss Mary I. Linn, eldest daughter of Hon. Archibald Linn, the proprietor of the woolen mill at Hartland. Soon after this, Mr. Fuller was taken into the Linn office in a confidential capacity, and as he became expert in woolen manufacturing, relieved Mr. Linn of the cares of the management in many ways.
After Mr. Linn died, eleven or twelve years ago, a corporation, the Linn Woolen Company, was formed to continue the business, with Mr. Fuller as President and General Manager, and in these capacities he ably served the corporation for the remainder of his life. Under Mr. Fuller’s management the business has grown and prospered, until the plant is now about three times as large as it was at the time of Mr. Linn’s death.
Several years ago Mr. Fuller and Gordon Dobson and J. W. Manson, Esq., of Pittsfield, bought the woolen mill at Newport, which has been successfully operated by them since that time. Mr. Fuller owned considerable real estate in and about Hartland, and his great energy and keen business foresight had surrounded him and his family with very many of the comforts and luxuries of life.
Five (six) children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fuller. The eldest, Grace, married George T. Osborne, then of Pittsfield, who has since been associated with Mr. Fuller in the Fuller-Osborne Company, a Hartland industry engaged in the manufacture of clothing. Young Mrs. Osborne’s sudden death about two years ago was a great blow, from which the family will never entirely recover.
Harold, (Carroll) a young son, died some years ago. Three sons survive their father, James, Guy and Elmer. Besides the bereaved wife, two sisters of Mr. Fuller, Dr. Jennie Fuller and Mrs. Harriet U. Baker are left to mourn their loss.
Mr. Fuller was a charter member of Hartland Lodge No. 101, I. O. O. F., and so far as we know, was connected with no other fraternity. The business community of Hartland has met with a great loss in the death of Mr. Fuller. A representative man has fallen.”
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His funeral on Saturday, March 14th was one of the largest ever held in Hartland and every business in town closed during the service.
Henry C. Fuller Funeral Service – Pittsfield Advertiser – Published March 19, 1903
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Upon Henry’s untimely death, his brother-in-law Thomas Archibald Linn took over as President of the Linn Manufacturing Company including operations at the Linn Woolen Mill and the Fuller-Osborne Company. Thomas would successfully continue the company’s growth and increased production throughout his time as its new leader and his brother Robert Wilson Fuller, Sr also remained as one of the company officers. There are currently no known records to indicate Mary was ever directly involved at any time with the company’s business operations although she quite likely provided input on some matters through Henry and her brothers.
Linn Woolen Mill from Pittsfield Avenue
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Pittsfield Advertiser – August 27, 1903
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In the spring of 1904, Mary Fuller began having a new house constructed on the Scotch Thistle Greenhouse lot across the street from the house where she had lived for most of her married life with Henry since 1874. Mary hired Frederick Augustus Tompson of Portland to design her new home. Mr. Tompson (1857-1919) was a prominent architect of his time well known for his design of dozens of houses, schools, churches and public buildings mostly in the greater Portland area.
A complete set of the original architectural blueprints drawn by Frederick A. Tompson were discovered at the house and presented to the Hartland Historical Society following our acquisition of the property. All 23 pages of blueprints have since been digitized by historical society member Randy Butler for our archives to print and eventually display selected framed copies for public viewing.
Front Elevation by Frederick A. Tompson for Mary I. Fuller’s New Residence
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1st Floor Plan by Frederick A. Tompson for Mary I. Fuller’s New Residence
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Dining Room Wall Details by Frederick A. Tompson for Mary I. Fuller’s New Residence
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Main Staircase Details by Frederick A. Tompson for Mary I. Fuller’s New Residence
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Progress on construction of the house was noted in several articles from the Pittsfield Advertiser.
May 20, 1904
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The Cyr Brothers of Hartland had just recently opened their new granite quarry in 1902 on the newly extended line of the Sebasticook & Moosehead Railroad about a 1/2 mile from Devil’s Head.
June 15, 1904
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October 18, 1904
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November 30, 1904
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The exquisite new 3 story, 10+ room house built on a full basement featured all the available modern amenities of the day including electricity, central heating, indoor plumbing and telephone service. Among its interior features were custom light fixtures, decorative fireplace mantles, ornate wooden pillars & crown moulding, built in shelves, numerous closets and a dumb waiter. Exterior features on the 1st floor included a distinct wraparound front porch adorned with pillars and a spacious back deck overlooking the river. A pair of large decks also extended from the 2nd floor and atop the roof was an iron railed “Widow’s Walk”.
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Although no known photos of the original interior exist, many of the original construction details remain intact today.
1st Floor – Library
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1st Floor – Dining Room
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While it would commonly be referred to locally as “Fuller Mansion”, Mary preferred the lot’s original and more eloquent title as “Scotch Thistle” when referring to her homestead as noted in several future newspaper articles.
Mary Isabelle (Linn) Fuller’s New Residence
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Following the completion of her new home in late 1904, Mary was living there when the 1910 Census was taken with her 23yr old son Elmer Linn Fuller as well as her private coachman Burd A. Austin and her maid Maud Thomas. Mary was noted as a 54yr old widow born in Massachusetts having 3 living children out of 6 born to her.
Elmer remained there another year until he married Jean Osborne Palmer in 1911 and moved to Massachusetts soon after. Her son James Elmo Fuller had married Bertha Harris Cherrington in 1903 and resided across the street in 1910 at his parents’ original house where their 2 oldest of 4 children were born in 1905 and 1911 before moving to Massachusetts by 1914. Mary’s other surviving child Guy Goss Fuller had married Edith Lurancy Fuller in 1903 and moved to Lewiston before they moved to Massachusetts soon after 1910.
Fuller Mansion aka Scotch Thistle
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Following Henry Fuller’s death, the Scotch Thistle Greenhouse continued operations under the Fuller-Osborne Company overseen in part by George T. Osborne. George had moved to Hartland following Grace’s death and was living in the house also owned by Henry & Mary next door to the greenhouses in 1910 along with his mother Anna Osborne. George remarried later that same year and returned to Massachusetts a few years later where they were living in 1920 remaining there until his death in 1962.
1904 – “The Scotch Thistle Conservatories on Elm Street, in this village, are at present presenting a most beautiful appearance, and on entering the finely equipped office with ice closets connected, and passing through the different houses, one of the best and well cared for conservatories in the State is seen. The whole area of glass is 5000 feet and this is divided into four houses, the largest being 100 x 25 feet, and others 75 x 75 feet, 45 x 15 feet and 75 x 8 feet, respectively.
From the office the first department is devoted largely to pinks, about 200 Thomas Lawson pinks of unusually large size, the Queen white pink which are only two years old, the variegated Mrs. Bratt, Governor Crane and the bright red Estelle pink are in bloom. In this department are also a bed of about 2000 geraniums already to be potted. Florist Abraham will begin propagating pinks for next season. There are also a whole lot of silver tipped geraniums, just out of sand, in a thrifty condition.
The second department of this house is devoted to a large bed of calla lilies, budding and in bloom, smilax, asparagus, and a variety of potted plants. Connected with this is the work stop and boiler, steam heat being required. In the 75 x 8 feet house are two departments, one devoted to palms, ferns and begonias, and the other is the violet room, and contains a bed of flowering violets, 45 x 3 feet while the 45 x 15 feet lean-too out the west end is used for the bedding of plants. Easter bulbs, etc., which will be ready to bloom at Easter.
In the 15 x 25 feet house, the first department is filled with pinks of the Lawson, Fenn and various other varieties. The second department is perhaps the handsomest and rarest room, as this contains the roses for which the Scotch Thistle Conservatories are noted. About 400 plants of the bride and bridesmaid roses are in bloom and the flowers are of huge size. This is one of the best rose houses in Maine and the crop for this year is unusually good. A bouquet of 75 pinks and white roses was on display and were some of the most beautiful specimens ever grown. Large shipments of these rare flowers are made every week to the conservatories in Dover, Dexter and Pittsfield.
Florist Fred H. Abraham has had many years’ experience in this work, having been previously connected with greenhouses in England and some of the best conservatories in Massachusetts. He thoroughly understands his work, as an hour spent in the different rooms connected with his labors testifies, and he takes great care in promptly executing all orders given him.”
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Scotch Thistle operated as late as 1916 before it was closed and removed from the site by 1917.
Remains of Scotch Thistle Greenhouse a few years after construction of the Fuller Mansion
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Mary (Linn) Fuller with her 3 surviving children James, Guy & Elmer with their wives and children at the Fuller Mansion in 1913.
Fuller Family Photo at Fuller Mansion – 1913
Back Row (L-R): Elmer Linn Fuller | Jean Osborne Palmer (Elmer’s Wife) | Edith Larancy Fuller (Guy’s Wife) | Guy Goss Fuller
Mary Isabelle Linn (Henry Fuller’s Widow) | Bertha Harris Cherrington (James’ Wife) | James Elmo Fuller
Front Row: Kathleen Palmer Fuller (d/o Elmer & Jean) | Isabelle Abbie Fuller & Grace Wilson Fuller (d/o Guy & Edith)
Donald Walker Fuller & Linn Cherrington Fuller (s/o James & Bertha)
(Photo courtesy of Kathryn Fuller Clark – Granddaughter of James & Bertha Fuller)
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On April 21, 1914, Mary’s brother and President of the Linn Manufacturing Company, Thomas Archibald Linn passed away from illness at 58yrs old. Thomas and his wife Clara Isabelle Osborne had built an elegant house of their own on the corner of Academy Street & Blake Street in 1892. Thomas’ death would coincide directly with the ultimate demise of the Linn Woolen Mill which would declare bankruptcy the following year and be taken over by the American Woolen Company to whom Clara would sell the house soon after in 1916.
Thomas & Clara Linn Residence at Academy & Blake Street
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That same year of 1914, Mary’s son Guy Goss Fuller was diagnosed with the same dreaded disease which had taken his father. Guy was born July 25, 1880, the 3rd of their 6 children. He and his family had been living in Pittsfield, Massachusetts at the time but returned to Hartland soon after where his health continued to fail over the next 5 years. Guy succumbed to Tuberculosis on March 21, 1919 at the Fairfield Sanitarium at 38yrs old just a day after he begun further treatment there. His widow Edith and their 2 daughters moved back to her native Lewiston following his death where he was interred at Riverside Cemetery.
Guy Goss Fuller Obituary – 1919
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Mary had remained at the house after her sons and their families moved to Massachusetts and continued her involvement with several local civic and social groups. She often traveled over the years to visit her surviving sons Elmer and James. Mary had been an early supporter of the campaign to create the Hartland Public Library as well as supporting the local Suffragette Movement signing a 1917 petition to Hartland voters allowing women to vote.
Fuller Mansion
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In 1919, Mary sold the house and lot next to her residence to the American Woolen Company for additional accommodations of their management personal. The house, previously occupied by her son-in-law George Osborne, was one of the original Elm Street houses owned by James Fuller, Jr as noted on the 1860 & 1883 maps and had been acquired by Henry & Mary following his death in 1895 and in turn inherited by Mary. It would later be sold to John Scott of Hartland during the Great Auction of 1932 as part of the American Woolen Company’s real estate holdings. John purchased the house on behalf of his daughter Isabelle and her husband Ellard Hebb.
July 2, 1919
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Mary hired Miss Maude Spencer as her caregiver who also traveled and often stayed the winter with Mary in Massachusetts before returning to Hartland for the summer. Miss Spencer was well known in the Hartland area and had provided services for Mary’s brother Robert Linn and her sister-in-law Dr. Jennie Fuller.
May 1, 1920
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On May 12, 1927, Mary’s last surviving sibling Robert Wilson Linn, Sr passed away in Hartland at 82yrs old leaving her as the sole surviving Linn child. Robert and his wife Eva May Weymouth had moved into the former Maple Place Farm on Commercial Street by 1900 after the Linn Manufacturing Company purchased it from its original owner Greenville Jefferson Shaw who had built it in 1880. Robert & Eva moved to Pittsfield Avenue about 1916 after the house was taken over by the American Woolen Company. It would later be known locally as the Century House.
Robert & Eva Linn Commercial Street Residence at the former Maple Place Farm
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Mary continued spending most winters in Massachusetts while closing up her Elm Street residence for the season. On this particular visit, her daughter-in-law Edith, widow of Guy Fuller, traveled with her.
December 3, 1929
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Mary was listed at her home in Hartland for the final time as Head of Household in the 1930 Census noted as a 73yr old widow. Mabel (Robbins) Graves, the 65yr old widow of Lewis H. Graves, was living with her noted as her companion. In 1932, lingering illness prompted Mary to close up her home in Hartland for good and move to Wollaston, Massachusetts to stay with her son James Fuller and his wife Bertha and their children.
September 6, 1932
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September 8, 1932
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By late 1932, Mary had taken her own apartment in nearby Quincy, Massachusetts when tragedy struck the family once again. On New Year’s Day of 1933, a fire broke out in her apartment caused by an oil stove. According to an article about the incident, Mary had attempted to cover the fire with a rug and was severely burned about her hands, arms and face. The resulting shock brought on by her injuries coupled with her already fragile health led to her death 2 days later on January 3, 1933 at 76yrs old. Her remains were brought back to Hartland where she was interred with Henry at Pine Grove Cemetery.
Mary Isabelle (Linn) Fuller Obituary – Boston Globe – January 4, 1933
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Following Mary’s death, her Elm Street residence was left to her only surviving children Elmer Linn Fuller and James Elmo Fuller, both still living in Massachusetts with their families at the time. The house appears to have been unoccupied for a few years until James retired in 1940 and he and Bertha decided to move back to Hartland with their youngest son William Bigelow Fuller. On May 17, 1940, Elmer conveyed his half inherited interest to James & Bertha who moved into the house later that same year.
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Following the transfer of ownership of the Fuller Mansion from the 1943 Map of Hartland Village.
Elm Street – 1943
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On April 1, 1947, James Elmo Fuller passed away at their Elm Street home at 69yrs old and was interred in the family lot at Pine Grove Cemetery. James was the 2nd child and eldest son born to Henry & Mary Fuller on May 9, 1877. Although the article says they returned to Hartland in 1919, they in fact had remained in Massachusetts after moving there about 1914. Following James’ death, Bertha decided to stay at the house where she remained for the next few years living there by herself but occasionally renting out one of the many spare bedrooms.
James Elmo Fuller Obituary – 1947
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On December 2, 1954, the 5th and last surviving child of Henry & Mary, Elmer Linn Fuller, passed away in Boston at 68yrs old. Born July 12, 1886, Elmer was interred at Mt Hope Cemetery in Bangor later united there by his wife Jean Palmer upon her death in 1980.
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Bertha was an accomplished pianist performing concerts in Boston before she married James as noted in the article below. Many Hartland locals recall Bertha giving piano lessons on the pair of pianos she had in the 2 front rooms.
Bertha Harris (Cherrington) Fuller – 1956
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In 1959, Bertha took a very bad fall at her house when she was about 76ys old and was eventually confined to a nursing home in Skowhegan. In January of 1960, ownership of the house was conveyed to her son, retired U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier-General Donald Walker Fuller, Sr, who resided in Philadelphia at the time.
In April of 1962, Donald sold the Fuller Mansion to Linwood Roy Vanadestine, Sr & his wife Marion Warner Ireland. Their original intention for the house, according to some of their children, was to open a senior living facility but due to lack of demand locally at the time, they converted it into a boarding home in 1964 for the mentally challenged operating as Vanadestine’s Boarding Home. After a new exterior coat of paint, the house was then often referred to locally as the “Pink House” or “Pink Mansion” due to its new vibrant color which, according to her daughter Patsy, Marion had selected because she loved the color pink.
Following Marion’s untimely death in 1973 at 49yrs old, Linwood later remarried to Theresa Poulin and the family business was reorganized as the Marion Warner Home for the Mentally Challenged in partnership with his daughter Patsy and her husband Norman “Sonny” Curtis, Jr.
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1970 aerial view of the former Fuller Mansion then operating as Vanadestine’s Boarding Home with the original Henry & Mary Fuller residence across the street then a dual tenement apartment owned by Irving Tanning Company.
Elm Street – 1970
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On January 31, 1968, Bertha (Cherrington) Fuller, the last member the Fuller family to reside at Fuller Mansion, passed away in Skowhegan at 84yrs old. Bertha was predeceased by her sons Linn Cherrington Fuller (1905-1954), Donald Walker Fuller, Sr (1911-1967) and Henry James Fuller (1914-1963) and survived only by her 4th son William Bigelow Fuller (1924-1974). Bertha was interred with James at Pine Grove Cemetery.
Bertha Harris (Cherrington) Fuller Obituary – 1968
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On July 19, 1979, the Vanadestines sold the former Fuller Mansion to Constance “Connie” (Bunker) Nelson-Brown who continued its use as a boarding home operating as The Ensign Boarding Home for many years until her retirement with her daughter Debbie Smith. In 1981, Connie also purchased the original home of Henry & Mary Fuller across the street which had been owned by Irving Tanning since 1943.
The Ensign Boarding Home – 1987
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This finely built house has had many names, occupants, uses and modifications since its construction began in 1904 but remains standing today as one of the most recognizable historical landmarks in Hartland.
Former Fuller Mansion – 83 Elm Street – Hartland, Maine
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