John and Catharine Brickett settled in this area around 1816. Their original log and wood frame house was later replaced with the present house, built from locally fired clay bricks. At the time, the main route wove through rural Chatham, NH, and Stow, ME, ending at the Brickett's front door. For many years, this site marked the end of the road on the Maine frontier.
For five decades, John, Catharine, Phebe (John's second wife after Catharine's death in 1839) and their 9 children subsisted on their small-scale farm, growing crops such as potatoes, corn, and hay, and by raising livestock. During the winter and spring, like most New England farmers, they supplemented their income through logging and maple sugaring operations.
Since John Brickett's death in 1863, the house has passed through many uses. Acquired by the Forest Service in 1918, the "Brickett Place," as it was locally known, has served at various times as the headquarters for a nearby Civilian Conservation Corps camp, a Forest Service information station, an Appalachian Mountain Club hut, a Boy Scouts of America bunkhouse, and a hiking information center.
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