One of Auburn’s oldest structures, the Knight House was built in 1796. This small Cape Cod-design building is located on the Auburn Riverwalk near the West Pitch Park. An adjoining one-room shoe shop contains tools and equipment that demonstrate how some Auburn residents made their living at that time in the city’s history. 

The Knight House is not the oldest house in Auburn — it is the oldest frame house in the Goff Corner area, which is downtown Auburn, and is typical of houses built at the time.

Records show that the house has had 12 owners and was moved six times. It originally was located on Cross Street near North River Road, nearly a mile from the present site. It probably was originally built on a 100-acre tract by settler Caleb Lincoln, a Revolutionary War veteran who soon conveyed it to Hezekiah Wyman, of Bath.

After a succession of six owners, the house was sold to Nathaniel Knight in 1864. Knight had it moved to growing Goff’s Corner village, which began near what is now the corner of Court and Main Streets.

The Knight House is mainly furnished in a style and function typical of the time the Knight family occupied the home, late 1800s, early 1900s, although there are notable exceptions.  Some of the kitchen utensils weren’t invented until the 1940s, for example.

Do you wonder about what daily life was like in this home?  The Androscoggin Historical Society (AHS) invites you to an Open House on Wednesday, July 15 from 12 to 3 p.m.  This Wednesday is laundry day, so expect to see family doing the laundry and related tasks.  No, you do not need to bring your laundry — there will be plenty on hand.  

AHS hopes you’ll stop by and see this local historical gem right in downtown Auburn.  While tours and participation are free, the Society depends on donations to offer these programs to the public.