We are proud to now take up stewardship of this stately Inn,
whose charms and comforts have only been enhanced by the passing of time. The true story of such a remarkable dwelling is found in the vision of those who designed, built, refined and lovingly cared for it over the span of many decades.

Rising stately above the surrounding landscape and representing Maine’s most impressive wooden Queen Anne-Eastlake Victorian style, The Lady Mary Inn serves as a proud homage to the house’s original builder and owner, beloved industrialist and philanthropist Mary Hurd.

Mary R. Hurd was born in 1839, daughter of William Hill, a member of the large Quaker population of the area and founder of the North Berwick woolen mill. Upon her father’s death in 1873, she inherited the mill. This determined woman took over the administration of the mill, an astonishing task for a woman of her era.

She was twice married, in 1870 to William Hobbs, whose two daughters by a previous marriage she brought up as her own, and in 1894, ten years after Mr. Hobb’s death, to Daniel A. Hurd who lived until 1931. It was at the time of her second marriage that she built the great Queen Anne house on a hill at the main intersection overlooking the mill.

Mary remained the President of the mill for nearly sixty years until shortly before her death in 1933 at the age of 94. Even in her last years, during the early period of the Great Depression, she kept the mill going, three shifts a day and often paid much of the payroll out of her own pocket.

Nearly 130 years later, the mansion retains its classic woodwork, stained glass windows, ornate fireplaces, and 11-foot high decoratively painted ceilings and gilded friezes.

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