Built in 1883, it is a fine example of Queen Anne Victorian architecture executed in brick, and is historically notable as the home of Louis Martel, Maine's first Franco-American politician to achieve statewide prominence, and a major benefactor of the Lewiston community.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

[1] The Martel House is set east of downtown Lewiston, at the northeast corner of Bartlett and Walnut Streets.

At the center of the front facade is a two-story porch, supported by slender paneled columns, and topped by a gable with a dentillated cornice.

Dr. Louis J. Martel, for whom it was built, was a nationally known leader of the Franco-American community, publishing a French-language newspaper, serving in the state legislature and the local board of aldermen, and narrowly losing election as mayor in 1893.