Most of the house is sheathed in clapboards; the front facade and the front-facing part of the wing are finished in flushboarding.

The front facade of the wing has a projecting bay with paneled corners and full-height windows, and is also topped by a balcony with a similar balustrade.

The interior retains period woodwork and hardware, including original oak floors with inlaid mahogany, and two fine black marble fireplaces.

Washburn was born into a politically prominent family, entered the legislature in 1851, and served two terms as Governor of Maine during the American Civil War.

He was appointed Collector of the Port of Portland [1] by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, a post he held until his retirement in 1877.