The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 for its architecture, and for its association with William Shaw, a leading lumber businessman active in Greenville in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose business interests also included ownership of the steamer Katahdin.

[1] The Shaw House is set on a hill a short way south of Greenville's central business district, which is at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake.

The projecting gable sections top polygonal bays, and have closed pediments with paired sash windows at the center, surrounded by a field of decorative cut wood shingles.

He operated a saw mill, lumber yard, and retail store in the center of town, and his M. G. Shaw Company owner large tracts of timberland.

The Shaw Company also operated the steamer Katahdin, which not only hauled lumber across the lake, but also ferried passengers to the Mount Kineo Resort area.