Also known as the Morse-Libby House, the mansion was built between 1858 and 1860 for Ruggles Sylvester Morse and his wife, Olive Ring Merrill Morse, at 109 Danforth Street in Portland.

A native of Maine, Morse made his fortune as the proprietor of luxury hotels in New Orleans during the 1850s. His experience as a hotelier shaped his taste in design, and when the time came to build a summer home, he sought out some of the nation’s leading designers.