Historic New England guide Cathy Messmer will present a special talk and tour of Castle Tucker from 9-11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 28. Based on an actual event, a dinner prepared by Mollie Tucker for the Wiscasset Fire Society in 1860, the program includes a tour of the house. Advance reservations are required. Space is limited. Admission is $10 for members of Historic New England, $15 for nonmembers. To reserve a place, call 207-882-7169.

In April 1860, 19-year-old Mollie Tucker wrote a letter to her sister about a special meal that she had recently prepared.

“We had a grand supper for the gentlemen the other night,” she said. She recounted the menu for the evening, boasting that “everyone is talking about Mrs. Tucker’s supper.”

Who were these gentlemen and what was the occasion? Was her menu typical for the time? How was the meal prepared, where and how was it served? In this program, Messmer will share her research into this gentlemen’s supper and what it revealed about life at Castle Tucker. Join her on this journey back to that special evening in the spring of 1860.

Built in 1807 by one of Wiscasset’s most prominent citizens, lawyer, Congressman and Judge Silas Lee, Castle Tucker is an unusual style house, with a square Federal style center and two Regency style bow ends on either side. In 1858, Captain Richard Tucker Jr., scion of a prominent Wiscasset shipping family, bought the house for his new and growing family.

The Tuckers updated and redecorated to reflect the fashions and styles of their time, much of it in a style popularized by one of the earliest American lifestyle connoisseurs, Andrew Jackson Downing.

Very little was changed in the house after 1900, including a kitchen with four generations of kitchen technology still in place where it was used. Preserved by three generations of Tucker women, Castle Tucker is a historic house museum shown as the family left it in 1997 when they gave it to Historic New England.

For a full program calendar and more information on their collection and 36 historic house museums across five states, visit www.historicnewengland.org.