Guide to the Cleaveland House Collection, 1805-1993, undated

Cleaveland House, 75 Federal St., was built for Parker Cleaveland in 1806 by Samuel Melcher, III. At Cleaveland's request, the College purchased the house in 1813, providing a College-owned house for Professor Cleaveland and his family. After Cleaveland's death in 1858, his daughter, Martha Bush Cleaveland, and her husband, Peleg Chandler, bought the house from the College. The house was in the Chandler family from 1861 until 1951, when it was auctioned and converted into apartments. Professor and Mrs. William D. Shipman took possession of the house in 1960, and retained possession until the house was purchased by the College in 1991.

The collection contains material compiled by William D. Shipman regarding the history of Cleaveland House including a 1993 typescript "Notes on the History of the Parker Cleaveland House, 75 Federal St. Brunswick" by Shipman, with photocopies of supporting documents, as well as architectural sketches, miscellaneous correspondence, and newspaper clippings. Other materials about the house (bulk 1959-1991) include mortgage information and rules for tenants. There are also images and newspaper clippings removed from a Cleaveland House scrapbook kept by Shipman. Scrapbook images date from ca. 1860, with the bulk being from 1951-1970. Most are of the house interior, exterior, and grounds, and do not include occupants or guests. Among the exceptions is a ca. 1902 image of Oliver Otis Howard, Thomas Brackett Reed, Melville Weston Fuller, and William De Witt Hyde in front of Cleaveland House. Additional material about Cleaveland House can be found in Bowdoin College Archives record series 1.13 College Buildings.