N. Dearborn Antiques Gallery LLC.

Owner Information:

N. Dearborn Antiques Gallery is owned by Joyce Fontaine. Joyce started in the antiques business in the late 1980s selling at antiques shows and in various multi-dealer shops including the York Antiques Gallery in York, Maine. She managed the Cambridge Antique Market in Cambridge, Massachusetts and managed Joshua’s Corner in Essex Massachusetts as co-owner.

In addition to restoring multiple homes and commercial buildings over the years, Joyce spent 13 years as the lead weekend guide for Cogswell’s Grant (the Essex, Massachusetts folk art museum at the historic home of Nina & Bertram Little).

History:

The shop is in the attached, newly renovated barn of Northwood’s Nathaniel Dearborn House c. 1836. The shop name came from “A Guide to the History and Old Dwelling Places of Northwood” written by Joanne Weeks Bailey and referenced below.

Nathaniel Chandler lived in the area before 1777. Jonathan Sanborn, shoemaker, bought Chandler’s field and pasture in 1777. Levi Mead bought the property, which adjoined his own, in 1791. The Meads owned the piece until 1836 when it was sold to Nathaniel Dearborn who is believed to have built the house in 1836.

Shop Description:

Joyce purchased the property in August of 2018 and, after renovations, opened the shop on April 27, 2019. In renovating the barn, she created a rough pine gallery to stay true to the age and spirit of the original structure.

Shop Specialties:

N. Dearborn carries an eclectic mix of quality antiques and decorations for home and garden including quilts (18th-20th century), transferware (1830s), books & ephemera, country & period furniture, military items (Civil War thru WWII), architectural salvage & garden elements, fine art (landscapes, portraits & prints), and jewelry.