The Hilton Store was a gathering place for the residents of North Whitefield, Maine. Follow this link and scroll down to read a bit about how this store fit into the life of real Maine folk.
Here are some notes on this type of architecture from a customer:
Jim,you can quote me on your website. I am a retired police officer who
worked thirty years in southen R.I.. I was told that the style of building your
Hilton store represents is very common of the late 1880s to 1910s.
It was the time of very few outdoor lights, and neighbors that weren't too
close. A lanten, gas light or single bulb would light the road side at night and
the small windows on the sides and rear were too narrow and high for most to
enter easily. Most small towns did not have full time police patrols, so dark sides and
rears of buildings did not have windows which could be reached from ground
level. The sliding door would be bolted and braced in such a way it would be
easier to knock the building down than force the door open. Often even a
building so small as the Hilton store would have someone living on 2nd floor.
Anyone trying to break in would have to do so quietly, and in the 1880s to 1920s
nights had much less noise pollution than today. In the town I worked in we had two buildings that look dead on. The first gave way to time in the mid 80s and the 2nd lasted to the mid to late 90s. Look around most New England towns and you can find some older back street buildings built to this style. Most have had another door added to meet moden fire codes. Craig S.