Captain George Tate came to the United States to serve as Mast Agent for the British Royal Navy. This was a position of power and stature. As a result, Captain Tate was able to build an extravagant home – for the times. The house was built similar to a London Townhouse of the 1800s. The Tate Museum clapboards have never been painted and the gambrel roof has an unusual clerestory.

Although the town of Portland, Maine was destroyed during the Revolutionary War, Tate House survived. It is now the only pre-Revolutionary home on display in town. The Tate Museum is filled with period furnishings and the surrounding grounds are covered with fantastic floral and herb gardens.

Property of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maine, the Tate House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.