Hiram, Maine is situated about 35 miles north-west of Portland, and was first settled in the late 1700s. The town was incorporated in 1814 and the name was inspired by the biblical King Hiram of Tyre. Although heavily agricultural, Hiram’s main industry was manufacturing timber, and its location near the Saco River supplied water power for the grist mills, sawmills, and planing mills that comprised the backbone of the town’s economy. It is unclear which kind of mill is depicted in this painting, but the logs in the river are a clear nod to the local timber industry. Hiram is also notable as the part-time residence of a young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who spent his summers at the home of his grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War hero and one of the founders of the town.
Frank H. Shapleigh (1842-1906) was born in Boston and studied painting at the Lowell Institute of Drawing. He then spent three years in Paris, working and studying in the studio of Emile Lambinet (1815-1877). Upon his return in the late 1860s, he established a studio in Boston, which he maintained even when working elsewhere. Shapleigh spent sixteen years as the artist-in-residence at the Crawford House in Crawford Notch, New Hampshire and built a summer home in nearby Jackson. After 1886, he also spent winters in St. Augustine, Florida and was artist-in-residence at the Ponce de Leon Hotel there for several years. He is best known for his paintings of the White Mountains, capturing their sweeping views and iconic landmarks, such as Mt. Washington, as well as less-heralded parts of the landscape.