KENNEBUNKPORT — Hidden behind stone-strewn hills, the Rocky Pastures estate has intrigued locals and out-of-state residents alike for the past 74 years. For many, its seclusion and inaccessibility to the public eye made it a place of legend that was untouchable.

That is, until now.

From this Saturday, June 23 to Saturday, July 14, the estate, previously owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist Kenneth Roberts, will be open for a designer show house to benefit the Kennebunkport Historical Society. Visitors will have access to its 12-room, 6,000 square-foot mansion, which has been made-over by several New England designers.

“It’s the first time and probably the only time the public will get the chance to see it,” said Susan Edwards, executive director of the society, on Wednesday in the mansion.

The Man and His Home

The 97-acre estate, for sale at $2.7 million, is located in the private neighborhood of The Ledges and has not been viewed publicly since its construction in 1938. Roberts, who died in 1957 at the age of 71, built the residence after the financial success of his 1937 novel “Northwest Passage.”

His fifth novel, “Northwest Passage” chronicles the British colonial militia Rogers’ Rangers’ involvement in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The book was made into a movie of the same name in 1940, starring Spencer Tracy.

As in Roberts’ other novels, much of “Northwest Passage” takes place in Maine, demonstrating the love he had for his home state, as he was born in 1885 in Kennebunk. This passion, as well as the warmth of the estate when Roberts lived there, was something many of the designers tried to capture in their work.

“These were similar to the things he had here,” said Paula Robinson Rossouw of Kennebunkport’s Paula Robinson Design Group, about the furnishings she chose for the mansion’s living room and terrace.

With a painting in the corner showing what the living room looked like when Roberts lived there, it’s easy to see the similarities between the room then and now.

In Rossouw’s design, shelves are filled with books Roberts collected, a bar sits where the author worked to concoct the perfect cocktail, and a miniature fountain stream flows in the room, signifying his interest in dowsing.

“He had so many interests,” said Rossouw, who read numerous articles, essays and non-fiction on or by Roberts in preparation for the event, during a preview tour on Wednesday. “We tried to show them all.”

Although a reclusive man, Roberts was loyal to his friends, who included his former neighbor and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Booth Tarkington, according to Rossouw.

After graduating from Cornell University in 1908, Roberts became a Washington, D.C. and European correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post. Soon after, he purchased a summer cottage at Kennebunk Beach and met Tarkington, who owned a vacation home in Kennebunkport.

Tarkington, author of the novels “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1918), and “Alice Adams” (1921), motivated Roberts to become a full-time novelist. Roberts believed in Tarkington’s opinion so much, that he asked Tarkington to help edit some of his early novels.

The seriousness with which Roberts took his writing can be seen through the characters he portrayed in his books. Rossouw said that unlike many historical authors, Roberts attempted to inject flesh and soul into the people about whom he wrote.

“I wanted to give the people of Maine an honest, detailed and easily understood account of how their forbears got along,” quoted Rossouw of Roberts.

Rocky Pastures gave Roberts the tranquility he desired to write, as he could only concentrate in silence. Often, if a visitor rang his mansion’s doorbell while he was writing, he would greet his interrupter holding a shotgun, according to Rossouw.

Much of the mansion burnt down in 1975, but was rebuilt by the family living at the estate at the time. Now under the private ownership of Kennebunk residents John and Mary Mills, the Greek revival-style stone cottage is sure to provide a picturesque home for its future occupants.

A Room of One’s Own

Besides Rossouw, other interior designers such as Ingunn Joergensen, of Kennebunk’s Aisthesis at The Galleries at Morning Walk, needed to compete for their rooms. Interested designers were required to submit design ideas, color palettes and themes to the historical society before winning their spots.

Joergensen won hers with her garden theme for Roberts’ former potting shed, located directly next to the mansion. A literary enthusiast, Joergensen mixes the serenity of a gardener’s escape with photographs of writer Virginia Woolf, her sister Vanessa Bell and author Lytton Strachey, members of the early 20th-century intellectual Bloomsbury Group.

“It’s really English and romantic,” said Joergensen about her influence.

Deborah Gott and Melissa McDougald of Biddeford’s Interiors With Provenance, who designed the mansion’s sitting room and hallway, took a more modern approach.

The two created a theme of “plugged in,” symbolizing a person’s need for electronic gadgets to stay connected to the world. The importance of technology is balanced in the rooms with handmade textiles denoting tradition.

“You need to be clothed, but you also need computers to connect to the rest of the world,” said Gott.

To kick off the opening of the show, a sold-out 1930s-themed gala will be hosted at the estate tonight, which will include a tour of Rocky Pastures.

The designer house show is just the first of three events the historical society has planned in relation to Roberts.

The Author Lives On

On Monday, June 25, local historian Joyce Butler will speak on the topic “Kenneth Roberts: The Man,” detailing his life at Rocky Pastures and stories about his family and friends. The second event, on Monday, July 2, will feature food historian Sandy Oliver discussing Roberts’ chapter on food in his book, “Trending in Maine.”

Tickets to both events at the Colony Hotel are $45 and include admission to the show house.

The “Designer Show House at the Kenneth Roberts Estate” will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; except for Wednesday, when it is open from noon to 7 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $20 per person, and items on display will be available for sale.

“I’m so glad about the opportunity because I discovered a great author,” said Rossouw.

— Staff Writer Matt Kiernan can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 326, or at mkiernan@journaltribune.com.