The South Berwick house that contains the Berwick Estates assisted living facility on Portland Street was built about 1820 by one of Maine’s first Congressmen, William Burleigh (1785-1827). The Burleigh house is one of about 100 properties slated to be part of a new district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A public meeting about the designation will be held in South Berwick Town Hall on Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00 pm.
A three-year project to gain South Berwick national recognition of much of its downtown area comes to fruition this month with a public meeting about the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of significant sites in American history.
On Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00 pm, the South Berwick Historic Preservation Commission will host a meeting giving a brief historical and architectural overview of a new designation of about 100 properties as a district on the National Register. The meeting will be held in the Town Hall Auditorium and the public is welcome.
Staff members from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission will be on hand to discuss the National Register program and what this designation will mean to property owners.
The National Register of Historic Places is our nation’s list of those properties that retain integrity of design, materials, workmanship, setting, location, association and feeling, and which are significant within the fields of architecture, archaeology, engineering, culture or history.
South Berwick properties to be recognized include a sea captain’s house, a former one-room schoolhouse, the home of one of Maine’s first congressmen, a one-time stage coach tavern, a house built by a Civil War soldier, Sarah Orne Jewett’s homes and that of her school teacher, and many other points of interest.
“This is an honorary designation for the town, recognizing the excellent examples of architecture and historically significant spaces,” said South Berwick Historic District Commission chair Dan Boyle. “It has positive implications for South Berwick businesses and homeowners alike.”
A National Register listing places no obligation or limitation on owners, who remain in complete control of their properties. There is no requirement that owners open their properties to the public, restore them, or even maintain them, if they choose not to do so. Owners can do anything they wish with their property provided that no Federal license, permit, or funding is involved.
The National Register is a list maintained by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, as an honorary recognition. To be listed, Maine towns first must research their history and present it to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
In 2007, South Berwick hired an historic preservation consultant to document over 100 buildings in the village for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Funds were provided by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Kennebunk Savings Bank, the Old Berwick Historical Society, Preservation Timber Framing, Civil Consultants, and Edward Jones Investments of South Berwick.
About 100 houses, stores, churches and other buildings built in the late 1700s through the early 20th century on Main and Portland Streets, Academy Street and Highland Avenue were researched in county probate records and the archives of the Old Berwick Historical Society.
“The benefits of listing are simply that the National Register gives official recognition to the historic and cultural importance of South Berwick Village as part of the nation’s heritage,” said Boyle. “Some commercial and rental properties in the National Register may also qualify for certified rehabilitation tax credit incentives under the historic preservation provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.”
The South Berwick project grew from the Town of South Berwick’s 1998 survey that concluded that many houses and stores in the area were eligible for listing on the national registry. Since then, citizens have expressed the desire to complete this process.
A public meeting was held in 2007 to outline the proposed new National Register district. At the meeting, a representative of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission gave a slide presentation about the process for listing properties individually or as districts, and provided information.
Questions or concerns, or offers to help with the project by volunteering should be directed to Dan Boyle, Historic District Commission chairman, at (207)384-5652.
