Brunswick Commercial Historic District | |
Location | 50-101 Maine Street |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°54′57″N69°57′56″W / 43.91583°N 69.96556°W |
Area | 14 acres (5.7 ha) |
Architect | multiple |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 15000968 [1] |
Added to NRHP | January 12, 2016 |
Maine Street | |
Former name(s) | Twelve-Rod Road |
Part of | Route 201 |
Namesake | Maine |
Width | 198 feet (60 m) |
Area | Midcoast, Maine |
Location | Brunswick, Maine |
Postal code | 04011 |
Coordinates | 43°54′53″N69°57′53″W / 43.9146°N 69.9648°W |
Other | |
Known for | Only "Main Street" in the U.S. state of Maine named "Maine Street" [2] |
Status | Still in use |
The Brunswick Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic late-19th century commercial core of Brunswick, Maine. It includes the northern four blocks of Maine Street, the town's principal commercial thoroughfare, which was laid out in the late 17th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. [1]
The Brunswick Commercial Historic District consists of the northern four blocks of Maine Street, including most of the buildings between Mill and Pleasant Streets. These buildings are typically one or two stories in height, either of brick or frame construction. Most of them are Colonial Revival architecture in style, although a number of earlier 19th century revival styles are also represented. Retail storefronts predominate on the ground floors, with professional offices or residences on the upper floors. One architecturally prominent building is Lemont Block at Maine and Pleasant, it is a three-story brick Second Empire style structure built in 1870. [3]
The town of Brunswick's early colonial history begins with the establishment of Fort Andross, on the south bank of the Androscoggin River near the former Cabot Mill site, in 1688. The town of Brunswick was chartered in 1737, and was initially powered economically by mills along the river, and by maritime trade. Bowdoin College was chartered in 1794, with its campus south of the commercial district, and the mills were expanded in the 19th century, especially after the railroad arrived in 1849. In the 20th century, Brunswick Naval Air Station, southeast of the downtown, also provided an economic benefit to the region. [3]
Maine Street is the prominent thoroughfare in the town of Brunswick, Maine, in Cumberland County. It stretches north from the Frank J. Wood Bridge adjacent to Fort Andross and Brunswick Falls running south past Bowdoin College to Mere Point Road. [4] [2]
Maine Street was originally called the "Twelve-Rod Road". A Rod is an Imperial unit equal to 16.5 feet (5.0 m) making the width of Maine Street equal to 198 feet (60 m). [4]
On June 3, 1717, by order of the Pejepscot Proprietors, construction started on the road spanning from Fort George to Maquoit Bay. From the Bowdoin College north to Maquoit Bay, the street would be split and called Mere Point Road. [4]
The History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine has long been considered the authoritative text on the three towns through 1878.[5]
Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Neck, as well as three large islands connected by bridges: Sebascodegan Island, Orr's Island, and Bailey Island and over 200 smaller islands. Harpswell is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, and the Maine State Music Theatre. It was formerly home to the U.S. Naval Air Station Brunswick, which was permanently closed on May 31, 2011, and has since been partially released to redevelopment as "Brunswick Landing".
The Midcoast is a region of the U.S. state of Maine that includes the coastal counties of Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, and Sagadahoc; and the towns of Brunswick and Harpswell in Cumberland County. Some of the towns are:
Brunswick High School is located at 116 Maquoit Rd in Brunswick, Maine, United States. It is a part of the Brunswick School Department.
The Pejepscot Paper Company mill building is a historic paper mill located off U.S. 201 in Topsham, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, adjacent from Brunswick Falls and the Frank J. Wood Bridge. Built in 1868, the building is one of the oldest surviving paper mills in the state of Maine. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974, and is now a mixed-use commercial property, housing the Sea Dog Brewing Company.
The Lincoln Street Historic District in Brunswick, Maine, is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) historic district encompassing a remarkably uniform assemblage of mid 19th-century residential construction. It includes fourteen houses, most of which were built in a two-year period between 1843 and 1845. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Ragged Island is a privately owned island in Harpswell, Maine, United States, in Cumberland County, which is geographically within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. It is located at 43°43′39″N69°56′13″W.
The Elijah Kellogg House is an historic house on Barton Lane in Harpswell, Maine. It is a well-preserved Greek Revival house, built in 1849 by Elijah Kellogg, a Congregationalist minister at the nearby church, and a lecturer and author of popular boy's adventure books. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 28, 1975.
Topsham is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,560 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The town is home to the annual Topsham Fair.
The Federal Street Historic District of Brunswick, Maine encompasses a part of the town whose development was influenced by its 18th-century success as a shipping center, and by the presence of Bowdoin College, whose historic central campus is part of the district. In addition to the campus, the district includes a series of relatively high-style Federal and later-period houses along Federal Street and Maine Street, which join the campus to downtown Brunswick. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Topsham Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Topsham, Maine. Extending along parts of Elm, Green, and Pleasant Streets, the area has a fine collection of 19th and early 20th-century architecture, with the majority built before 1850. It is almost entirely residential, with only a few non-residential uses, including a church. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Maquoit Bay is a bay in Cumberland County, Maine, in the northern part of Casco Bay. It is located between South Freeport and Mere Point, Brunswick, and is a Focus Area of Statewide Ecological Significance and one of the state's Important Bird Areas.
The Frank J. Wood Bridge is a three span, through truss bridge crossing over the Androscoggin River between the towns of Topsham and Brunswick, Maine, on Route 201. Opened in 1932, the bridge was originally called the Brunswick-Topsham bridge but was officially renamed the Frank J. Wood Bridge, after a local farmer who suggested the location.
Fort Andross, also known as Fort George and Cabot Mill, originally was a historic trading post and garrison built by the colonial British Empire to fortify against the Wabanaki Native Americans who were aligned with France during King William's War (1688–1697). It was adjacent to Brunswick Falls on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. In the 19th century, the location of the fort has been used for several cotton mills including the Cabot Manufacturing Company. In 1986, the mills were transformed into office and retail space and renamed Fort Andross.
Pejepscot, Maine is a historical settlement first occupied by a subset of the Androscoggin Native Americans known as the Wabanaki. The region encompasses the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine in Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties and was first settled by English settlers in 1628.
Thomas Purchase (1577–1678), also known as Thomas Purchis and Thomas Purchas, was the first English settler to occupy the region of Pejepscot, Maine in what is now Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell. In 1628 he set up a trading post at the site of Fort Andross to barter with the local Wabanaki Native Americans.
Brunswick Falls, also known as Pejepscot Falls, is an ancient section of the Androscoggin River, bordering the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine. First occupied by Paleoindians and the Wabanaki Native Americans, the falls were a plentiful resource for food and trade. Throughout Colonial history, the Industrial Revolution, and into the 21st century, the falls have been a vital part of Brunswick and Topsham's economy, harnessing its power for energy development.
George Augustus Wheeler, MD was a surgeon in the American Civil War and a prominent Maine historian. He authored two historical books including History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, which the Pejepscot Historical Society states as the "authoritative text on the three towns through 1878".
The Pejepscot Proprietors was a company of land investors who colonized the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine, between the years of 1715 and 1814.
Established in 1903, the Brunswick and Topsham Water District is a fresh water supply district providing fresh water to the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine through groundwater sources. The Water District is a collaboration between the two towns to ensure safe drinking water as well as water supply for the use of fire suppression systems.
Media related to Brunswick Commercial Historic District at Wikimedia Commons