Keystone Mineral Springs

Last updated
Keystone Mineral Springs
PolandME KeystoneMineralSprings.jpg
USA Maine location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationKeystone Spring Rd., Poland, Maine
Coordinates 44°4′44″N70°19′29″W / 44.07889°N 70.32472°W / 44.07889; -70.32472 Coordinates: 44°4′44″N70°19′29″W / 44.07889°N 70.32472°W / 44.07889; -70.32472
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
Builtc. 1885 (1885)
Architectural styleItalianate
NRHP reference No. 05001175 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 19, 2005;17 years ago (2005-10-19)

Keystone Mineral Springs is an historic mineral water bottling facility on Keystone Spring Road in Poland, Maine. Located along the former right-of-way of Keystone Spring Road in eastern Poland, the facility consists of two structures, a spring house built c. 1885 and a bottling house built in 1929. The facilities are, along with the more well-known Poland Spring Bottling Plant and Spring House, the only known surviving elements of the early period of mineral water bottling in Maine. [2] The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. [1]

Contents

Description

The Keystone spring house and bottling house are accessed via Keystone Spring Road, a grass and dirt track that parallels Empire Road, running north-south for most of its length, with a short paved section at the southern end where the road joins Empire Road. The spring house is located a short way north of the southern bend, and the bottling house is about 300 feet (91 m) further north. [2]

The spring house is a single story clapboarded structure with a gable roof, measuring 20 feet (6.1 m) by 40 feet (12 m). It is located on the west side of the roadway, oriented east-to-west, although its main facade faces north, along a track leading to the farmstead of the Pratt family who first developed the spring. The main facade has three bays, the central one containing a large sliding door, while the bay to the east has a window and that to the west has a smaller doorway that is now blocked up. The eastern facade also has a large sliding door. The interior has been neglected to the point where elements are collapsing. The spring rises in a granite basin set in a concrete floor, and is captured in a pipe which extends to the bottling house. [2]

The bottling house is also a single story wood frame structure, built in 1929 after the previous building on the site was destroyed by fire. It is architecturally unremarkable, with similar proportions to the spring house. Its interior is largely unfinished, with exposed ceiling rafters and wall joists. The southern part of the building is taken up by a 900-US-gallon (3,400 L) tank, lined in granite, with an overflow catchbasin and troughs at which the filling operation took place. At the north end of the building is a room in which the filled bottles were capped, labelled and packaged for shipping. Much of the original early 20th-century equipment used in these processes remains. [2]

History

The Keystone Mineral Spring was operated as a business from 1885 until the mid-1990s, primarily serving central Maine. Seriah M. Pratt, the farmer who owned the land, realized that the quality of the water from his spring was comparable to that of Poland Spring, and began bottling and selling it in 1884. In 1885 he brought in his nephew, Edward Pratt, who acquired full control of the business in 1896. The business was a success, delivering bottled water in Maine as far away as Portland; some was also shipped as far as New Jersey, where the younger Pratt's business partner moved. It was operated in the 20th century by a succession of lessees until about 1995, although processing was at times sporadic because the spring ran dry. Plans were laid by new owners in 2004 to rehabilitate the facility and resume operations. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanborn Seminary</span> United States historic place

Sanborn Seminary is a historic educational facility in Kingston, New Hampshire. Its main building was built in 1883 by Major Edward S. Sanborn to serve as a secular secondary boarding school. The school ran continuously until 1966 when it was sold to the Town of Kingston. The campus became known as Sanborn Regional High School and served students from the towns of Kingston, Newton, and Fremont. The last class at this campus graduated in June 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Togus, Maine</span>

Togus, formally known as the Togus VA Medical Center, is a facility operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in Chelsea, Maine. The facility was built as a resort hotel, and housed Union veterans of the American Civil War prior to being converted to a veterans hospital. It was the first veterans facility developed by the United States government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sedgley Homestead</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The John Sedgley Homestead is a historic homestead property at Scituate and Chases Pond Road in the York Corner area of York, Maine. Its oldest structure built in the late First Period, probably c. 1715, it is the oldest homestead in the State of Maine that is still in its original setting. Historically the homestead included a cape, farm home, carriage house, stables building, two outbuildings, and a large land holding, all of which is still existing today. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Block</span> United States historic place

The Lord Block is a historic commercial building in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Built in 1865, it is one of downtown Lewiston's oldest commercial buildings, and a reminder of the city's early commercial character. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor's House (Togus, Maine)</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Director's Quarters, Togus Veterans' Administration Center, previously known as the Governor's House, is a historic house on the grounds of the Veterans Administration (VA) facility in Togus, Maine. The house, built in 1869, is historically significant as the only surviving structure of the first National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, established at Togus in 1866 to serve American Civil War veterans. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It is a contributing element of the historic district encompassing the Togus VA campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poland Spring Bottling Plant and Spring House</span> United States historic place

The Poland Spring Bottling Plant and Spring House is an historic water pumping and treatment facility in Poland, Maine. Built in 1907, these two buildings are the original spring house and water spa of the Poland Spring Resort, whose waters are still bottled under the Poland Spring brand name. The resort was the largest and most successful of Maine's inland summer resorts. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984; the spring house now houses the Poland Spring Museum and Environmental Education Center. Open seasonally, its exhibits feature the history of the company and its bottling operation, including scientific displays and vintage memorabilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granite Keystone Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Granite Keystone Bridge is a historic bridge that carries Granite Street over the former railroad that transported granite from Pigeon Hill to Granite Pier in Rockport, Massachusetts. The bridge arch was built in 1872 in eleven weeks. Its single arch spans 65 feet (20 m) and is 32 feet (9.8 m) wide. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Maine, United States

Libby Island Light is a lighthouse on Libby Island, marking the mouth of Machias Bay, in Machiasport, Maine. The light station was established in 1817 and is an active aid to navigation; the present granite tower was built in 1823 and improved in 1848. Libby Island Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Libby Island Light Station on June 18, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Waterford Congregational Church</span> Historic church in Maine, United States

The North Waterford Congregational Church is a historic church off ME 35 in North Waterford, Maine. It is a two-story wood frame rectangular structure, with a projecting entry and tower section at the front. Built in 1860, is an attractive Italianate building representing a mature work of Thomas Holt, a Maine architect known for his churches and railroad stations. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masonic Temple (Belfast, Maine)</span> United States historic place

The former Masonic Temple is a historic commercial and social building at Main and High Streets in downtown Belfast, Maine. Built in 1877, it is one of the city's most elaborately decorated buildings, featuring Masonic symbols. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. While there are active Masonic organizations in Belfast, they now meet in a modern facility on Wight Street.

The Pleasant River Grange No. 492 is a historic Grange hall on Round the Island Road in Vinalhaven, Maine. Built as worker housing for a granite quarry, it was moved in 1909 to its present local for use by the local Grange chapter. It continues to be used by that organization as a community resource. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hathaway Barn</span> United States historic place

The Hathaway Barn is a historic barn at 135 Nortons Corner Road in Willimantic, Maine, a rural community in southern Piscataquis County. Built c. 1880 by Jabez Hathaway, this large barn was an optimistic expression of the future prospects of the dairy industry in the area, which were ultimately not borne out. The barn is part of a farmstead complex whose other elements have not maintained historical integrity; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hancock County Jail</span> United States historic place

The former Hancock County Jail is located at 40 State Street in Ellsworth, the county seat of Hancock County, Maine. Built in 1885–86, it has a well-appointed living space for the jailer in the front, and a series of cells in the back. It was operated as a jail until the early 1970s, and is now home to the Ellsworth Historical Society, which operates it as a museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 for its architectural and historical significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market Square Historic District (Houlton, Maine)</span> Historic district in Maine, United States

The Market Square Historic District of Houlton, Maine encompasses that town's historic late-19th century central business district. Centered on the junction of Market Square, Court Street, Water Street, and Main Street, it includes a relatively cohesive assortment of brick and masonry commercial buildings, designed by architects and built between 1885 and 1910, following the arrival of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Saco High School</span> United States historic place

The Old Saco High School, also formerly the Sweetser School, is a historic former school building on Spring Street in Saco, Maine. Built in 1871–72, it is a late work of the noted Portland architect George M. Harding, and one of the city's finest Victorian public buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and now houses apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Hardware Storehouse</span> United States historic place

The Howard Hardware Storehouse is a historic storage building off Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Built about 1895, it is a surviving reminder of the city's railroad-related economic past, built in a distinctive tetrahedral shape to accommodate nearby railroad lines. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

The John B. Curtis Free Public Library is the public library of Bradford, Maine. It is located at 435 Main Road in the village center, in an architecturally distinguished 1915 Classical Revival building designed by John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gov. John F. Hill Mansion</span> Historic house in Maine, United States

The Governor Hill Mansion is a historic house at 136 State Street in Augusta, Maine. It was built in 1901 for John F. Hill to a design by John Calvin Stevens, and is one of the state's grandest examples of Colonial Revival architecture. It now serves as an event facility. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poland Springs Historic District</span> Historic district in Maine, United States

The Poland Springs Historic District encompasses the area that was once Maine's premier inland summer resort, renowned for the supposed curative powers of its spring waters. Located on the north side of Maine Street in South Poland, Maine, United States, it includes surviving resort buildings in a landscaped environment that includes a golf course, as well as the earliest bottling facilities of water distributor Poland Spring. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Most of the district is now occupied by the Poland Springs Resort complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vickery Building</span> United States historic place

The Vickery Building is a historic commercial building at 261 Water Street in downtown Augusta, Maine. Built 1895 to a design by John C. Spofford, it is one of the downtown's few granite commercial buildings, built for Peleg O. Vickery, a leading publisher and three-term mayor of the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 National Register nomination for Keystone Mineral Springs; available by request from the National Park Service