New Gloucester Historic District

New Gloucester Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
New Gloucester Town Hall, pictured in 2018
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Location	SR 231, Gloucester Hill Rd., and Cobbs Bridge Rd., New Gloucester, Maine
Coordinates	43°57′41″N70°16′58″W / 43.96139°N 70.28278°W / 43.96139; -70.28278
Area	275 acres (111 ha)
Architectural style	Federal, Mixed (More Than 2 Styles From Different Periods)
NRHP reference No.	74000162 [1]
Added to NRHP	November 13, 1974

The New Gloucester Historic District encompasses the rural village center of New Gloucester, Maine. The village is one of the few in Maine's inland areas to be settled in the second half of the 18th century, and has a significant concentration of 18th-century residences. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. ^[1]

Description and history

New Gloucester meetinghouse

The town of New Gloucester is located in northern Cumberland County, northwest of the coastal communities of Freeport and Brunswick. It was chartered in 1735, and first settled in 1742. When King George's War broke out in 1744, it was abandoned because of Native American attacks, and was not resettled until 1753. Its first wood-frame house, built in 1761 by Isaac Parsons, still stands in the village center. The town was incorporated in 1794, and has always been a predominantly rural agricultural community. ^[2]

The town center is a rural, dispersed village, centered at the junction Maine State Route 231 with Gloucester Hill Road and Cobbs Bridge Road. SR 231 roughly follows the first major route to the coast, joining the village to Yarmouth in 1756. Stretched along these roads are a significant number of wood-frame houses, many of them built before 1810 and exhibiting Georgian or Federal styling. Also included are a 1782 tavern, the town's first cemetery, and the site of a blockhouse (now marked by a reduced-size replica) built following the town's resettlement in 1753. Public buildings in the district are generally of later construction, including the 1838 Greek Revival Congregational Church (built on the site of the town's first church), and its town hall, library, and first high school, all built around the turn of the 20th century. ^[2]

New Gloucester Village Store

New Gloucester Village Store is a historic building built in 1890. ^[3] , part of New Gloucester Historic District.

Located on Intervale Road (Maine State Route 231) ^[4] at its intersection with Gloucester Hill Road and Cobbs Bridge Road, it originally served as an important meeting and marketplace for the community. It also served as the neighborhood post office. ^[5] As of 2025 ^[update] , the building is vacant, having previously been Intervale Pizza.

Between 2008 and 2022, it was New Gloucester Village Store, owned by New Gloucester native Sam Coggleshall. ^{[5] [6]}

A television commercial for Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods was shot at the location in the 1990s. ^[7]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, Maine

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "NRHP nomination for New Gloucester Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
3. "New Gloucester Village Store Brick oven helps bring new feel, new taste to eatery". Lewiston Sun Journal. March 29, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
4. "A look back in New Gloucester". Press Herald. September 11, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
5. "The New Gloucester Village Store". Lewiston Sun Journal. May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
6. "Retail renaissance: Maine's new old general stores". Press Herald. December 21, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
7. Wright, Virginia M. (September 28, 2016). "Maine General Stores". Down East Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2025.