Wiscasset Historic District
Roughly Parker, Dresden, Bradford, Main, and Federal Sts., Wiscasset, Maine
Map
Description
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION APPROVED, 10/31/12 Roughly Parker, Dresden, Bradford, Main, and Federal Sts., Wiscasset, 73000242;[Criterion C: Architecture] [Criterion A: Community Planning and Development] Local significance. On January 12th, 1973, the Wiscasset Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Referred to as “the Prettiest Village in Maine”, Wiscasset is a coastal town on the Sheepscot River that flourished in the years before Maine statehood (1820). It then stalled, both economically and architecturally, in the middle and late decades of the 19th centuries. In the early 20th century the town started to be known for its well preserved collection of historic buildings which included many pre-Revolutionary homes, as well as important examples of Federal style residential and public architecture. The district includes over 200 buildings and has a period of significance that ranges from 1739 to 1870. Additional documentation was recently approved by the National Register of Historic Places to formally extend the period of significance to 1909 in order to encompass the significance of the third edition of the First Congregational Church, designed by John Calvin Stevens and John Howard Stevens. Immediately to the north of the church is the 1824 Lincoln County Court House. This pair of buildings, located uphill from the river and fronted by the common at the top of Main Street, compose an imposing, iconic landmark overlooking the residential and commercial heart of the town. Specifically intended to reference a similar, 1840 Samuel Melcher III designed church which burned in 1907, this excellent piece of Colonial Revival architecture provides continuity of the style, massing, design and workmanship with the Colonial and Federal architecture of the town, even as it preserves the setting, and feeling of the common and monumental public buildings that historically characterized Wiscasset.
National Register information
- Status
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1973
- Reference number
- 73000242
- Architectural styles
- Mid 19th Century Revival: Exotic Revival; Other architectural type; Federal; Octagon
- Areas of significance
- Commerce; Architecture
- Level of significance
- Local
- Evaluation criteria
- A - Event; C - Design/Construction
- Property type
- District
- Historic functions
- Customhouse; Single dwelling; School; Business
- Current functions
- Museum; Cemetery; Single dwelling; Specialty store
- Periods of significance
- 1700-1749; 1850-1874; 1800-1824; 1750-1799; 1825-1849
- Significant years
- 1739; 1870
- Number of properties
- Contributing buildings: 22
Contributing sites: 2
Update Log
- December 28, 2013: Photo imported by Brian Bartlett
- December 22, 2013: Updated by Brian Bartlett: Added description
- November 21, 2013: Photo imported by Brian Bartlett
Sources
- Brian Bartlett - worumbo [at] gmail [dot] com
- National Register database - Reference number 73000242
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