Berwick High School
National Register of Historic Places

Berwick High School

Berwick, York County, Maine
Listed
January 27, 2012
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
11001059

About this property

The Former Berwick High School is a large brick Colonial Revival building at 45 School Street in Berwick, Maine, United States. It was built in 1927 and expanded in 1953 and 1960. It replaced the town's second high school (built in 1894). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The former Berwick High School building is set on the west side of School Street (Maine State Route 9), on a large parcel of land that includes several other town-owned buildings on the northeastern edge of Berwick's downtown area. It is a large two-story structure with Colonial Revival styling, its exterior finished in brick except for the gymnasium and maintenance ells at the rear. The building has at its center the main block, which was built in 1927, and is flanked by two large classroom wings, added in 1953 and 1960. The front (east-facing) facades of the wings are sparsely decorated, with few windows, serving to highlight the original building's Colonial Revival features. These include tan-colored corner quoining, cast stone sills for the windows (except at the basement level, where cut granite was used), and similar stone keystones above the windows. Tan beltcourses run above and below the main floors, and the main entrance is a double door topped by a half-round transom, with flanking tan brick pilasters and a cast stone entablature above. Berwick's first secondary school was the private Berwick Academy, established in South Berwick in 1798. The town's first public high school was built in 1872, and originally also housed some primary school students. This wood frame building burned down in 1894, and was replaced the same year. It was destroyed in June 1927 by a fire started in its boiler while classes were in session. The present building was constructed in 1927-28, with classes held in the interim at the local Knights of Pythias hall. It originally housed grades 7-12, the students of the lower two grades occupying the ground floor. These grades were moved out in 1948. Increasing enrollment prompted the construction of the two wings in the 1957 and 1960. The building was used as a school until 2001, when the regional Noble High School opened, serving not just Berwick, but also Lebanon and North Berwick. The building was vacant at the time it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, and the town was considering redevelopment alternatives. National Register of Historic Places listings in York County, Maine

Location

45 School St.
Berwick, York County, Maine
43.26876, -70.86150

Categories

ARCHITECTUREEDUCATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Memorial Chapel
Industrial
1.3 mi
Cummings Shoe Factory
Civil War
3 mi
Jewett, Sarah Orne, House
Industrial
3.5 mi
Jewett-Eastman House
Industrial
3.5 mi
South Berwick Village Historic District
Colonial
3.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on Dover NH 1689 (Cochecho Massacre)
1689Colonial
4.9 mi
Dover Raid (King Philip's War)
1675Colonial
4.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Berwick High School listed on the National Register?

Berwick High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Berwick High School?

Berwick High School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Berwick High School?

The period of significance for Berwick High School is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1927.

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