National Register of Historic Places

Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House

South Berwick, York County, Maine
Listed
October 9, 1975
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
75000208

About this property

The Portsmouth Company was a cotton mill established in 1832 in South Berwick, Maine, UA, one of several in the area. It was operated for many years under the control of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Hale family. Its counting house is now a museum operated by the Old Berwick Historical Society. The Portsmouth Company cotton mill was incorporated in 1831. It operated a large mill in South Berwick, Maine. The Counting House is a historic industrial building at Main and Liberty Streets in South Berwick, the only company structure to survive. Although it is traditionally given a construction date of 1832, architectural evidence suggests a later one around 1850. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and is now home to the Old Berwick Historical Society, which operates it as the Counting House Museum. The Portsmouth Company Counting House is a 2½ story brick structure set at the southern corner of Liberty Street and Main Street (Maine State Route 4), on the eastern bank of the Salmon Falls River. It sits on a granite foundation and is topped by a steeply pitched gabled roof. The gable ends are fully pedimented, with a recessed triangular panel featuring a three-part rectangular window on each end. The building corners are pilastered in brick, with a brick entablature encircling the building below the roof. The south-facing main facade is five bays wide, articulated by brick pilasters. The entrance is on center, accessing three rooms on the first floor and a large open space on the second. The interior has well-preserved Greek Revival woodwork. National Register of Historic Places listings in York County, Maine Counting House Museum - Old Berwick Historical Society

Location

South Berwick, York County, Maine
43.22717, -70.81096

Categories

INDUSTRYARCHITECTURE
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

Berwick Academy Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
0.3 mi
Berwick Academy
Listed
0.4 mi
Jewett, Sarah Orne, House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Jewett-Eastman House
Industrial
0.6 mi
South Berwick Village Historic District
Colonial
0.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on Salmon Falls 1690
1690Colonial
1.5 mi
Battle of Salmon Falls 1690
1690Colonial
3.6 mi
Raid on Dover (NH, 1689)
1689Colonial
3.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House listed on the National Register?

Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1975.

What type of historic resource is Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House?

Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House?

The period of significance for Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House is recorded as the industrial era.

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