The Frances Perkins Homestead, at 468 River Road in Newcastle, on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The homestead was designated as a national monument on Monday, Dec. 16 by President Joe Biden to honor the work and legacy of Frances Perkins, the first woman to be a part of a presidential cabinet and the longest serving secretary of labor in United States history. Perkins was instrumental in designing policies that benefitted working Americans such as social security, abolishing child labor, and creating a minimum wage. (Johnathan Riley photo)
On Monday, Dec. 16, President Joe Biden declared the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle a national monument.
The designation of the 57-acre property, at 478 River Road, honors Perkins and her accomplishments as the longest serving secretary of labor and the first female Cabinet secretary in America.
Perkins served from 1933-1945 under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and was instrumental in many of the New Deal-era initiatives, such as the abolition of child labor, the creation of a minimum wage, the Social Security Act, among others.
“It has never been more important to celebrate American heroes like Perkins,” Giovanna Gray Lockhart, executive director of the Frances Perkins Center, said in a press release.
According to the National Park Service, a national monument is a protected area of federal land that preserves objects of historic or scientific interest that is designated through the Antiquities Act of 1906. The law allows the president of the United States to designate historically, culturally, and naturally significant lands for preservation.
Perkins’ father, Frederick Perkins, was born and raised in Newcastle, according to the Frances Perkins Center website. While the family moved to Massachusetts for economic opportunity, the Perkins maintained a connection with the homestead throughout her life. IN her later years, she even called it home.
In 2009, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places a part of the Brick House Historic District along the Damariscotta River for its archeological importance. Because of its historic significance, the center was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2014 for its relationship with Perkins, according to the nonprofit’s website.
A nonprofit organization, The Frances Perkins Center with the mission of preserving Perkins’ legacy, purchased the site in 2020. The nonprofit purchased the land from Perkins’ only grandchild, Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall.
The designation ceremony was held on Monday, Dec. 16 in the Frances Perkins building, which is the headquarters of the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.
Maine representatives, including U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, D-Maine; U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine; Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Cumberland; and state Sen. Cameron Reny, D-Bristol; joined Biden for the ceremony.
“As the state senator for District 13, which includes Newcastle, I am honored to represent the area that this American icon considered home,” Reny said in a press release. “I am proud to be serving the people of Maine, a state that has a long history of groundbreaking women in politics. Sharing Secretary Perkins’ commitment to safety and fairness for working people, my colleagues and I voted for Paid Family and Medical Leave, so working people won’t have to go broke if they need to care for children, family, and themselves. Maine is proud of the contributions that Frances Perkins has made to our country and the impact her work still has today.”
American historian Heather Cox Richardson, a Bristol resident, wrote about Perkins in the Dec. 16 edition of her newsletter, “Letters from an American,” which contextualizes current events with history.
“Perkins recognized that the central purpose of government was not to protect property; it was to protect the communities of people who lived in the nation. She recognized that children, the elderly, women, and disabled Americans, all of whom contributed to society whether or not that contribution was recognized with a paycheck, were as valuable to the survival of a community as male workers and the wealthy men who employed them,” said Richardson in the newsletter.
In a statement released from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Frances Perkins Center donated 2.3 acres of the homestead site, including the home, gravel driveway, and a garden to the National Park Service to create the national monument. The two organizations will work together to prove visitor access and services.
The rest of the land will be maintained by the Frances Perkins Center.
For more information about the homestead, go to francesperkinscenter.org. According to its website, the homestead is closed for the season, but visitors are welcome to enjoy the trails on the property.
