Interpretation
COLLECTION
Protecting the significant archival materials and collections related to Frances Perkins’ life and work, as well as the history of the Perkins Family Homestead, are essential to the Frances Perkins Center’s mission of honoring her legacy.
When the Center acquired the Homestead in 2020, it also acquired its contents and collections. The Frances Perkins Center Collection has some of Frances Perkins’ and Perkins Family papers, letters, photographs, furniture, artwork, clothing, personal items, books, farm and brick making equipment, and more—all of which has not been previously catalogued or made public.
Through a generous Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place grant, Frances Perkins Center began working with an expert archivist in 2024 to catalogue, preserve, and protect the FPC Collection. The archivist will conduct expert research and analysis to help identify and properly catalogue the artifacts, papers, and objects housed at the Homestead; create collections policies for future acquisitions; and make the items accessible for future public inquiry and curation.
In 2025, with support from the Leon Levy Foundation, Frances Perkins Center staff, board advisors, and expert contractors will begin an important archives planning project. This project will assess the Frances Perkins Center collection and explore a digital portal for finding aids to collections held at institutions across the country, making all archives more accessible to students and scholars.
Photo Sources (above and below): Frances Perkins Center, credit Kari Herer Photography
INTERPRETATION & PRESERVATION
The Frances Perkins Center is the only institution with a mission of bringing the story of Frances Perkins and this nationally significant historic site into the American narrative. In developing new programs that focus on the interpretation of the land, we look for connections from a historical perspective to those of today.
In 2025, with grant funding from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place, the Center will conduct two essential baseline cultural and heritage reports, each focusing on the landscape and its historic structures. These studies will provide vital information to guide the interpretation and preservation of the Homestead, a site shaped by human activity for over 12,000 years.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PARTNERSHIP
As the official philanthropic partner of the national monument, the Frances Perkins Center continues to:
- Inventory, preserve, and interpret our collection stored at the national monument
- Conduct ongoing cultural landscape and historic structures surveys
- Work with the National Park Service to interpret the site and curate exhibits for the benefit of the public
- Plan, fund, and provide educational and interpretive programming in partnership with the NPS at the national monument
- Preserve, maintain, and interpret the 55-acres of the national monument owned by the Frances Perkins Center, including our popular year-round trails!
SUPPORT
Preserving, protecting, and interpreting the Frances Perkins Center Collection and Frances Perkins National Monument is only possible with the support of our generous donors, as well as foundational support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (Humanities in Place) and the Leon Levy Foundation. Thank you!
HISTORY OF THE CENTER'S STEWARDSHIP
In 2024, President Biden designated the Homestead as the Frances Perkins National Monument.
In 2014, the Frances Perkins Center achieved designation of the Frances Perkins Homestead as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) by the United States Secretary of the Interior. This distinction ranks the Frances Perkins Homestead among our nation’s most significant places. It is one of less than 8% of the 93,000 National Register of Historic Places sites across the country that represent the stories of women and Americans of color.
In 2020, with help from hundreds of donors, the Frances Perkins Center purchased the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark. Grants from the State of Maine and the National Park Service Save America’s Treasures program have helped the Center preserve its landscape and historic structures.
Today, the Frances Perkins Center believes that the Homestead’s features—its cultural landscape, built environment, and collections—passed on through Perkins family generations since the 1750s, will allow visitors to experience the same storied human and natural landscape that helped to set Frances Perkins on her historic path. The Frances Perkins Center continues to do this important work, ensuring that the Homestead structures and site remain accessible for generations to come.
PRESERVATION WORK
In 2024, Frances Perkins Center was awarded the Maine Preservation Honor Award. Watch the video to learn more about the Center’s important ongoing preservation work and see photos from preservation and construction throughout the years below.