Stewardship
SITE STEWARDSHIP
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.
HISTORY OF THE CENTER'S STEWARDSHIP
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.