YARMOUTH (WGME) -- Maine Preservation announced its annual list of the Most Endangered Historic Places in Maine.
According to Maine Preservation, the 2022 list of Most Endangered Historic Places underscores the diversity of buildings and sites significant to Mainers and the challenges faced by individuals and communities in saving, restoring, and repurposing these places.
Maine Preservation says the 2022 Most Endangered Historic Places in Maine are:
- American Can Company Building in Eastport: An iconic building located on the edge of Passamaquoddy Bay in Eastport, the American Can Company Building is one of the few remaining structures of the world class Downeast Maine sardine industry. Erected by the Seacoast Canning Company in 1908, it was later renamed the American Can Company, the site was home to the Continental Brand of roll key opening can – an innovation that became the gold standard in the global sardine industry.
- Fort George in Castine: A Revolutionary War-era fortification built by British forces in 1779, Fort George was strategically located near the Penobscot and Bagaduce Rivers, making it a main objective of America’s failed Penobscot Expedition to recapture Mid-coast Maine from British forces. The British re-occupied Fort George during the War of 1812, abandoning it for the last time in 1815. After the war, residents of Castine salvaged materials and, in the late 1800s, the fort served as the home field for Eastern State Normal School and Castine High School baseball teams.
- St. Louis Church in Auburn: Formed in 1902 to serve the mostly French-Canadian neighborhood in New Auburn, St. Louis Church first welcomed parishioners in its modest basement before they could raise enough money to carry out their full building campaign. The cornerstone for the Gothic Revival-style church, designed by architect Timothy G. O’Connell, was laid in May 1915. O’Connell designed numerous Catholic and Episcopal churches across New England, including at least fifteen in the state of Maine and most notably the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.
- Pigeon Hill Schoolhouse in Oxford: Little is known about the one-room Pigeon Hill Schoolhouse, constructed around 1867 and serving Oxford youth until the last teacher, Barbara Elliot, and her students used the building in late 1940. The Pigeon Hill Schoolhouse is reportedly the only remaining school building of nine that has not been demolished or altered for a new use. While relatively small in size and simple in its design, the schoolhouse still carries all the characteristics of one-room, rural schoolhouse complete with its original wall-mounted blackboards.
- Washburn Memorial Library in Livermore: Built in 1883, the Washburn Memorial Library features a traditional wood-framed structure enveloped in six-inch granite ashlar from North Jay, Maine. Architect Alexander Currier is credited with the Gothic Revival-style design, intended to emulate a church. Governor Israel Washburn, Jr. was inspired to build and dedicate the library to honor his father, Israel Sr., and mother, Patty. Shortly after completion, Governor Washburn presented it to the Livermore community as a public lending library in 1886.
Maine Preservation is a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization.
Maine Preservation says the Most Endangered Historic Places List began in 1996 for the purpose of identifying and raising public awareness about preserving threatened historic properties.
Sites previously listed and successfully rehabilitated include the Great Bowdoin Mill in Topsham, Eastport Savings Bank, Abyssinian Meeting House in Portland, Seguin Island Light, Capt. Samuel Holden House in Moose River, Wood Island Lifesaving Station in Kittery, and Lincoln Street School in Rockland.