Frances Perkins Center Celebrates Opening of Frances Perkins Homestead With Theme of Preservation, Immigration & Labor

On Sunday, August 13, the Frances Perkins Center’s board of trustees, staff, and supporters celebrated the grand opening of the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark with the Homestead Celebration & Awards Ceremony in Newcastle.

Frances Perkins (1880-1965), the first woman to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, was Secretary of Labor (1933-1945) for the entire tenure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency. Perkins was the driving force behind the groundbreaking New Deal programs on which Americans still rely - Social Security, unemployment insurance, the 40-hour work week, and the minimum wage.

Perkins spent summers throughout her life at her ancestral family homestead in Newcastle,  now a National Historic Landmark owned by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Frances Perkins Center. The Homestead property, occupied by the Perkins family since the 1750s, includes the 1837 Brick House, connected ell, and barn on a 57-acre site on the Damariscotta River.

The center’s future plans including building a new Visitor & Education Center on the Homestead property, which the organization says will be critical to protecting the integrity of the landmark’s historic structures and exhibition space, archival storage, research facilities, restrooms, a bookstore, a catering kitchen, and a community meeting space.

The Homestead is open for tours by advance reservation through October and offers a glimpse of the site’s history as a working farm, brickyard, and home to many generations of the Perkins family. Visit www.francesperkinscenter.org to view the tour schedule and reservation information. The community is invited to a free Homestead Open House on Sunday, September 17 from 12:30-3:00 pm.