The Eastport Historic District encompasses the late 19th-century commercial center of the city of Eastport, Maine. Set on a five-block stretch of Water Street, this area was almost completely redeveloped after a major fire in 1886, and many of its buildings are the work of a single architect, Henry Black. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982, and enlarged slightly in 2016.

Description and history

The city of Eastport is located on

Moose Island Moose Island is an island in Eastport, Maine located at the entrance to Cobscook Bay from Passamaquoddy Bay in the Bay of Fundy. It is part of Shackford Head State Park. Connected to the mainland portion of Washington County at Passamaquoddy Plea ...

at the far southeastern tip of Maine, with the Canadian province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

just across Passamaquoddy Bay. In the mid-19th century, Eastport served as a major regional commercial center, and developed a significant sardine-packing industry in the 1870s. On October 14, 1886, a fire devastated the city center, destroying its central business district and its commercial wharves. In the following year, the city rebuilt its downtown. The rebuilt area extends along Water Street, the city's east-facing waterfront area, between Sullivan and Key Streets. There are 26 buildings that were built in 1887, with two more added by 1893, and one in 1928–29. Fourteen of the 1887 buildings were designed (or have been attributed to) Henry Black, an architect who had been based for some years in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. Black arrived in Eastport in February 1887, and was apparently the only architect directly involved in the rebuilding effort. Buildings typifying his work include the Eastport Savings Bank at 41 Water Street, and the Ferris & Son building at 4 Boynton Street, both Italianate in style, one in brick and the other in wood. Other architect-designed buildings in the district include the Peavey Memorial Library (1893, Rotch and Tilden), and the Frontier National Bank at 30 Water Street (1882, Charles Kimball). Most of the district's buildings are brick Italianate structures, although some are wooden, and the library is Romanesque in style. The 2016 enlargement added the former Seacoast Canning Company plant at 15 Sea Street; it was built in 1908 for what was at the time the world's largest sardine cannery company.Mitchell, Christi (2016). NRHP nomination for Eastport Historic District (Boundary Increase); available by request from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Italianate architecture in Maine Romanesque Revival architecture in Maine Buildings and structures in Eastport, Maine Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maine Canneries Fishing in Maine

Description and history

See also

References