The Portsmouth Company was a
cotton mill established in 1832 in
South Berwick, Maine
South Berwick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,467 at the 2020 census. South Berwick is home to Berwick Academy, a private, co-educational university-preparatory day school founded in 1791.
The town was s ...
, USA, one of several in the area. It was operated for many years under the control of the
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
-based Hale family.
Its
counting house is now a museum operated by the Old Berwick Historical Society.
History
The Portsmouth Company cotton mill was incorporated in 1831.
Old Berwick Historical Society, page on ''Eben Nealley (1807-1888), tavern keeper, Quamphegan Hotel''
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Department of the Interior, ''Statistics of Power and Machinery Used in Manufactures'', 1885
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Census Reports Tenth Census, June 1, 1880: ''Statistics of power and machinery''
br>
Maine Memory Network, ''Boys at Quamphegan Landing, South Berwick, ca. 1900''"> Maine Memory Network, ''Boys at Quamphegan Landing, South Berwick, ca. 1900''
/ref> It operated a large mill in South Berwick, Maine.
The Counting House museum
The Counting House is a historic industrial building at Main and Liberty Streets in South Berwick, the only company structure to survive.[ Although it is traditionally given a construction date of 1832, architectural evidence suggests a later one around 1850. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975,]
Description
The Portsmouth Company Counting House is a 2½ story brick structure set at the southern corner of Liberty Street and Main Street (Maine State Route 4
State Route 4 (SR 4) is a long state highway located in southern and western Maine. It is a major interregional route and the first such route to be designated in the state. The southern terminus is at the New Hampshire border in South Berwick, ...
), on the eastern bank of the Salmon Falls River
The Salmon Falls River is a tributary of the Piscataqua River in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire. It rises at Great East Lake, Newichawannock Canal, and Horn Pond and flows south-southeast for approximately , forming the border between ...
. It sits on a granite foundation and is topped by a steeply-pitched gabled roof. The gable ends are fully pedimented, with a recessed triangular panel featuring a three-part rectangular window on each end. The building corners are pilastered in brick, with a brick entablature encircling the building below the roof. The south-facing main facade is five bays wide, articulated by brick pilasters. The entrance is on center, accessing three rooms on the first floor and a large open space on the second. The interior has well-preserved Greek Revival woodwork.
See also
*
References
External links
Counting House Museum
- Old Berwick Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Greek Revival architecture in Maine
Commercial buildings completed in 1832
South Berwick, Maine
Buildings and structures in York County, Maine
Museums in York County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in York County, Maine
1832 establishments in Maine
Cotton mills in the United States