The Common is the
town common
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person who has a r ...
of
Union, Maine. Laid out about 1790 and acquired by the town in 1809, it is the oldest public town common in the state of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
. It is the site of the town's various war and veterans memorials, and also has a bandstand. It 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 2007.
Description and history
The Common is located in the center of the main village of Union, a rural inland community of coastal
Knox County. It is a roughly lozenge-shaped parcel, bounded on the north by Burkett Road and the south by Common Road. It is roughly bisected by Town House Road (
Maine State Route 235
State Route 235 (abbreviated SR 235) is a state highway located in eastern Maine, running through parts of Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo counties. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Waldoboro. Its northern terminus is ...
), with the eastern section further subdivided by Abbott Road and another unnamed spur road. The westernmost portion is an open grassy area, shaded by three rows of maple trees, which are replacements of elm trees planted in the 19th century. Facing Town House Road is the granite
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
memorial, placed in 1888 by the local chapter of the
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
. At the southeast corner of that section is a small cement watering trough, and a wooden 1940s map of the area.
The westernmost eastern section is mostly open, with maple trees around the fringe, and an octagonal Queen Anne style bandstand in the southern half, built in 1895. The central eastern section houses the town's
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
memorial, and a memorial to the town's peacetime veterans. The easternmost section is a small triangular stub of land, devoid of significant ornament.
[
The town of Union was settled in the 1770s and incorporated in 1786. The first mention that the town has a common is in town documents of 1790, although it is unclear if the present common is the property mentioned. The land that makes up the present common had apparently been laid out by 1801, and was purchased from David Gillmor in 1809 for $100, then a significant sum of money. The common is distinctive among Maine's town commons as the oldest known to have been acquired as a common, and for retaining its original configuration (including the extant road cuts through it) from a very early date.][
]
See also
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Queen Anne architecture in Maine
Buildings and structures completed in 1790
Buildings and structures in Knox County, Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine