Westport Town Hall is the current

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

of Westport, Maine. It is located on Main Road (

Maine State Route 144 State Route 144 (SR 144) is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, located in Lincoln County along the state's southern coast. The southern terminus is at West Shore Road in Westport Island and the northern terminus is at ...

) in a former Congregational church built in 1794. The building, used as the town hall since 1885, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as Union Meeting House, (Former).

Description and history

Westport Town Hall stands on the west side of SR 144, in the dispersed rural village center of Westport. It is located south of the Westport Community Church and the

Squire Tarbox House The Squire Tarbox House is a historic house at 1181 Main Road in Westport, Maine. Built in 1763 and enlarged in 1820, it is a fine local example of Georgian and Federal architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places i ...

. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboarded exterior, and granite foundation. Its street-facing front facade is symmetrical, with a central double door flanked by sash windows, with three sash windows at the balcony level, and a single sash window near the peak of the gable. All windows save the last, and the doorway, are topped by semi-circular fans, a detail that is continued to windows on the building sides. The interior has a small vestibule, with kitchen facilities and stairs leading to the balcony, with the main meeting space occupying the remainder of the building. A raised stage is located at the far end, one end partly closed off the provide additional office space. Due to extensive alterations, only a small number of interior features remain from the period of construction, including balcony panels and railings. with The church was built in the early 1790s as a parish church for the Jeremysquam district of

Edgecomb Edgecomb is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,188 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of East Edgecomb, North Edgecomb, and Pools Landing. The town was named for George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgc ...

, which was later separated as Westport. It was used principally by Free Will Baptists, and in 1828, when Westport was incorporated, it also served as town hall for a few years. Town meetings were then held in a district school, and the Free Will Baptists shared the building for a time with a Methodist congregation. The Baptists apparently disbanded in 1864, and the Methodist moved to the Westport Community Church, leaving the building vacant until 1885, when it was acquired by the town. In addition to its municipal functions, the building has served as a social venue and hosted the local Grange organization. The building is one of a small number of surviving Federal period church buildings in the state.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Churches in Lincoln County, Maine Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Federal architecture in Maine Churches completed in 1794 National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Maine Town halls in Maine 1885 establishments in Maine

Description and history

See also

References