Maine Historic Preservation Commission

04/07/2025

REvitalizeME Downtown, funded through the National Park Service, Paul Bruhn Revitalization Grant Program will offer historic preservation grants to historic property owners located in 23 Maine Downtown Center communities that are classified as current Main Streets or Downtown Affiliates. Click below to learn more!

The Maine Development Foundation (MDF) and its partner, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (Commission) are administering a grant program for historic preservation and economic development entitled REvitalizeME Downtown (RMD).

03/04/2025

This April, Victoria Mansion in Portland is hosting a two-week preservation trades training course focused on maintaining and preserving exterior architectural woodwork. Click below for more info, and to access the application.

This training program is for tradespeople actively working in the greater Portland, Maine area. The objective of the training is to boost their basic carpentry knowledge and skills into the field of work on older and historic buildings. The training will focus on exterior woodwork details and takes....

04/02/2024

The grant summaries for Certified Local Government (CLG) grants and Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants are now available for viewing on our website at:

3/26/2024: Soliciting Public Comment on 2024 Certified Local Government Grant Applications3/26/2024: Soliciting Public Comment on 2022 HPF Grant Applications1/23/2024: Malaga Island Listed in the National Register of Historic Places View Archived News

02/07/2024

We are hiring!

MAINE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Opening Date: February 6, 2024 Closing Date: February 21, 2024 Job Class Code: 3180Grade: 16Salary: $17.17 - $22.66/hourlyPosition Number: 014600073 The Maine Historic Preservation Commission is seeking candidates for an Archaeology Technician I position. This....

01/29/2024

Malaga Island in Phippsburg was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on September 19, 2023. Malaga Island is the former site of a small village of multi-racial families that was established by 1865. The residents were evicted by order of Governor Frederick Plaisted and his Executive Council in 1912.

The Malaga Island nomination was the product of three years of collaboration between Maine Coastal Heritage Trust and the Commission with the input of descendants, academics, researchers, and other stakeholders.. National Register nominations are not exhaustive histories of a property, and additional historic documentation of Malaga Island is available from a wide variety of other sources.

Read more about the nomination here: https://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=mhpc_news&id=12298821&v=article2019

10/23/2023

October is Archaeology Month!

Maine Historic Preservation Commission along with Natural Resources Conservation Service archaeologists and interns with the help of Machias area historical society volunteers, completed two days of low-tide data recording in July at an intertidal wooden shipwreck in Jonesport. The site is listed as ME 220-010 in the Maine historic archaeological sites listing. Local tradition and some historic records (including recorded local oral tradition) indicate that the wreck is Margaretta, a Royal Navy sloop captured by local Revolutionary War patriots early in the War (June 1775). She was operated as a privateer for months, possibly added to the Massachusetts Navy, then chased by the British into the head of Sawyer Cove, scuttled, and burned to the water line as the local crew abandoned ship.

Wooden shipwreck timbers from the base of the hull (futtocks, keel and keelson, some ceiling planking, other hold timber framing) about 16 m long and 4 m wide are exposed in the mud at low tide. The wreck has become more exposed in recent years as some mud has been washed away. The site is at risk, presumably from increased tidal flow probably due to sea level rise and climate change.

Photo Credit: Joe McBrine

09/21/2023

Victoria Mansion in Portland will be hosting a Preservation Trades demonstration workshop on Saturday, October 15th. This is a free event and open to the public.

Join us on October 15, 2023 for a free public workshop drawing together historic building owners who need work done, and the tradespeople who do the work. Throughout the day knowledgeable and skilled tradespeople will present brief demonstrations of their trades, including woodwork repairs, window s...

09/15/2023

Earlier this week, NPR started a series on climate change and cultural heritage. The first episode in the series is available via the link below.

The impacts of climate change including related disasters, such as wildfires and sea level rise, are increasingly raising a question about how best to save cultural heritage.

09/14/2023

https://culturalrescue.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Be-Prepared_EN_May2022.pdf

03/22/2023

Happening TODAY!!

03/20/2023

In celebration of Cultural Heritage Week in Maine... check out this wonderful site about the Benefits of Historic Preservation that features Greater Portland Landmarks , Maine Downtown Center , and Maine Preservation!

CAM Convening Recap The Benefits of Historic Preservation in Maine Adding a district or building to the Historic Register can yield significant economic and social benefits to Maine communities, cultural organizations, affordable housing stock, and creative districts. In this CAM Convening, we learn...

03/15/2023