Portsmouth Company

The Portsmouth Company was a cotton mill established in 1832 in South Berwick, Maine, one of several operating in the area. It was operated for many years under the control of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Hale family.

Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House
LocationME 4 at Salmon Falls River, South Berwick, Maine
Coordinates43°13′37″N 70°48′41″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1832 (1832)
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.75000208[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1975

Its counting house is currently a museum operated by the Old Berwick Historical Society.

History

The Portsmouth Company cotton mill was incorporated in 1831.[2][3][4][5] 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.[6] 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,[1] and is now home to the Old Berwick Historical Society, which operates it as the Counting House Museum.

Description

The Portsmouth Company Counting House is a 2-1/2 story brick structure set at the southern corner of Liberty Street and Main Street (Maine State Route 4), on the eastern bank of the Salmon Falls River. 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.[6]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Old Berwick Historical Society, page on Eben Nealley (1807-1888), tavern keeper, Quamphegan Hotel
  3. Department of the Interior, Statistics of Power and Machinery Used in Manufactures, 1885
  4. Census Reports Tenth Census, June 1, 1880: Statistics of power and machinery
  5. Maine Memory Network, Boys at Quamphegan Landing, South Berwick, ca. 1900
  6. "NRHP nomination for Portsmouth Company Cotton Mills: Counting House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
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