Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

Object. An object is defined as a small-scale construction, often of artistic intent, that
exists in a setting appropriate to its historic significance. Objects may be small and
moveable, but are intended for a specific location. Examples include monuments,
statues, boundary markers, and mileposts.
District. A district may be composed of a variety of property types, unified by their
relationships to a historic period or periods. They often contain both “contributing” and
“non-contributing” components. That is to say, not all the buildings, sites, structures, etc.
within the district contribute to its historical significance. Examples include college
campuses, rural estates, rural villages, industrial complexes, commercial centers,
concentrations of archaeological sites, areas of traditional cultural significance to Native
American tribes, irrigation systems, and transportation systems.
This section includes overviews of the above-ground historic property types found within the
four geographic regions (encompassing 13 states) covered by the 100-mile corridor of the
northern border project area.
3.1 NEW ENGLAND REGION
3.1.1 STATE OF MAINE
Buildings
As a primarily rural, agricultural state, historic buildings in Maine tend overwhelmingly to be
residential and small-scale commercial (i.e., smaller downtown business districts). While the
earliest houses in the state, from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, tend to be
along the coast, several eighteenth century houses exist in the southern portions of the study area.
The highest concentration of eighteenth century houses outside of the coastal counties can be
found in Oxford County, where 12 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Most of the counties in the central and northern parts of the state, however, show few if any
eighteenth century buildings. Houses from the early eighteenth century generally are one or one
and one-half story buildings, often constructed of logs, while houses from the middle and later
parts of the eighteenth century are one, one and one-half, or two stories in height, constructed
around a timber frame, and generally with a central brick chimney and unadorned wood siding.
The northern portion of Maine, principally Aroostook County, was in flux through the early
nineteenth century as a result of the uncertainty over the border with Canada. The border
tensions led to the creation of a blockhouse fort (now located in Fort Kent) along the St. John
River. The early architectural traditions in northern Aroostook County along the border
remained influenced by the Acadian settlers, whose building technology differed from that of
their English counterparts in the lower part of the state. The Acadian vernacular architectural
traditions in the eighteenth century included log houses that used tenons at the corners rather
than notches.
The rivers that drained from the uplands to the coast provided both a source of power and an
easy access route to the markets of Boston; this combination provided great opportunities for
entrepreneurs in the early nineteenth century. Railroads first arrived in Maine in the late 1840s,
and expanded quickly through the 1850s and 1860s; these provided additional incentives for
growth by making the development of factories and larger lumber mills feasible. As a result, the
Northern Border Activities H-133 July 2012