Town Planners and Kennebunkport Historical Society (KHS) Officers tried for years to create a Village Historic District to protect our many vulnerable properties, but Port voters repeatedly rejected such local ordinances.

Our Bicentennial celebration presented a chance to take a tiny step in that direction. KHS and the Maine State Preservation Commission applied to the National Register of Historic Places for an official Historic District Designation. Though it offered no protection against historically inappropriate alterations or demolitions it prevented federal funds being spent to cause harm within the district, with housing projects, road widening, etc. It also made the historic property owners eligible at that time for some limited restoration matching funds from the Federal Government.

One January 1975 evening, KHS President, Mary Bryant, KHS Board Director Gertrude Maling, Chairman of the Port Planning Board, Wally Reid, and Maine State Historic Preservationist, Frank Beard met at KHS Curator, Joyce Butler’s house to plot out the boundaries for their proposed National Historic Register application, encompassing 148 properties. (see map)

While KHS volunteers were researching deeds to verify the age of the historic buildings, they seized the opportunity to have those familiar house-shaped plaques with the builder’s name and approximate year of construction installed on houses throughout the town at the owner’s request.

Frank Beard took photographs, filled out the forms and submitted the application to the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 1975. The district was officially accepted on May 6, 1976 in plenty of time to include the project in the Bicentennial celebration. A certificate signed by Earle Shettleworth Jr., was awarded to the town.

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our Village District listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2026, I can’t help but think about the historic Kennebunkport properties that have already been demolished or transformed into modern mansions.