Historic Preservation

A Proud History

In 1978, the National Register of Historic Places designated a University of Maine at Orono Historic District.

The historic district, framed by Munson, Sebec and Schoodic roads, includes 10 architecturally significant structures constructed from 1868 to 1913. The district represents the oldest section of campus of the land grant institution that opened Sept. 21, 1868, on the site of the former Frost and White farms. Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of American landscape architecture, conceived the original campus plan.

From 1868 to 1870, students built the first campus academic building — Fernald Hall, originally called Chemical Hall. Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society promoting academic excellence, was founded in 1897 in Fernald Hall.

The nine other buildings in the district are Alumni Hall, Carnegie Library, Coburn Hall, Holmes Hall, Lord Hall, the President’s House, Stock Judging Pavilion, The Maples and Winslow Hall.

Take a walk through history.

Listing UMaine’s historic places in the National Register recognizes their unique heritage, significant architectural and landscape history, and direct association with historical events so important to the identity and continuity of the University. Listing in the National Register also reflects the “vital legacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, economic and energy preservation” associated with historic preservation, and provides opportunities for specific preservation incentives including Federal and State rehabilitation tax credits and preservation grants from governmental and non-profit sources for planning and rehabilitation.

In 2004, the University of Maine received a $175,000 grant from the Getty Grant Program’s Campus Heritage Initiative that was used to fund a preservation plan for the buildings and landscapes included in UMaine’s National Register Historic District.

The project also helped to ensure the preservation of UMaine’s distinctive and beautiful New England land-grant campus and was a model for incorporating historic preservation into a campus master plan.

Copies of the Historic Preservation Plan are available for reading in the Special Collections section of Fogler Library and in the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance. Click here to view the Historic Preservation Plan online.

In 2010, The University of Maine, with authorization from the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, submitted to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission a nomination form requesting the expansion of its Historic District to include an additional 56.77 acres hosting 17 contributing structures and 4 landscape elements. The nomination was approved by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission at the Quarterly meeting of the State Review Board on January 22, 2010, and after having been forwarded to the US Department of the Interior, National Park Service for final review and approval was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on April 27, 2010.

Click here to view UMaine’s Historic District.
Click here to view the expansion certificate (pdf file).