Criterion C: Architecture
Period of Significance: ca. 1745 - 1950
Local Level of Significance
The Kennebunk Historic District in York County, Maine, is a concentration of primarily wood frame, residential buildings that are historically and aesthetically linked by the development of the town. The district was originally listed under Criterion C for its architectural significance at the local level. That significance is still reflected in the 260 resources that make up the district which includes all major architectural styles from the earliest ca. 1745 house to more recent 1950s ranches and bungalows. While the district has many large, high-style homes, vernacular and small homes are also present along with several religious and commercial buildings reflecting the historic built environment of the town. Shipbuilding and maritime commerce drove much of the prosperity reflected in the district, but the associated shipyards and maritime buildings are no longer present leaving the former homes of the ship builders, ship captains, merchants and tradesmen to represent the historic driving force in the town's development. The buildings have a scale, spacing, and distance from the road that is consistent within the neighborhoods in the district. There are 178 contributing and 82 noncontributing resources which are almost exclusively buildings in both cases. The resources reflect the architectural development of the area from the earliest building ca. 1745 to 1950. This period of significance covers the architectural development of the area during the most active construction and development period. Few houses have been built in the district since 1950.