Criterion A: Social History
Criterion C: Art
Criterion Consideration F: Commemorative Property
Period of Significance: 1909 - 1932
Local Level of Significance
The Richard Vines Monument is a granite and bronze memorial commemorating the 'first time' Europeans over wintered on the shores of what became Biddeford, York County, Maine. The marker was designed and erected in 1909 by William E. Barry, an architect, researcher, artist and writer who lived in Kennebunk, Maine. Its location purports to be the site at which Richard Vines, agent of Sir Fernando Gorges in England, and his men spent the winter of 1616-1617 in order to test the climate in the "New World". According to tradition, the companys vessel spent the season in Winter Harbor (Biddeford Pool), within site of the encampment. Now owned by the Rebecca Emery Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Richard Vines Monument is important not just as a property that remembers the past, but it gains significance when considered within the context of a persuasive historical trend that invested symbolism in objects, and relied on conceptions of the Colonial era to bolster American cultural identity in the early twentieth century. William E. Barrys design also represents the Colonial Revivals influence on artwork of the period and reflects his mastery of this type of monument design. The Richard Vines Monument is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, for its ability to inform a greater understanding of Social History, and under Criterion C, as a master work of William Barry. The monument is locally significant with a period of significance from 1909 to 1932, beginning with the monuments design and construction and ending when it was gifted by the artist to the Daughters of the American Revolution. By virtue of its original function as a commemorative object that has significance for the artistic design by William Barry, and as a property that helped to create an image that supported prevailing social beliefs in the early 20th century, the Monument also meets Criterion Consideration F.