Press Releases

Today, Maine First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joined President Joe Biden and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to announce that the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine has been granted National Monument status—furthering the Administration’s goal to more fully recognize the contributions women have made to our country. The designation follows months of advocacy by Pingree and the Frances Perkins Center to safeguard the legacy of one of the most influential women in modern American history. President Biden made the announcement Monday at the U.S. Department of Labor, whose headquarters is named for Frances Perkins.

“Frances Perkins was a trailblazer whose transformative legacy continues to shape our nation. Her leadership gave us enduring protections like Social Security, unemployment insurance, and the minimum wage—pillars of fairness and security for workers,” said Pingree. “With the designation of the Frances Perkins National Monument at her family homestead in Maine, President Biden has ensured her story will inspire generations to come. This decision honors Maine’s rich history and ensures that the values Frances Perkins championed—fairness, dignity, and opportunity—remain a cornerstone of our national identity.”

“It has never been more important to celebrate American heroes like Perkins. Not only did she score remarkable achievements on their own merits, she achieved them despite the many constraints of her time period, as a woman working in the male-dominated field of public policy,” said Giovanna Gray Lockhart, Executive Director for the Frances Perkins Center. “Perkins understood that, while elections come and go, policy endures, from Social Security to labor relations. She realized that real change requires policy change, and Perkins set out to be the change that America so desperately needed at the time. The place that shaped her character and the values she held dear is her family’s homestead in Newcastle, ME. Our nation’s newest national monument.”

The Frances Perkins Homestead, a National Historic Landmark since 2014, is the birthplace of Perkins’ passion for public service and social reform. This designation ensures that her legacy—and the historic grounds where she lived and worked—will be preserved and accessible to future generations.

The Frances Perkins Center, which has championed efforts to preserve and interpret the homestead, will continue its work in partnership with the National Park Service to enhance public understanding of Perkins’ groundbreaking contributions.

The National Monument designation also brings opportunities to boost cultural tourism in Maine, driving economic benefits to local communities while educating visitors about the indelible mark Perkins left on the nation.

Background:

Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member and longest-serving Labor Secretary, is credited as an architect of the New Deal and other programs that Americans continue to benefit from today, such as unemployment insurance and Social Security. Throughout her life, Perkins considered Newcastle and the 57-acre homestead along the Damariscotta River as her home. 

Founded in in 2009,  the Frances Perkins Center achieved designation of the Frances Perkins Homestead as a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior in 2014. The Frances Perkins Homestead is one of less than 8% of the 93,000 National Register of Historic Places sites across the country that represent the stories of women and Americans of color.

Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, presidents have the authority to proclaim new national monuments. Such a designation for the Frances Perkins Homestead would also further the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal under Executive Order 14121, which empowers the National Park Service to more fully recognize the contributions women have made to our country.

Last month, Pingree led 42 Members of Congress in urging President Joe Biden to grant the designation. In August, Pingree joined Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in Newcastle to visit the Frances Perkins Homestead, where they met with local leaders and stakeholders to learn more about the site’s history and legacy. 

Pingree is ranking member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which oversees the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. 

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