History in Kennebunkport, Maine: The Shipbuilder's House and Old Jail

The Kennebunkport Historical Society manages several buildings that have been brought together from different parts of the town and have different histories. Last week, I took you to the old Town School House. Two smaller buildings flank the school, one on the right is from a shipbuilder, and the other is a jail. Today's blog will explore both.

(Photo: Clark Shipyard Office. Credit: Tom W.) 

WHAT IS THE CLARK SHIPYARD OFFICE?  The small one room Shipyard Office now sits next to the Town School in Kennebunkport, Maine previously stood adjacent to the South Congregational Church along the ocean, until Charles S. Morgan rescued it in 1952.

HISTORY:  The Clark Shipwright Office was built circa 1850. For many years it was used as a shipyard office, standing in the shadow of the South Congregational Church on Temple Street. It served the firms of Crawford & Ward, Crawford & Perkins, and finally David Clark who took over the shipyard property about 1880. After the shipyard closed with David Clark’s death in 1902, the building remained largely unused but intact long after all the other shipyard buildings had been razed.

 

(Photo: Original location of the Clark Shipwright Office. It was built circa 1850 and is pictured above directly at the base of the church steeple. Credit: Kennebunkport Historical Society ).

The little building, a rectangular one-room clapboard structure is the last building in existence that is directly associated with the wooden shipbuilding industry of the Kennebunk area. Shipbuilding was the lifeblood of Kennebunkport in the 19th century and early 20th century. 

HOW IT WAS SAVED AND MOVED:  A 1977 fund drive made it possible to accept the little building as a gift from maritime historian Charles S. Morgan. The Clark Shipyard Office is now an integral part of the Kennebunkport Historical Society’s maritime history collection housing many artifacts donated to the Society by Morgan. The Clark Shipyard Office is now located at 135 North Street, Kennebunkport, Maine.

(Photo: An inside look at the small cells. Credit: Tom W.) 

THE OLD JAIL CELLS

HISTORY:  The specially designed Old Jail Cells building contains the actual twin jail cells that served for years as the town lock-up on Ocean Avenue, downtown Kennebunkport, Maine. 

(Photo: The building that houses two small jail cells. The building was moved from the downtown area to this campus. Credit: Tom W.) 

If you are standing on North Street looking at the Town House School Campus at 135 North Street,  the property left to right are the Old Jail Cells, the 1899 Town House School and the Shipyard Office. All are managed by the Kennebunkport Historical Society.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION: It's managed by the Kennebunkport Historical Society and is located at 135 North Street, Kennebunkport, ME. Phone 207-967-2751. Website: https://kporths.com/the-town-house-school/ 

(Photo: Schoolhouse (left) and Clark Shipbuilding office building (right). Credit: R.G)