NEWCASTLE, Maine — Frances Perkins wasn't born in Maine, but throughout her life and work, the family’s farm in Newcastle was a constant, a source of rejuvenation for Perkins during years of major challenges and achievements.
The farm became what is now the Frances Perkins Center, a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving the history of her work. Now, the National Park Service is seriously considering making it the country’s newest national monument.
"There are only a handful of national monuments in this country dedicated to women," State Senator Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, a board member of the Perkins Center, said. "And Frances Perkins is arguably one of the most important women in American history."
Perkins was born in 1880, visiting the family farm each summer, Perkins Center Executive Director Giovanna Lockhart, said.
"Every summer she would come to visit her grandmother, and her grandmother would encourage her to pursue her dreams, and leadership founded in community values."
That leadership began to show as Perkins became a leader of the labor reform movement in New York City, advocating for better conditions for women and immigrants, particularly, an end to child labor prevalent at the time. Lockhart said when President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Perkins to be Secretary of Labor—the first woman ever named to a presidential cabinet—she came to him with a list of demands for legislation.
"She goes in, she says 'OK, I will take the position but I have a list of demands.' On that list were a 40-hour work week, unemployment insurance, bans on child labor, something she had seen firsthand in her work with the Consumers League, and fire safety investigation. [Also] Social Security, which they didn’t call Social Security; it was old age insurance."
All those measures became law during Perkins's 12 years as Secretary of Labor.
Those achievements, as well as her ability to earn such a high position in what then was essentially an all-male political world, have drawn the interest of the National Park Service in adding the Perkins Center to the country’s list of national monuments.
"These places, and the stories they tell, ensure that current and future generations know how pivotal women have been in shaping the country we have, and the country we aspire to live in," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, as she chaired a group discussion at the center on Aug. 15.
Haaland noted that in March, during Women’s History Month, President Biden announced that he wanted more parks and monuments to highlight the lives and work of women. That prompted the examination of whether the Frances Perkins Center should become such a monument. The National Park Service has been looking closely and apparently likes what it has seen.
"I will tell you that when our team first came here, they came back giddy because nothing makes a historian giddy like walking through a place and seeing the typewriter the person typed on, or the books the person held in their hands," Shannon Estenoz, assistant secretary of the Interior who oversees the National Park Service, said.
Among the many artifacts in the Perkins Homestead is the typewriter on what was Frances Perkins’ desk, which Lockhart said was given to her by employees in the Labor Department.
The home is filled with books, photos, awards, clothing, and other artifacts from Perkins’ life. The home itself and the attached barn have been renovated by the Perkins Center, including a driveway and parking lot added to accommodate current visitors.
Since the property is already owned by the non-profit organization, it isn't subject to local property taxes, which means no added impact on the town from potential federal designation.
The decision on national monument state, if it is granted, will come from the President in the weeks or months ahead. If granted, the National Park Service would take over management and care of the homestead, and use its ability to expand opportunities to teach visitors about Perkins.
"It brings national attention to Frances Perkins and her work," Rotundo said. "And the fact of her policies’ impact on the lives of Americans every single day."