Senator Collins Supports National Monument Designation for Francis Perkins Homestead in Newcastle

Bangor, ME — U.S. Senator Susan Collins sent a letter to President Biden today, in support of a national monument designation for the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle. Francis Perkins was the first woman to serve in a Presidential Cabinet—for 12 years under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and briefly under President Harry Truman—and was the country’s longest serving Labor secretary. Her confirmation to the Presidential Cabinet also made her the first woman to enter the presidential line of succession. 

“I write to express my support for the designation of the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, as a National Monument. As the first woman to serve in a Presidential Cabinet, Secretary Perkins is deserving of this honor,” Senator Collins wrote. “A leader of great intelligence with an abiding commitment to public service, Secretary Perkins worked alongside members of Congress to create laws that still govern workplaces today and have bettered American lives for generations. Surrounded by the natural beauty of 57 acres in Newcastle, her ancestral homestead now represents an opportunity to preserve and honor her impressive legacy of service to our country.”

According to the Frances Perkins Center, the homestead, built in 1837, is a saltwater farm consisting of 57 acres of woods and fields along the Damariscotta River. The homestead served as a family summer home for Perkins in childhood, and she considered the property her true home. Perkins died in 1965 and is buried in Newcastle, Maine, near the site of her homestead.

The complete letter can be read here.

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