Rumford Commercial Historic District

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Rumford Commercial Historic District is a historic commercial district in Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, listed in the National Register in 2017. Its 29 contributing buildings range in style from Late Victorian and Colonial Revival to Art Deco.

Why it's listed

The district was listed under criteria A and C, with local significance in community planning and development, commerce and architecture. Its period of significance runs from 1892, when McKenzie, Maxwell & Co. opened the district's first store, to 1967, when 82 and 84 Congress Street were built.

Physical character

Many buildings have brick or buff brick walls trimmed in cast stone or terra cotta, set on foundations of granite, sandstone or marble. Surviving details include cast stone swags, shields and keystones, chevron patterned brickwork and a six story clock tower with a four faced clock.

Historical context

Hugh J. Chisholm bought 1,400 acres of forest land in 1882, and the Rumford Falls Power Company was incorporated in 1890 and began grading streets and laying sewer and water lines in 1892. By 1894 fifty-eight buildings stood in the downtown commercial section, and by 1898 nearly 100 buildings, fourteen of them brick, filled it. The Strathglass Building was built in 1906; in 1931 it was converted to a hotel after a fire, and around 1931 it gained a painted brick fourth story. Its elaborate ornament was removed around 1940, replaced by the simple denticulated cornice.