Brick Store Museum
Brick Store Museum
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| Established | 1936 |
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| Location | 117 Main Street, Kennebunk, Maine 04043 |
| Founder | Edith Cleaves Barry |
| Website | www.brickstoremuseum.org |
The Brick Store Museum, located at 117 Main Street in the town of Kennebunk, Maine, is one of only a few museums that opened during the Great Depression in the United States. It focuses on preserving the heritage of the Kennebunks through its collections, preservation, interpretation, and exhibition of its material culture. As a history and art center in Southern Maine, the Museum’s collections include objects ranging from 19th-century paintings to shipbuilding tools, from 18th-century clothing to contemporary art. It is located in the heart of the Kennebunk Historic District, occupying 18,000 square feet of space in several buildings on Main Street.
The Brick Store Museum’s buildings comprise the oldest commercial block in Kennebunk, with structures dating from 1810 to 1860. Prior to becoming part of the museum, these buildings housed the town’s first library, a telegraph office, a furniture store, a grocery store, Water District offices, an auto supply store, apartments, a general store, and a fraternal lodge.
In 1825, wealthy merchant and shipowner William Lord (1799-1873) constructed a general store out of bricks. There were few such structures in Kennebunk, therefore it was nicknamed “Lord’s Brick Store.” The nine-foot windlass used for conveying goods between floors can still be seen through the museum’s second-floor ceiling. In 1936, William Lord’s great-granddaughter, Edith Cleaves Barry (1884-1969), inherited the Brick Store building and established the Brick Store Museum in the space. It remains to be one of a few American museums opened between the Great Depression and World War II. Immediately to the right of the Brick Store is a building constructed in 1810 by Enoch Hardy, a local tobacconist. He maintained his own shop on the second floor, and the first floor was used as a grocery store. Kennebunk’s post office and telegraph office were once in this building as well. The Kennebunk Free Library Association also used the space as a library. The next building on the block was built at the corner of Water and Main Streets by Samuel Clark in 1860. It was later moved to its current location, to the right of the Hardy building, in 1870. It operated as a butcher shop and restaurant until 1906, when it became an auto supply store.
The corner structure, currently painted a salmon color, was built in 1814 by Moses Savary. It was originally painted white, and because most buildings in Kennebunk were then yellow, this building became known as "the white store." The building was used almost continuously as a market until becoming part of the museum. Its last occupant was an antique shop. The three buildings on the block were purchased by Barry as they became available, the last in 1958; eventually, all four structures were connected on the interiors to form one cohesive block.
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