A look at Bethel’s Historic District and National Register properties

1790 Intervale is on The National Register of Historic Places. Rose Lincoln

Philbrook Place, 162 Main Street is on the National Register of Historic Places and also in Bethel’s Historic District. Rose Lincoln

A photograph of Bethel Common, on the National Registry and also in Bethel’s Historic District.

The Wiley Bock on Main Street is in the Bethel Historic District and also on The National Register of Historic Places. Rose Lincoln

The church on Intervale Rd. is across from John Carter’s farm. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rose Lincoln

The Gehring House was captured by Mary DeSoucey before renovation began. The historic property will be middle income housing. Mary DeSoucey/photographer

BETHEL — Appreciation for the Town of Bethel’s history has been paid tribute to in many ways over the years, beginning with the formation of the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society in 1966 and followed by the preservation of the Mason then Robinson historic houses.

Historians and volunteers, past and present, have been protectors of the historical record and beginning in 1977, homeowners and business owners within Bethel’s Historic District or listed on The National Register of Historic Places became responsible keepers of historical preservation. too,

Designation on the National Register of Historic Places does not restrict the rights of the individual property owners while a home’s designation within a town’s historic district does come with certain restrictions. Bethel’s restrictions are listed below.

History

In 1977, Bethel Historical Society leaders applied to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) for a Broad Street historic district.

According to the Historic Society’s publication, “The Bethel Courier, The Moses Mason House and The Gehring Clinic were already on the National Register when the district was proposed on Nov. 1 that year.

The Courier authors wrote, “Other structures of importance include the former homes of William Rogers Chapman, Judge Enoch Foster, William J. Upson, William Bingham II, Major Gideon Hastings, and Judge A.E. Herrick in addition to the Bethel Inn. The public library building was designed by one of Maine’s foremost architects John Calvin Stevens of Portland.”

In 1977, the proposed Bethel Historic District area included Broad Street and Bethel Common. The district was expanded in the 1990’s to include Church Street’s historic homes and a part of Gould Academy’s campus.

According to a map at Bethel Town Office, the district encompasses several adjacent buildings on Church, Broad and Main Streets and two properties that are not adjacent to the others, Philbrook Place at 162 Main Street and 10 Kilborn Street.

Towns immediately surrounding Bethel do not have town historic districts but do have buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Bethel

The National Register of Historic Places has 10 Bethel listings on their site. They are here with the year they were listed on the site, and the area of significance:

Dr. Moses Mason House, Broad Street; 1972; art; architecture

Gehring Clinic; 1976; health/medicine; social history

Broad Street and The Common; 1977; politics/government; architecture and social history (these structures are not listed separately by the NRHP, although Bethel Historian Will Chapman easily names each one and it’s significance.

Along Church and Park Streets; 1990; community planning and development; education and architecture (these structures are not listed separately by the NRHP)

John M. Philbrook House, 32 Main Street; 1995; architecture

Samuel D. Philbrook House, 162 Main Street; 1995; architecture

Cole Block, 19 Main Street; 1998; architecture

Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common, 757 Intervale Rd.; 1998; architecture; landscape architecture

Hall House, 10 Kilborn Street; 2002; architecture

Lower Meeting House and East Bethel Cemetery, 1797 Intervale Rd; 2013; Architecture

From the national Register for Historic Places website: “Under Federal Law, the listing of a property in the National Register places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do with their property up to and including destruction, unless the property is involved in a project that receives Federal assistance, usually funding or licensing/permitting.”

The designation may help attain grant money through the National Park Service and through The State of Maine Historic Preservation office.

Bethel district

Bethel’s historic district includes fewer buildings than those on The National Register of Historic Places. The town’s district includes: Dr. Moses Mason House; Gehring Clinic; 1976; Broad Street and The Common; Along Church and Park Streets; Hall House, 10 Kilborn Street; John M. Philbrook House, 32 Main Street; Samuel D. Philbrook House, 162 Main Street; and the Cole Block, 19 Main Street.

Bethel does set some restrictions. The planning board conducts a site plan review when necessary. Appeals are through The Bethel Appeals Board and enforcement is by the Code Enforcement Officer and/or Fire Chief.

A separate section for the historic district is within Bethel’s general building code and is titled: “Buildings in Bethel Historic District and on the National Register of Historic Places.”

The section starts, “The purpose of this District is to manage development and redevelopment in the recognized Bethel Historic District to conserve the District’s unique architectural values and character.”

The codes only apply to the portion of a building within 200 feet of the street. The codes do not apply to general upkeep and maintenance.

The code reads: “New structures, additions to existing structures and/or the exterior alteration of a structure shall be visually compatible with surrounding structures in terms of the following:

(a) The height of the proposed structure or addition to an existing structure shall be visually compatible with adjacent structures.

(b) The relationship of the width to the height of the front elevation shall be compatible with buildings, public ways and places to which it is visually related.

(c) The relationship of the width and height of windows shall be compatible with buildings, public ways and places to which it is visually related.

(d) The relationship of entrances and other projections to sidewalks shall be compatible with buildings, public ways and places to which it is visually related.

(e) The relationship of the materials, texture and color of the facade shall be visually compatible with the predominate material used in the structures to which it is visually related.

(f) The roof shape of the structure shall be visually compatible with the structures to which it is visually related.

(g) The size and mass of the structure in relation to open spaces, windows, door openings, porches, and balconies shall be visually compatible with the structures and public places to which they are visually connected.”