HARPSWELL

T he island home of Arctic explorer and

Bowdoin College graduate Adm. Robert

E. Peary has been designated as a national historic landmark.

“We’re thrilled to death that this has finally happened,” said Friends of Eagle Island President Harry Rich. “The prestige factor is tremendous and we’re so grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Eagle Island, located off the coast of Harpswell in Casco Bay, is a 17-acre island that was purchased by Peary in 1881. In 1904, Peary built a house on ledge over the north shore facing seaward.

The Peary family gifted the island to the state in 1955 and it became a state park. The Friends of Eagle Island formed in 1992 to assist with the maintenance of the island and its structures.

Recognition has been a long time coming, said Rich, who noted that the island had initially been nominated for the designation by the Bureau of Parks and Lands in Augusta several year ago.

“It somehow got lost,” said Rich of the nomination, “and our best efforts to find it were to no avail until a young man in the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. found it and got it going again.”

In December, the National Park Service Landmark Nominating Committee unanimously approved the nomination, said Rich, and in May the National Park Service Advisory Board also unanimously approved the nomination.

Final approval was then given by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, who announced the decision with National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis on Tuesday. This designation marks the second for Harpswell. The Old Meeting House on Route 123 was designated a national historic landmark in 1969.

“We hope this will enhance attraction to the island,” said Rich, who added that the island may now be eligible for historic preservation grant funding.

“It’s an old house by the sea and it requires constant maintenance,” said Rich. “We completed the major projects, but there is always more to be done.”

Friends of Eagle Island built a welcome center on the island and installed a composting toilet for visitors. Additionally, they purchased and installed a fire prevention alarm system that is continuously monitored.

An additional eight other sites were awarded the national historical landmark designation, including the homestead of former Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins in Newcastle. These join 2,544 other sites nationwide that have been recognized as historic landmarks.

Friends of Eagle Island is a nonprofit, volunteer organization working with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands to maintain the Peary house and Eagle Island. For more information about Eagle Island, visit www.pearyeagleisland.org.

rgargiulo@timesrecord.com

EAGLE ISLAND, located off the coast of Harpswell in Casco Bay, is a 17-acre island that was purchased by Adm. Robert E. Peary in 1881. In 1904, Peary built a house on ledge over the north shore facing seaward.

THE PEARY FAMILY gifted the island to the state in 1955 and it became a state park. The Friends of Eagle Island formed in 1992 to assist with the maintenance of the island and its structures.