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An organization dedicated to the history of Frances Perkins' career and the New Deal era, to remembering and carrying on her work on
New Deal programs, and to interpreting her vision for a healthy
and productive workforce has been established at her family homestead
in Newcastle, Maine. The Frances Perkins Center (FPC) will function
as an educational and research facility, retreat and conference
center, public policy institute, and historic site. The FPC works
to further the vision and objectives of Frances Perkins relative
to labor relations and broader questions involved in fostering a
healthy and highly productive U.S. and international work force.
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 Serve to raise awareness of Frances Perkins and her work through
programs partnerships with educational institutions
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Be a place for Frances Perkins' memorabilia and legacy of work
to reside
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Be a place for meeting, conversing, and walking
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Be a place for students and faculty of partnering educational
institutions to retreat and study labor issues
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Be a place to explore and influence important labor and other
issues of the day
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Be a place for women to focus on political and social goals,
recognizing their achievements, civil rights, the vote
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Help uphold the social values for which she stood, expressed
through Social Security, a national health care system, a healthy
labor force, job-creation and job security, protections against
child labor, reasonable working hours, and workplace safety
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Encourage interaction, thought, and actions to improve the
global human condition
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Inspire students and others to pick up where she left off,
helping to ensure that the gains of the New Deal are maintained
and built upon
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The
Perkins family homestead remains intact and will soon serve as a place
to preserve her memory and carry on her work.
A library is being established to house a collection of Frances Perkins'
papers, books and photographs, and to serve as a reference point for
information about Frances Perkins and her career.
The Center's long-range plans include a retreat and conference center
for students, faculty, and friends of the FPC to use a a place to
do write, contemplate ideas, discover history, and consider actions
relating to Frances Perkins and New Deal intentions.
The historic saltwater farm and 19th century waterfront brickyard on the Perkins family property shows how life was lived in the 1800's
along tidal estuaries on the coast of Maine. Frances Perkins' ancestors
farmed the land and established the family brickyard business which
supplied bricks for many area buildings, including the Perkins homestead.
The 55 acres of woods and fields encompassed by the farm provide open
land for contemplative walks and natural habitat preservation
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Honoring Her Vision