KINGFIELD — The Herbert Hotel has been entered in the National Register of Historic Places, according to Kirk F. Mohney, Maine Historic Preservation Commission director.
The designation indicates that the property has been documented, evaluated and considered worthy of preservation and protection as part of the nation’s cultural heritage.
The Herbert is a small-town hotel associated with tourism in the Maine woods. The Kingfield House hotel was purchased in 1917 by Herbert S. Wing, heavily remodeled and reopened as the Herbert.
The hotel is significant under Criteria A for its association with entertainment/recreation centered around outdoor pursuits like hunting, fishing, hiking and skiing. The building is also significant under Criteria C, architecture for its Colonial Revival style design and typical early 20th-century hotel construction.
The three-story building is typical of high-style hotels of the period in relatively remote small communities in the Maine woods. Such hotels provided a modern base from which out-of-state tourists could experience outdoor activities.
The hotel is also significant under Criteria B for its association with local lawyer, businessman and politician Herbert S. Wing. Wing was involved in all aspects of town life, with Herbert as both his home and commercial property.
The locally significant property retains all aspects of integrity. The period of significance extends from 1917, when an earlier hotel on the site was largely rebuilt and expanded, to 1968 which represents 50 years past from the present.
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