A candlepin bowling alley, a 1920s theater and a small island in the Kennebec River are among the landmarks named on this year’s list of endangered properties created by Maine Preservation.

The Yarmouth nonprofit has published its annual list of “Most Endangered Historic Places” to raise public awareness of sites that need saving and ongoing efforts to preserve them.

“Each of these seven places face a set of circumstances and challenges that landed them on this year’s list, but many of the obstacles are universal, allowing us to call upon our experience and network of supporters and preservation professionals to help,” Tara Kelly, executive director of Maine Preservation, said in a news release. “Our statewide charge has given us the privilege of witnessing the strategies and steps to save imperiled places, like Oxford’s Pigeon Hill Schoolhouse from our 2022 list, which, through the efforts of the Oxford Historical Society has been retrieved from a site slated for development, and funds raised to relocate and rehabilitate the one room schoolhouse closer to town.”

Maine Preservation compiles the list through nominations from all over the state. Since the first list in 1996, more than 150 sites have been named. The nonprofit has deemed 62 as saved and another 37 are in process of being preserved. Twenty-one have been lost, mostly to demolition.

This year’s list includes:

– The historic resources of Swan Island. The historic farmhouses, outbuildings and cemetery located in the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area were first listed in 2001. The area was named again this year after the state ended ferry service there this summer. The island is still open to the public, but visitors have to get there by their own means. Maine Preservation said funding and organized local support have diminished, and nearby communities and the state need to “rethink a sustainable strategy for preserving these significant structures.”

– Gayety Theatre Building in Van Buren. This 1921 theater on Main Street is suffering from a leaking roof and other deferred maintenance. Maine Preservation highlighted the efforts of two brothers who recently acquired the building and are working to stabilize it.

– Bowdoinham Town Hall. First built as a church in 1823, the town hall has also been a gathering space for civic and community events. An assessment revealed the need for costly repairs to the failing foundation and other areas of the building. This year, voters rejected a $1 million bond issue for those projects.

– D’Amanda’s (Ellsworth Bowling Alley). A 19-year-old lane mechanic decided to buy this 1970s-era candlepin bowling alley a couple years ago when no one else was interested. Under new ownership, the business had its best summer in 10 years in 2023, but repairs and updates are necessary for future stability.

– Colburn House State Historic Site. Major Reuben Colburn built this house in Pittston in 1756, and the property was important to the expedition to seize control of Quebec during the Revolutionary War. Today, it is owned by the state and closed to the public because of life safety concerns.

– Jonathan Fisher House in Blue Hill. This 1814 house was built by the first Congregational minister of Blue Hill, described by Maine Preservation as “a true Renaissance Man” for his wide interests. The nonprofit that runs a house museum there now said necessary repairs would cost more than $1 million.

– Winter Harbor Historical Society Museum. The structure of this 1877 schoolhouse is bowing outward, jeopardizing the floor joists. Structural repairs are needed to preserve the building.

For more information about each site and ongoing preservation efforts, visit mainepreservation.org.

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