Tour South Berwick Village section intro: Freewill Baptist - Cummings Area

Until about 1855, the main route to the mills at Salmon Falls from the center of South Berwick Village was via Butler Street, which then ran all the way down to the river and bridge to New Hampshire.  Built at the head of that street in the 1830s, the historic Freewill Baptist Church with its old town clock remains a Main Street landmark today.  For decades the clock kept time for residents headed for work at the nearby Cummings Shoe Factory on Norton Street.  At the center of this area and marked by number 2 in black on Main Street, this map also shows the Universalist Church built in 1876.  Closed in the early 20th century, the church then served as South Berwick Town Hall and the fire station until it burned down in 1951.  A post office, bank and parking lot were later built on the site.

Much of this area is now part of the South Berwick Village Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.