The Lafayette Center
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Le Centre Lafayette

Kennebunk, Maine

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The Museum in the Streets

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Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 14, 2021

1. The Lafayette Center / Le Centre Lafayette Marker

Numerous manufacturers have occupied this site throughout Kennebunk’s history. Since the first settlement of Kennebunk in the mid 1600s, until now, the Mousam River has been the site of many industries including sawmills, textile and matting mills, shoe mills, iron mills, paper mills, grist mills, trunk and leatherboard manufacturers, as well as sash and blind manufacturing mills. This building, now known as the Lafayette Center, was built following a destructive fire in 1903. Built from brick, this became the site of the Goodall Worsted (Matting) Company and in 1926 became the home of the Kesslen Shoe Company which closed in 1972. Now this building houses several businesses.

De nombreuses usines s’implantent sure ce site au cours de l’histoire. Depuis le premier village de Kennebunk a milieu de 17ème siècle jusqu’à nos jours, des usines s’installent en bordure du fleuve Mousam, dont des scieries, fonderies, moulins à farine et à papier, filatures de laine et coton, et des fabriques de chaussures, malles, cuir artificiel, stores et fenêtres à guillotine. Ce bâtiment, aujourd’hui connu sous le nom de Lafayette

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Center, est reconstruit en 1903 après un incendie. Bâti en briques, il devient le site de la filature de laine Goodall Worsted puis en 1926, de l’usine de chaussures Kesslen Shoe Company qui ferme ses portes en 1972. Ce bâtiment abrite aujourd’hui plusieurs commerces.
 
Erected by The Museum in the Streets. (Marker Number 3.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the The Museum in the Streets: Kennebunk, Maine series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.
 
Location. 43° 23.114′ N, 70° 32.516′ W. Marker is in Kennebunk, Maine, in York County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (U.S. 1) and Water Street, on the left when traveling west on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 25B Main St, Kennebunk ME 04043, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Southern Maine Coast. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 14, 2021

2. The Lafayette Center / Le Centre Lafayette Marker

Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Kennebunk, Maine (here, next to this marker); Kennebunk Rotary Club (a few steps from this marker); The Mousam River / Le Fleuve Mousam (within shouting distance of this marker); The Ross Block and The Kennebunk Inn / Le Bâtiment Ross et l'Auberge de Kennebunk (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Waterhouse Center (about 600 feet away); Lafayette Elm Site (about 600 feet away); The Bourne Mansion / La Résidence Bourne (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Horace Porter Home / La Maison d'Horace Porter (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kennebunk.
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. The Storer Residence / La Résidence Storer (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

 

 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,710 times since then and 94 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on November 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.