United States Custom House & Post Office (Waldoboro, Maine, 1915)
This building was erected in 1855 by the U. S. government on the site of Hon. Isaac Reed’s apple orchard. The Post Office occupied the first floor and the Custom House the second. From 1855 to 1904 it existed as a customs house, handling all shipping business in the Waldoboro Customs District, an area from Bristol to Northport. By l853, this district took care of more shipping business than any district in New England, save Bath and Boston. By 1900, however, shipping had declined precipitously. In 1909 the building was renovated to install a new plumbing and heating system and to add a twelve-foot addition at the rear of the building. Soon after, The Customs District of Waldoboro was abolished and the Custom House closed. The building continues to be occupied by the United States Post Office. The structure remained open as a post office until 1963 when the current upper Main Street building came into being. At that time the old Customs House became the Waldoboro Public Library and remained so until March 2007 when the New Library opened. The building was purchased by private owners and is now a private residence.
References
History of the Town of Waldoboro, Maine, 1910. https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw00lcmill