Perkins Homestead, Historic homestead in Newcastle, United States

The Perkins Homestead is a 57-acre (23 ha) property on the east side of River Road, about 2 miles south of Newcastle, Maine, sloping down to the Damariscotta River. Its complex centres on an 1837 two-story brick farmhouse joined by additions to a barn, with a walled garden and historic farmland to the north. Forest with stone-walled paths lies between the buildings and riverside fields.

The homestead developed during early American settlement and became the residence of the Perkins family, most notably Frances Perkins who lived there. The site gained National Historic Landmark status in 2014 in recognition of her pioneering role as the first woman to serve in a U.S. Cabinet.

The property was owned by the Perkins family for centuries, and Frances Perkins spent childhood summers there with her grandmother before inheriting it with her sister in 1927. She made it her primary home and cared for it until her death in 1965. The Frances Perkins Center, which bought the site in 2020, takes its name from her and runs programs on government's role in social justice and economic security.

The property lies on the east side of River Road, about 2 miles south of central Newcastle, sloping down to the Damariscotta River. Buildings, the walled garden and historic farmland are in the western part; stone-walled paths cross the wooded centre to fields by the river. The 2.3-acre core with the Brick House and barn was donated to the National Park Service in 2024.

The family cemetery on the property holds members of Frances Perkins's immediate family, not Perkins herself, who died in 1965. East of the farm fields lie the remains of several other Perkins family residences and a brickmaking operation, plus the archaeological traces of an 18th-century garrison house.