PORTLAND, Maine - The island home of arctic explorer Adm. Robert Peary and the homestead of labor leader Frances Perkins have been designated as national historic landmarks in Maine.
Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine said Tuesday that the two sites are among nine that are joining more than 2,500 national historical landmarks nationwide.
They described the two Maine locations as "treasured symbols of our heritage.''
The Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, is the ancestral home of the woman who served from 1933 to 1945 as secretary of labor, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.
Eagle Island, which is part of the town of Harpswell, was the longtime home of Peary, who spent 23 years exploring the North Pole and the coast of Greenland.