Pleasant Street (Yarmouth, Maine)

43°47′26″N 70°10′37″W / 43.790572°N 70.176809°W / 43.790572; -70.176809

Pleasant Street

51 Pleasant Street has been the home of several notable Yarmouth residents, including master shipwright Giles Loring
Length	0.64 mi (1.03 km)
Location	Yarmouth, Maine, U.S.
Northern end	Lafayette Street
Southern end	Lafayette Street
Construction
Completion	18th century or earlier

Pleasant Street is a historic street in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. It was formerly part of the Atlantic Highway (or New England Route 1), a precursor to U.S. Route 1. It connects to Lafayette Street, part of today's Maine State Route 88, at Pleasant Street’s southern and northern ends. It has existed since at least 1761, which is when a milestone was placed on the street, on the order of Benjamin Franklin, due to its being on the King's Highway, to denote its distance from Boston, Massachusetts. As part of his duties, Franklin conducted inspections of the roads that were used for delivering mail. One method of charging for mail service was by mileage, so Franklin invented an odometer to measure mileage more accurately. The King's Highway, as a result, morphed into the Post Road.^[1]

In the mid-19th century, the street became the home of several notable sea captains, due to its proximity to Yarmouth Harbor at the northern end of the street. It is here that the road's elevation drops around 65 feet (from 75 feet (23 m) to 10 feet (3.0 m)) over the course of around 500 feet (150 m).

A 2021 Historic Preservation Advisory Ordinance identified ten Local Historic Landmarks, three Historic Districts and three Historic Objects. Many are located in the Gilman Road and Pleasant Street areas, which leads to the possibility of it being a future historic district.^[2]