USA > Maine > York County > Kennebunk > Kennebunk history : not a history of Kennebunk but a few items in addition to and a sequel to "The village of Kennebunk, Maine" (revised to 1939) : a description of a few more old homes, a few biographical sketches > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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Capt. Elisha Chadbourn built a blacksmith shop in 1824 on the corner of Summer and Elm Streets. (He was burned out in the fire of August 3, 1824, back of the Old Brick.) This he oc- cupied until his death. He was succeeded by his son, Hercules H. Chadbourne, who was there until his removal to Kennebunk- port about 1854. He sold to John G. Downing, who built a new shop. His sign in front was in the shape of a broadaxe with the words, J. G. Downing, 1854. He occupied this shop until his death, May 20, 1890. This story was told of him when sum- moned as a witness in a liquor case: Before going to court he got in a cradle and had his wife rock him. When on the stand he swore that he had not drank a drop since he was rocked in the cradle. After his death the shop was remodeled, or rebuilt, and it is now a two tenement house owned by the J. W. Bowdoin es- tate. Beyond the shop was his dwelling, a house remodeled from Joseph Porter's tin shop. This now belongs to the Bowdoin es- tate. Between his house and that of Capt. Chadbourne's was a swamp where the frogs held carnival in the spring and the chil-
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dren skated in winter. This extended back into the lot where Rice & Ward built in 1878. Between his lot and Capt. Chadbourne's was formerly a stone wall. The division fence on the wall was show- ing as late as 1880. Mr. Downing gradually filled his lot. After his death it was sold to W. D. Hay who built a house there in the early 1900's. He sold to Herbert E. Lunge, who occupied it until his death, February 7, 1933. It is now owned by his widow. Capt. Elisha Chadbourne's house is next. He was a son of Sim- eon Chadbourne. He married Susanna, daughter of Dominicus Lord. They had seven children. Elizabeth married Jabez Smith, agent of the Mousam Manfg. Co .; Hercules H. married Susan A. Hamilton; Susan, not married; Olive married Capt. Moses C. Maling; Abigail married Thomas McCulloch; Caroline Augusta married Capt. George A. Webb; Mary married Capt. Ward of Kennebunkport. Capt. Chadbourne was a blacksmith, as has been described. He was the captain of a cavalry company which pa- raded with full ranks when President Monroe passed through Kennebunk in 1817. The company voluntarily disbanded about 1822. The first unit of his house was hauled from the James Kimball lot in 1806, enlarged about 1810. He died November 3, 1835. The house afterwards was occupied most of the time by his daughters. They were away from 1879 to 1883 and it was occu- pied by Geo. A. Gilpatrick. A few years later Capt. Chadbourne's grandson, William F. McCulloch, returned to Kennebunk and oc- cupied it. He was a retired U. S. Naval officer. He died June 14, 1912, aged 60 years. His wife was Aurie P. Merrill of Port- land. After his death it was owned by his daughter, Mabel. She is now Mrs. John N. Balch and the Balch family occupy it.
The next house was built by Phineas Hemmingway in 1796. He was a son of Dr. Hemmingway, pastor of the First Church in Wells. He sold to Capt. John Grant and he about 1810 to Jos- eph Porter, who enlarged the house. He was a tin plate worker and resided there until his death in 1847, aged 80 years. The estate then came into the possession of his son Horace (but he did not live there). It was occupied by Horace's son-in-law, Wm. F. Lord, who married Olive Porter. Mr. Lord removed in 1868 after the death of his father (Capt. Ivory Lord), and the estate was sold to Nathan Dane, Jr., who returned that year from Alfred. He resided there until December, 1879, when he removed to the Dr. Smart house (Lexington Elms) which had been devised to him. During his residence on Summer Street,
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he operated a milk route part of the time and in company with his uncle, Joseph Dane, dealt in fancy stock, both being operated from Wonderbrook farm, Portland Street. In 1880, Mr. Dane sold the Summer Street property to Hartley Lord, who remodeled the buildings for his son, George C. Lord, who resided there sev- eral years. It was then occupied by other tenants. About 1898 it was sold to Joseph Dane, 3rd, who now occupies it.
The house on the corner of Park Street was moved there in 1833 by Capt. George Lord from farther down the street. He fitted it for two tenants and as such it was used by various per- sons until 1854 when it was sold to Robert Smith, Jr., a native of Kennebunkport and a retired trader and ship builder from the Landing. He repaired and remodeled the house and resided there until his death January 15, 1894, aged 92 years. His wife was a daughter of Isaac Kilham, also from the Landing. They had three daughters, Isadore, now living, unmarried; Lucy, who married Admiral Wildes, who was with Dewey at Manilla and is now buried in Hope cemetery; Margaret, who married Fessenden Carney of Portland. The estate was later sold to John W. Bowdoin. He died Sept. 29, 1924. It is now owned and occupied by his widow.
Park Street was extended to Dane Street on the building of that street in 1815 and to Grove Street in 1883. The house on the southwest corner of Summer and Park Streets (the only brick house in the Village) was built in 1826 by Dr. Burleigh Smart, who occupied it until his death in 1852, aged 57 years. In Au- gust, 1852, the property was sold at auction to Capt. Franklin N. Thompson. The next year he built the barn and remodeled and ornamented the house. He was the son of Nathaniel Thompson of Kennebunkport. He was a master mariner for many years. After he retired from the sea, he was tax collector several years. His wife was Charlotte, daughter of Alexander Warren. They had three children, Frank, Lucy and Minnie. He died May 2, 1891, aged 75 years. The estate was owned many years by his daughter, Lucy (unmarried) ; after her death, by her heirs.
Dr. Jacob Fisher, one of the first settlers on the hill, was born in Renforth, Mass., September 10, 1751. He was a soldier of the Revolution. He came to Kennebunk in 1784, bought a lot on the hill in 1785, but did not build until soon after 1790. In 1786, he married Hannah, sister of Benj. Brown, Esq., and lived with them on Main Street several years. (The Brown house on Main
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Street is the oldest on the street, 1784.) He built his house very near the present residence of Elliot Rogers. The front faced the west and when he built he had an unbroken view from his front door to the Meeting House.
He was a practicing physician all of his life in Kennebunk. He died October 27, 1840, aged 81 years. They had seven chil- dren: Mary, married Geo. W. Wallingford and Dr. James Dor- rance; Lavina married Horace Porter; Charlotte married John Skeele; Eliza married Israel W. Bourne; Sarah Ann married Ivory Jefferds; Hannah married Edw. Greenough; Benjamin died before his father. His estate was sold at auction in 1841. Capt. Nathaniel L. Thompson was the purchaser. He sold the house to Hercules H. Chadbourne, who moved it down the hill to about opposite Elm Street. (It will be described in that location later.) Capt. Nathaniel sold one half of the lot to his brother, Capt. Charles Thompson, retaining the northwestern end on which in 1843 he built a large house; in later years, perhaps, it was owned by his son, Wm. S. Thompson. It is now owned and occupied by Elliot Rogers, who married Capt. Thompson's daughter, Mary. Capt. Nathaniel L. Thompson was a native of Kennebunkport. He was married three times. In 1841 to Jane S., daughter of Clement Lord; in 1853 to Elizabeth W., daughter of Capt. Ivory Lord; in 1859 to Nancy, daughter of William Hackett. He was for about thirty years a master mariner, then engaged in ship- building first at the Landing, then at the Lower Village, his yard there being on the west side of the river a little below and back of where was later the Kennebunkport R. R. station. He built there in 1861 a gunboat for the U. S. Navy called the Aroostook. In 1870-74, he built the largest vessels ever built on the Kenne- bunk River. The largest, the Ocean King, was launched October 26, 1874. Its dimensions were: Length, 263 ft .; 238 ft., keel; 43 ft. beam; 30 ft. hold; 2576 tons capacity; four masts. He con- tinued building until the decline in building wooden ships in 1878. He was one of the purchasers of the mill property in the village and soon was sole owner. He remodeled and enlarged the warp mill in 1865, built the mill for Reed and Griffin on the western side of the river in 1868 (the Union Lace Co., shoestrings) ; after 1896 it was known as the Paper mill. He built a new grist mill in 1869 and the gatehouse over the flume (wrecked in 1936). He had a brick yard on the west side about opposite the Leather- board mill where were made the bricks used in the Town Hall,
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1867-68. He owned a mill privilege on the Kennebunk river and built a new dam to hold it, just below Bartlett's. He also owned a great deal of other property in the village. He did more busi- ness in the town of Kennebunk than any one else who has ever lived here. He died February 8, 1889, aged 77 years.
Capt. Charles Thompson, brother of Captains Franklin and Nathaniel, built a house on the lower half of the Dr. Fisher lot in 1846. In early life he was a seafaring man and master mar- iner. He did no business after retiring from the sea. His wife was Susan, daughter of (Clement Lord, and a sister of Capt. Na- thaniel's first wife. He died January 6, 1894, aged 84 years. The estate was sold soon after to Sidney T. Fuller, a civil en- gineer, who had also been employed in railroad work and bridge construction. He came to Kennebunk about 1886, was sec- retary and treasurer of the Loan and Building Association; served as selectman and Representative to the Legislature. He was born in Shirley, Mass., Feb. 2, 1836, son of John Adams Fuller. His first wife was Annette, daughter of Dr. Orren Ross. His second wife was Mrs. Mary Myrick, who survived him. He died January 2, 1912, aged 76 years. The next owner was George Parsons, son of Joseph Parsons. He had resided for many years in Cairo, Ill., returning to Kennebunk in 1917. He was mayor of Cairo for eight years and a prominent business man. He was twice married, first to Miss Ada Scarrett and then to Miss Mary P. Shields, both of Cairo. He was born in Kenne- bunk, April 8, 1854; died February 23, 1927; buried in Hope cemetery. The next owner was Frank McLean. He sold in 1936 to the Christian Science Society and it is used for a reading room and auditorium. The stable has been torn down.
The next lot was purchased by Capt. Jeremiah Paul for his brother, Daniel, who built in 1801. He occupied it a few years, then sold to Robert Patten, whose assignees sold in 1817 to James K. Remich. He enlarged the lot and improved the buildings. He had a large wood lot adjoining the factory woods (as it was called) and fields joining. He was a printer, coming here from Dover, N. H., and opening a printing office. He published a pa- per and did job printing. The paper was published from 1809 to 1842. He opened a book store in 1841 which was taken the next year by his son, Daniel. Mr. Remich was married before coming to Kennebunk. He died September 3, 1863, aged 80 years. His son, Daniel, succeeded him but did no printing. He kapt the
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only book store in Kennebunk for many years. In 1865 he re- modeled the house. He was for many years one of the school committee, both of the district and town, and town treasurer about 20 years. He is the author of the "History of Kenne- bunk," the material for which he was many years in collecting. His wife was Miss Ann Twombly of Durham, N. H. He died May 30, 1892, aged 83 years. The estate was occupied by his daughter, Miss Carolyn E. Reimch until her death in 1939. A clause in his will bequeathed the estate to the legal successors of the Children's Mission of Boston Massachusetts.
On the next lot and between the houses built by Captains George and Ivory Lord, a house was built before 1800 by Capt. Jeremiah Paul. He sold to Capt. George Lord in 1833 and it was moved by him to the north corner of Park Street and has been described. (Robert Smith, Jr., and J. W. Bow- doin.) Captains George and Ivory Lord were brothers, sons of Tobias Lord. Capt. George divided the lot with his brother, Capt. Ivory retaining the northern end on which he erected a house in 1834. These brothers had both been master mariners, traders and shipbuilders at the Landing. Capt. George married Olive, daughter of Maj. Wm. Jefferds. They had several chil- dren. One of them, George C. Lord, was for several years presi- dent of the Boston and Maine R. R. He resided at Newton Cor- ner, Mass., with a summer home in Wells (the Theodore Clark farm at The Elms). Capt. George died October 8, 1862, aged 70 years. In 1866, the estate was sold to Joseph Dane, Jr., son of Joseph Dane, Sr., and also a lawyer. He also was interested in the lumber business as one of the firm of Dane and Perkins, op- erating the Cat Mousam saw mill. He also was in company with his nephew. Nathan Dane, Jr., in dealing in and raising fancy stock at Wonderbrook Farm. His wife was Louisa, daughter of Capt. Ivory Lord. He died March 17, 1884, aged 63 years. The estate was occupied for many years by his widow and Fred P. Hall and wife. Mr. Hall was a son of Mr. Dane's sister, Mrs. Mary (Dane) Hall. Mrs. Hall was a daughter of Mrs. Dane's sister (Augusta Lord) wife of Rev. Joseph C. Smith. After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hall the estate was sold to Mrs. Crane, who occupied it part or all of the time. She sold about 1930 to Dr. Arthur Varriell, a prominent surgeon, who occupies it part of the year.
Capt. Ivory Lord built on his part of the lot in 1835, re-
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moving from the Landing. His first wife was Louise, daughter of Capt. Hugh McCulloch. They had several children, all but one of whom, Augusta, married and settled on the hill and will be mentioned in this paper. His second wife was Mrs. Olive (Bourne) Emerson, widow of Dr. Wm. S. Emerson and a sister ot Judge Bourne. Capt. Ivory died August 16, 1868, aged 74 years. His son, Wm. F. Lord, succeeded him removing from the Porter house. He had one daughter, Ellen, who married George F. Robinson. who came to Kennebunk from Baltimore, Md., as teacher of a private school which he kept here and in other places. Wm. F. Lord died in 1883 and his daughter inherited the property after the death of her father. Her husband died April 10, 1914. Mrs. Robinson died in 1929. It has been occupied part of the time by their son, George F. Robinson and by other ten- ants. The estate was sold in 1934 to Harry L. Jones of Newton Centre, Mass., who made extensive repairs and alterations, Mr. Jones died Nov. 14, 1936, and the property was sold in 1939 to George F. Bampton of Goose Rocks Beach.
Dr. Edward W. Morton built in 1850. He was a homeopathic physician, son of Stephen and Sallie W. (Frost) Morton, and was born in Portland, August 30, 1828. He was Selectman, 1857 to 1860, town treasurer 1887 to 1894, president of the Ocean Na- tional Bank and a practicing physician. His first wife was Olive, daughter of Capt. Ivory Lord. They were married January 1, 1857. His second wife was Luella, daughter of Henry Jordan. A daughter by his first wife, Louisa D., married Dr. F. M. Ross. There were three sons by the second wife. They lived in the - house several years with a housekeeper. Dr. Morton died Jan. 10, 1894, aged 65 years. His wife died a few weeks later, The house was leased and operated for a few years about 1912 as a hotel, the Mcclellan House. About 1928, Dr. Morton's grand- daughters, the Misses Annie and Florabel Ross, remodeled the- house and now occupy it.
Joseph Titcomb built in 1855. He was the son of James and! Abigail (Durrell) Titcomb and in early life was in partnership with his father and brother, George P. Titcomb, engaged in ship- building at the Landing. In later years, he, in company with Col. Wm. L. Thompson, was shipbuilding at the Lower village. . 12+
In 1878 when wooden ships were replaced by iron and of a larger size, they had a ship nearly completed. He was afterwards an insurance agent. He was the first president of the Ocean Bank,
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1854-1879, and Democratic candidate for Governor of Maine in 1873. He married Mary Ann, daughter of Wm. W. Wise. They had two children, William, who married Maria Stone, and Agnes, who married Charles H. Cole. Mr. Titcomb died December 25, -4891, aged 69. years. The estate on Summer Street was sold at auction Aug. 7, 1879. Emery Andrews, president of the Mousam Manf. Co., was the purchaser. He came to Kennebunk from Welchville, Maine, as resident manager of the Leatherboard Mill. He resided here until his death June 13, 1903, aged 67 years. The house was occupied until about 1917 by his son, Henry, who sub- ยท sequently became a professor at Bowdoin College. He sold to Col. Charles R. Littlefield, who occupied it as a summer home, spending his winters at Washington, D. C., where he died April . 9, 1922, aged 93 years. It was then owned by his son, Capt. Chas. W. Littlefield, but he seldom lived there. He sold about 1930 to Mrs. Wm. M. Greene, who came from Evanston, Ill.
Col. Wm. L. Thompson, brother of Captains Franklin, Na- thaniel and Charles, built the next house in 1854. He resided , there until 1858 when he sold to Capt. Wm. B. Nason, Jr., a mas- . ter mariner, son of James Nason of Kennebunkport. He married Susan (Gile) Nason, widow of his brother, Capt. James Nason. Capt. Wm. B., Jr., died November 8, 1909, aged 86 years. It is now owned by his daughter, Miss Mary L. Nason.
Capt. Horatio Moody built the first French roof house in the willage in 1866. He was a master mariner from Kennebunkport. He married Mary, daughter of George Wise. In the fall of 1876, accompanied by his wife and two sons, he sailed from New York bound for San Francisco around Cape Horn. On the re- : turn voyage from San Francisco to Liverpool, in a terrific storm in the Pacific Ocean, May 10, 1877, the two boys were washed averboard and drowned. Capt. Moody died February 10, 1887. The house was occupied for many years by his widow. It is now . owned by Wm. A. Yates.
The next house was built by John Chadbourne in 1804. He sold to Capt. Joseph Hatch. It had several tenants, probably his . son, Dan' L. Hatch, part of the time, as he became the owner in 1854 on the division of his father's estate. Daniel remodeled and enlarged it in 1856 making two tenements, one of which he occu- : pied (Nathan Dane, Jr., occupied one when first married, 1857). One tenement was occupied for many years by George C. Farn- ham, station agent of the B. & M. R. R. Daniel L. Hatch was
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married twice. His first wife was Mary T. Smith; his second, Julia A. Thompson of Alewive. He died July 19, 1886. It was. occupied by his widow several years. About 1900, it was sold to Nathan Dane, Jr., who made some alterations. He died Dec. 15, 1902. It was occupied by his widow part of each year until hef death. It was sold about 1912 to Jesse W. Lambert, superintend -. ent of schools. He removed to Saugus, Mass., in 1918 ,where he died February 10, 1932, aged 65 years. The house, owned by his heirs, had several tenants. It was sold in 1936 to Miss Delia - Ricker of Melrose, Mass., who occupies it.
Walter L. Dane built about 1900. He was a lawyer, son of Nathan Dane, Jr. He served as town clerk and Representative to the Legislature. His wife was Jeannette L. Allan of Freeport, Maine. He died November 19, 1935, aged 76 years. The house was sold in 1936 to B. F. Emery, who died September 23, 1938, aged 45 years. He was from the Lower Village and had a coal vard below the railroad. There was formerly a small graveyard below Mr. Dane's. Mr. Walker says most of the Hubbard fam- ily were buried there. All are supposed to have been moved to other yards. A small building was moved there about 1900 by. Charles Sleeper, which he used several years as a restaurant. Later it was used by the Christian Science Society. It is now a tenement.
Wm. F. Simpson built a house on the corner of Railroad Street in 1884, and a large stable around the corner which he op- erated as a livery stable while he lived. His wife was Etta B. Simpson. They were both from the Landing. He died June 4, 1903, aged 57 years.
First Passenger Train on Western Division 4
The Boston and Maine R. R., Western Division, was built 1871-72. The first passenger train was run on March 27, 1873. The passenger and freight station were built in 1872.
There is a street from Summer Street which connects with Winter Street to Park, and is a back road to the station. On this street, near Summer, Thomas L. Knight built a house in 1875. Thomas L. Gilpatric built the same year. He used the first story of his for a grocery store; later it was rented to the American Express Co. for an office. The second story was a tenement. A nouse was built later by the R. R. Co. for the station agent.
The Boston and Maine had a branch R. R., called the Ken -.
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nebunkport R. R. The first passenger train was run on June 18, [883. It had much summer travel.
The abutments of the Summer Street R. R. bridge were raised in 1932. The first house below the railroad was originally a store belonging to Daniel Wise on his lot. He sold to a Mr. Young who moved it to its present location and converted it into a dwelling house which he occupied several years. He sold to Samuel Lord, who sold one half to Mrs. Hilton, who later bought the other half. She devised it to her grandson, Wm. H. Downs, who occupied it several years. He was also a grandson af Capt. James Hubbard. He was machinist at the Leather- board several years. He sold to R. B. Bonney, an engineer on the B. & M. R. R., and he to John Meserve.
The house lot on the north corner of the Sea road was bought by Abial Kelley of Diamond Hubbard about 1793. He built the house the next year and occupied it for many years. It was sold to Dr. Chas. M. Sweat, who came to Kennebunk in 1847 Erom Saccarappa. He died September 23, 1866. The property was sold to Joseph Sargent about 1868. He was a house and carriage painter, a native of Wells. He died September 14, 1907. It is now owned by his son Henry.
Next is an ancient highway resurveyed in 1812. Probably one of the old roads to the Larrabee Garrison. It is now the best route from the Village to Kennebunk Beach.
Daniel Wise was one of the early settlers below the Sea road. He built or remodeled a house about 1775 or '80, in which he re- sided until his death in 1843, aged 82 years. His son, George, succeeded him. He sold the house in 1868. The main part was moved to West Kennebunk by John Treadwell, hauled by 40 yoke of oxen. The ell part was moved to Swan Street. On the site of the old house he built a large French roof house, ell and sta- ble, all connected. He died October 10, 1892, aged 82 years. It was sold soon after to John T. Ward of the firm of Ward Bros., contractors. Mr. Ward died July 13, 1923. It was occupied sev- eral years by his heirs and sold in 1938 to Wm. W. Burnell of Washington, D. C.
A short distance below, on the same side, is the house of Capt. Isaac Downing, built perhaps in the 1850's. He was a house carpenter and ship joiner. He had a shop below the house which has been removed. Capt. Downing was married three times, to Mary Lord, Caroline Kimball and Abigail Banks. He
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had two sons by each wife. He died May 6, 1882, aged 85 years. The estate was sold soon after to D. Webster Littlefield (son of David). He died February 14, 1923, aged 70 years. 'It is now owned by his widow.
We have now reached the lower end of the old School Di trict No. Five.
East Side of Summer Street
Joseph Moody erected a handsome house nearly opposite Daniel Wise's, probably about the last of 1700 (exact date not known). He was a trader, also a Representative from Wells, the first treasurer of the town of Kennebunk, holding that office ten years. He died July 20, 1839, aged 76 years. The property was then sold to James Titcomb, a ship-builder and trader from the Landing. His wife was Abigail Durrell of Kennebunkport. He died October 19, 1842, aged 59 years. His sons, Joseph and George P., succeeded him in shipbuilding. George P. was noted for his mechanical skill. He died September 8, 1857, aged 32 years. The record of Joseph has been given on a previous page. James' daughter, Lucy, married James M. Stone of Ken- nebunkport. He was a lawyer, a partner of Edw. E. Bourne, Jr. In 1862, he enlisted in the company then forming for nine months' service and which became Co. I of the 27th Maine Regi- ment when the company was organized. He was chosen captam and when the regiment was organized he was elected major. When Lieut .- Col. Wentworth resigned, Maj. Stone was promoted to lieutenant colonel. The regiment was on picket duty near Washington all of its term of service and in no action. After his return he resumed the practice of law. He was Representa- tive to the Legislature and in 1866 was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. He died Dec. 15, 1907. The estate is now owned by his children. His daughter, Miss A. Louise Stone, is the present tax collector.
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