Built ca 1895 probably by Ansel & Elmer Doten

A simple Italianate in the Munjoy Hill Historic District.

The build date is unclear and style is ambiguous but they are of little matter. The real story is what was here before.

The Rickers were probably Maine’s best known marketers of spring fed mineral waters but they were not alone. Others were to be found all over the state. One was in Scarborough although I am not sure where.

Swinging back to ‘The Hill’, we find that the year of 1882 saw the opening of a mineral spring ‘spa’ at the corner of Tuner and Howard Streets.

Why Eliza Noble chose to drink from the spring located on the north slope of Munjoy Hill has not come down to us. She and her husband Nymphas, yes really, lived a few blocks away on Atlantic Street. Her brother-in-law, Benjamin, lived nearby on North Street so he may have heard about the spring. I have not encountered any other mention of the spring other than the ad above and a mention of the spring in the same publication as the ad

“There was recently discovered, on Munjoy’s Hill, a spring of mineral water, which has been found to have surprising curative qualities. It is said to have been very effective where it has been used on trial, and has become an article of commerce.”

The advertisement above is the first mention of the Forest City Mineral Spring that I have been able to find. The timing is fitting as, in May of 1881, Noble sold a half interest in the property along with the mineral spring and ‘building there on’. This would indicate the existence of a house on the sight already. The birds eye view of Portland from 1876 substantiates this. Noble had purchased the lot from Eliphalet Clark in 1875 so, perhaps, he had built the house and discovered the spring.

The purchaser of the half interest was John Randall the founder of Randall and McAllister Coal Company. Randall lived on the Eastern Promenade where the Portland House is now located. By 1882, the partners had removed the house on the corner and built the structure, presumably, seen in the advertisement. To call it a ‘spa’ may be taking liberties as there is no evidence that one could ‘take the waters’ on site. All the advertisements I have found speak of product sold in barrels or bottles to be delivered.

Forest City Mineral Spring was in operation in 1885 when it was inventoried for the 1886 Sanborn Insurance maps. It was a 2 story wooden building with a wooden shingle roof and seems to have been much as seen in the advertisements.

The last advertisement for the Forest City Mineral Spring came in April of 1887. The ad directed customers to the Noble house on Atlantic Street or Nymphas’ business on Commercial Street to order the water. No mention was made of the Turner Street location. By the early 1890s, deeds started to be registered transferring ownership among various Noble and Randall family members. Eliza became the owner of the Noble’s share of 50 Turner Street. In 1893, she lost a court case to a Eugene Sherry of Boston the details of which are lost. For the court imposed sum of $43,84, Sherry took the Noble’s share of the property. In 1895, Sherry sold it to the Doten brothers. They in turn sold it to Mabel Merrill in 1897. Mabel was one of John Randall’s children. She had inherited the Randall share of the property. I believe the current structure was built around this time.

As seen today, and in 1924, 50 Turner Street defies stylistic definition. I call it Italianate as it’s as close as I can get to any ‘style’. It’s too plain for Queen Anne and too bulky/square for Shingle or any other expressive style. The main block is 24′ on Turner Street and 43′ on Howard Steet. There is a 16×8 extension on the rear. It is 2 stories with a 3rd in the attic. The current windows and doors have been replaced since 1924. The dormers were originally gabled and have been enlarged and converted to shed roofed.

In 1910, Mabel Merrill sold 50 Turner Street to Lewis H McKenney. McKenney was a real estate investor and broker. He lived in Readfield although he was originally from Cape Elizabeth. He died in 1912 and his wife, Julia, transferred the property to their son Everett in 1914. He sold it in 1919. The 1910 census and city directories listed 2 families living here:

• Franklin & Elizabeth Twitchell and their 3 daughters. Franklin was a conductor for the Portland Street Railroad.
• Thomas & Elizabeth Mitchell and their 3 daughters. Thomas was a teamster for the W.L. Blake Coal & Oil Company on Commercial Street.

When Everett sold 50 Turner Street in 1919, the buyers were a couple from England named Joseph & Sarah Roberts. They had immigrated to the US with their 2 children and her niece in 1907. A daughter was born in that same year. In 1910, Joseph gave his vocation as ‘beer & soda bottler’. By 1920, he was working as a engineer for a stationary publisher. In 1920, their eldest daughter Mabel, who was 18, was working as a bookkeeper for the Boston & Maine Railroad. Also living at 50 Turner in 1920 were a 48 year old widow named Elizabeth Morton and her 25 year old daughter Arlene. Arlene worked as a bookkeeper for an insurance company.

Joseph & Sarah Roberts sold 50 Turner Street to Mary Pardi in 1943. Mary and Guido Pardi probably never lived here judging by the census for 1950 which found them living on Hampshire Street. Some of the folks who did live here included:

• William Jensen in 1953/54. Jensen was a bellhop at the Eastland Hotel
• George Eldridge in 1953. Eldridge was a cabinet maker for FO Bailey Furniture on South Street.
• Thomas & Francis Mahoney in 1945/46. Thomas was a Navy vet who worked as an operator for the B & M Railroad. Francis was a nurse at Mercy Hospital.
• Roger Peabody in 1960. He was a nurse at the Portland City Hospital on Brighton Avenue.
• John & Rita Noble in 1955. John was a retired Army vet. Rita was a clerk for the Portland Buick Company on Preble Street.
• Frank & Kathleen Toppi in 1955/56. Franks was a machine operator for a construction company in South Portland.

Mary Pardi sold 50 Turner Street in 1973.

50 Turner Street is listed as a 3 family home. The condition is very good.

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