Built ca: 1850 by David G Drinkwater
A fascinating Gothic Revival home in the East Deering neighborhood.
They called the neighborhood ‘Back Cove Village’
David Gray Drinkwater was a 23 year old painter when he purchased the land for our subject from James Lunt in 1847. As we saw when we visited 129 Sherwood Street in 2020, much of the land in the East Deering neighborhood was part of the Lunt Farm of the in early 19th century. Per the 1846 city directory, David was living with a mariner on Church Street at the time of the purchase. In 1847 or 1848 David married Ann E Knight of Westbrook. In 1849 they had a son, Charles.
I am placing the build date at 1850 based on the Drinkwaters being in the census twice. They are shown living with Ann’s parents, Ebenezer Knight was a ship carpenter here in East Deering, and show living here by themselves. That entry shows their neighbors were George & Mary Polister. George was also a ship carpenter and the Polister property is still referenced in the meets and bounds of the deed 41 Veranda. If it was in fact built around 1850, it would be a very early example of the style for the area.
41 Veranda Street is 23′ to the street and the main block is 31′ deep. The offset ell is 15′ wide and 17′ deep. The ell is inset 6 ‘ on the southeast side and extends 5’ beyond the northeast side. The current tax listing says it is a story and a half but that doesn’t seem quite right. It looks like a full two stories with an attic to my eye. The 1924 tax roles shows an attached carriage barn.
Detail of Back Cove Village from the Chace 1857 map of Cumberland County. Library of Congress
One ‘problem’ with dating our subject is a mortgage taken by David Drinkwater in 1854. Filed on Feb 28 of that year, the mortgage was for $350 and was funded by a prosperous Westbrook farmer named George Frost. The meets and bounds of the document match those of the purchase deed of 1847 and do not include any mention of “buildings thereon”. Further down the deeds, in the section of the document regarding payment, David was required to “keep the house in livable condition and keep it insured to the value of $350”. Even in 1854, $350 was not enough to build a new house so I am not inclined to believe it was for that purpose.
David Drinkwater sold 41 Veranda Street to a local shipbuilder named Lemuel Dyer in 1859. That was also the year that David & Ann’s son died of unknown causes. Ann gave birth to a son, Frederick, in late 1859 and died of consumption the following year. David Drinkwater died in 1897. Lemuel Dyer sold our subject to a Portland paint dealer named Charles Fobes immediately after purchasing it. The mortgage from Charles Frost was still unpaid, it doesn’t appear that any payments had been made in fact as the deed says “about $350 is still due“. Charles Fobes lived on Chapel Street and probably rented our subject until 1862 when he sold it to a local trader named Lyman Bachelder. The mortgage was still not paid.
When you really look at 41 Veranda Street, it becomes clear that the Gothic Revival features are limited to the facades facing the aforesaid street. The drip moldings are well scaled and the verge boards are in fantastic shape. I suspect the Kingpost was more elaborate than what we see now. The roof is somewhat steep-pitched but not really enough to be called ‘Gothic’ in itself. The bay window is not original as can be noted by the miss-matched courses of the foundation bricks. Overall though, the house shows some signatures of the older styles such as Greek Revival. The high-posted frame and second floor windows, now closed over, to be exact.
Detail of bay foundation difference
Back Cove Village and the area leading to Martin’s Point saw some shipbuilding in the early 1840s but construction of Commercial Street in the early 1850s saw many yards move to the area as their connection to the Fore River was cut off. By the late 1860’s, the neighborhood was the center of the trade for Portland. So, it is not surprising at all to see members of the trade buying and selling property here. And, it’s not surprising that, in 1873, Lyman and Mary Bachelder sold 41 Veranda Street to a ship carpenter named Edward B Sargent.
Edward Brown Sargent grew up with ‘sawdust in his veins’. Born in Boothbay in 1838, he was the son of a shipwright and the younger brother of 2 ship carpenters. Those brothers, Edwin & Weld, both died in the Civil War which led Edward to enlist in 1864 and serve in the 19th Maine as part of the Army of the Potomac until 1865. He married Maria Allen in 1860. I can find no information other than she died in 1862. In 1864 he married Sarah Stevens for whom no other information can be found. They had no children.
Shipbuilding in East Deering started to wane after the Civil War and the last yard closed in 1891 or so. For Edward, this required a bit of a change in where he worked and what he worked on. As seen above, the 1881 city directory listed him as a ‘shipbuilder’ whereas the 1896 directory listed him as a ‘carpenter’. The 1900 census showed Edward as a carpenter for a railroad. It is likely that the railroad was the Grand Trunk was they developed a large facility on Presumpscot Street a few blocks from our subject.
Clipping from the 1914 Richards Atlas. Portland Public Library Digital Commons
Sarah Sargent died in 1911 and Edward in 1913. After Edwards death, the executor of his estate sold 41 Veranda Street to a 48 year old native of New Brunswick named Archibald Knowles. Knowles was a long time barrel dealer in Portland first operating on Commercial Street before moving the business to our subject. He married Eva Morrison in 1896. Eva taught piano. They had no children.
41 Veranda Street in 1924. Maine Memory Network
Eva Knowles died in April of 1944. Archibald survived her until January of 1949 when he died. His estate sold the property to Ernest Lewis of Portland and William Bolton of Windham. Lewis & Bolton were real estate dealers who advertised frequently in the papers during the 30’s & 40’s. It’s possible that Ernest lived here with his family but it would have been briefly as, 15 months after purchasing 41 Veranda Street, Lewis & Bolton sold it to William & Ellen Jensen.
William Jensen & Ellen Potter married in 1919. It was his second and her first marriage and he was some 19 years older than she. They had 5 children including twin sons in 1920. They both worked in a canning factory at the time of their marriage. William was 71 years old & retired when the Jensens purchased our subject. Their daughter Pauline and her husband Gary lived with them. William died in 1957. Ellen sold the property in 1959. The buyers were Arthur & Esther Busby. Arthur was born in Portland to a longshoreman in 1927 and Esther in Fryeburg to a power station operator in 1926. Arthur worked in various roles at Old Tavern Farms milk on Danforth Street and Esther waited tables at the Village Cafe. They had 3 daughters before Esther died in 1964. At the time of her death, the Busby’s were operating a cafe on Center Street called “Chub’s”. This would have been located where Aura is now. Arthur Busby sold 41 veranda Street in 1964.
Notes on the tax card for 41 Veranda Street. City of Portland Tax Assessor.
When Arthur Busby sold 41 Veranda Street in 1964, the buyer was a Canadian born railroad engineer named Horace G Davidson. He may have lived here but I cannot confirm this. He died in 1975 and his heirs sold the property in 1977. The buyer was Esther Carr. Esther was born as Mabel E Lang in Phippsburg in 1922 and married Fred Carr in 1955. Fred died in 1986 but I do not think they were living here by then as the tax card, seen above, notes the house was “vacant & boarded up” in January of 1985 and stayed that way through 1990. The current owner purchased 41 Veranda Street from Esther Carr in 1995. It is my suspicion that the house has not been occupied in the interim.
41 Veranda Street is listed as a two-family home. The condition is fair.
Portland House Stories 
Replacement windows steal the soul of a home….
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