Built ca: 1859-60 on spec for George Jewett

A modest Greek Revival in the USM neighborhood.

FOR SALE AT A BARGAIN . A lot of land 100 by 116 feet, with a new story-and-a half house and porch. A well of good water in the cellar. Also, a stable, situated on St. John Street, lately occupied by S. H. Jose.
GEORGE JEWETT, 51 Pleasant street.
Portland, Feb 1

The above text was in an advertisement in the Portland Press Herald in February of 1861. It describes our subject house. George Jewett had purchased the land for it from St John Smith & John Bundy Brown in 1858. The S.H. Jose was Samuel Jose who was a joiner and listed as living on St John Street in the 1858 directory. He was on Parris Street in 1856. Jewett’s purchase deed does not speak of “buildings thereon” so we can assume that our subject did not exist before then and, perhaps, Jose was living there while completing his work. An odd covenant of the deeds is that no structure can be placed within 4′ 8″ of St John Street.

395 St John Street measures 22′ to the street. The main block is a story and a half and is 31′ deep. A series of ells extend from the back that now connect all the structures together. I am inclined to believe the rear ell that is perpendicular to the main house was originally the stable. Details are limited and Greek Revival in style. The front porch and bay are not original.

395 St John Street on the 1876 Birds Eye view of Portland. Library of Congress

When George Jewett sold 395 St John Street in 1861 the purchaser was Elizabeth Smith. Born Elizabeth Jordan in 1823, she married James B Smith, born in 1826, in 1852. James worked in different roles for a bakery. They had two sons one of whom died in 1866 at the age of 11. Elizabeth died in late October of 1880 at the age of 57. James and his son moved to Gorham New Hampshire prior to 1888 when they sold our subject to one Louis W Wyman of Falmouth.

395 St John Street on the 1882 city maps. Portland Public Library Digital Commons

Louis W Wyman is a mystery. I can find little evidence of him in census records or city directories. When he sold the property in 1899, the sale was handled by his ‘guardian’, a man named Edward S Merrill. He may have been related but I cannot tell. The purchaser was Agnes Merrill who does not appear to be related to Edward. Another sale by Wyman, dated 6 days after the sale of our subject, does not have a guardian listed and Wyman gave his residence as Melrose MA. Again, I find no record of him living there. The Portland papers for 1899 note that Wyman had contested Merrill’s charges as guardian in court. The case was delayed then, seemingly dropped. Soon after, Agnes Merrill transferred 395 St John Street to Louis Wyman’s attorney, Norman Hesseltine of Brookline MA. 2 months later, Hesseltine sold it back to Agnes Merrill.

After Elizabeth Smith died and her husband and son moved out, 395 St John Street saw various tenants for a few decades. Some of them were:

• Elbridge and Ada Grafton in 1886 and 1886. Elbridge was a fireman on the Boston & Maine Railroad. They lived here with their two children and Elbridge’s widowed mother, Esther.
• William & Rosa McCalmon in 1889. William was a stable hand for the Portland Railroad Company. Rosa ran a boarding house on Danforth Street.
• William Nelson from 1886 to 1889. William worked as a janitor at the Bracket Street School.
• George Mills in 1889. Mills was an agent for the Equitable Life Insurance Company on Exchange Street.
• Alfred & Fannie Jordan in 1901. They were recently married. He worked for Canal Bank as a book binder.

When Agnes Merrill purchased 395 St John Street in 1900, she took a mortgage for $2400.00 from the Cumberland Loan & Building Association. A little less than 2 years later, the association took possession of the property under the claim of “conditions being broken”. Oddly, this action was filed with the registry of deeds not as a foreclosure but as a ‘miscellaneous’ action and the reasons not recorded. In 1903, the property was sold to Anatole Carles.

395 St John Street on the 1914 Richardson Map. Portland Public Library Digital Commons

Anatole Casimir Carles was born in the London suburb of Marylebone in 1844. His family were hair stylists and wigmakers who worked for the British Royal Family, according to his obituary. His obituary also noted he was the graduate of a “Parisian university” and was an accomplished water colorist. He followed the family trade. Anatole and Alice Lewis were married in St James, London, in 1869. They came to the US in 1889 & 90 respectively. Again, referring to his obituary, Anatole worked in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Boston before coming to Portland in 1893. He ran a hair care, wig, and costume shop on Congress Street. Carles sold 295 St John Street to William & Margaret Brooks in 1912.

395 St John Street in 1924. Maine Memory Network

William Brooks was born in Canada in 1882. His parents came to the US in 1883. He married Margaret Halcrow of Portland, in Portland, in 1910. William was a traveling salesman for various firms. In 1920, Margaret’s parents, Lawrence & Annie Halcrow, purchased 395 St John Street. Lawrence worked as a janitor in the offices of the Boston & Maine Railroad. Annie died in 1939 and Lawrence in 1942.

Lawrence Halcrow from his obituary. Portland Press herald, Jan 28, 1942. Newspapers.Com

In 1949, 395 St John Street was sold to Fred & Mary Lombard. The Lombards were from Concord & Bingham ME respectively and had married in Solon in 1906. Fred worked in various roles for the Boston & Maine Railroad before retiring in 1956. They sold our subject to Russell & Emily Brown in 1961. The Browns had married in 1945 and had 11 children. Russell was a laborer for the Portland Public Works Department. Russell died suddenly in December of 1968. Emily sold the home in 1971. The buyers at that time were George & Corinne Miner. They lived here until 1981.

395 St John Street is listed as a 3 family home. The condition is very good.

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