Built ca: 1825-26 by James Meader (Meeder)
A modest Federal style home in the Allen Avenue neighborhood
James Meader did not want to live in Westbrook.
The text of his request to the Maine State Legislature is not available on line but, for whatever reason, James Meader petitioned the body to set his farm and surrounding property off from Westbrook and attach it to Falmouth. The line for the latter town was a mile or more away so it wasn’t ‘next door’ by any means. His argument was, it would seem, persuasive as his request was granted in March of 1831.
Maine State Archives
It didn’t last. I cannot determine when but, by 1857, our subject was firmly back in Westbrook according to the Chace map.
1857 Chace map. Library of Congress
The house James Meader built could be called ‘chaste‘ to use an old term. It is substantial in size at 40′ on the street and 30′ deep and 2 full stories with some living space in the garret. A 2 story, wooden, ell measuring 20′ x 15’ projects from the northeast side. The main body is built of brick with openings simply cut into the surface. The windows have granite lintels and wooden sills. Side casings are minimal and there are remnants of shutters at all the windows. The wall is devoid of any projections but for window sills. The entry is a simple arched opening with fan light but no sidelights. The overall simplicity of the design and lack of ornament may have been a choice driven by the James and Content Meader’s beliefs as much as anything.
Section of 1794 map of Falmouth. Falmouth Historical Society
In 1752, James Winslow gave an acre of land along the Presumpscot River at ‘Blackstrap’ to the Falmouth Society of Friends for meeting house and graveyard. James had come from Freetown MA in 1728 and is considered by most historians to be Portland’s, or Falmouth’s, first Quaker. The Winslow family would for the next 100+ years be connected to the sect. James’ great, great, grand-daughter was Content Winslow Meader and she and her husband James were, by all accounts, practicing Quakers as well. As Quakers are noted for simplicity, perhaps the Meaders were attempting to display those beliefs in their new home.
James and Content Meader had 8 children between 1806 and 1822 including twin sons, Job & Jonathan in 1808. In 1846, James deeded our subject to Job. James died sometime in the 1850s although when is not certain. Content was listed as a widow living in our subject with Job and his family in 1860. Content died in 1867. She and James were buried in the Old Friends Burial Ground that her great, great, grand-father had donated the land for over a century before.
Job Meader died in 1863 at which time 183 Allen Avenue passed to his eldest son, Benjamin. He married Allada Millikin of Westbrook in 1871. Benjamin Meader was a partner in the Union Granite Company located on Wilmot Street across from Somerset Street about where the entrance to the Whole Foods parking lot is today. He died in 1915 and Allada in 1921. Our subject then passed to their son, George W and daughter, Sarah Feeney.
1906 City Directory
Portland Press Herald. February 17, 1953. Newspapers.Com
Sarah Meader & Peter Feeney married in 1895. Sarah was 21, Peter, 33. Peter’s parents were Irish immigrants who married in Portland in 1854. Peter was a longtime conductor for the Maine Central Railroad. He ran the Portland to Skowhegan train for many years. They had a son, Elton, and a daughter, Allada. Elton married Marguerite Brown in New Hampshire in 1925. He was the town manager in Stonington, Maine as well as Exeter New Hampshire.
Portland Press Herald. May 16, 1924. Newspapers.Com
Allada Feeney was born in 1904. She graduated from Deering High School and Syracuse University in 1925. She taught English and Latin in the South Portland School system and, later, at Waynflete. She married Daniel Mahoney in 1937.
Daniel Mahoney. Date unknown. FindAGrave.com
Daniel Mahoney was born in Portland in 1898. His father was a mason. Daniel graduated from Portland High and Bowdoin College in 1919. He started teaching in the South Portland School system. He was named Principal of South Portland High School in 1940 and served in that role until his retirement in 1965. He died the following year. Mahoney Middle School was named in his memory.
In 1956, Allada Mahoney & Elton Feeney, along with their spouses, sold 183 Allen Avenue to Christian Kragelund. In 1959, Kragelund sold to his brother-in-law, E Joel Bois. Bois was the Maine representative for the March of Dimes. He was born in Aroostook county in 1921. He served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division in WWII. The Bois family lived on Blackstrap Road in Falmouth. The last person I can identify as living in our subject was a 25 year old clerk for a food distributor on India Street named Calvin Knudsen. The Bois family retained ownership of 183 Allen Avenue until 1978 when they sold it to a couple from Cape Elizabeth. They sold in 1983. The current owner purchased the home in 1993.
183 Allen Avenue in 1924. Maine Memory Network
183 is listed a s 2 family home. The condition is good.
Portland House Stories 