Built in 1867

An exuberant Italianate in the West End Historic District

The deed history presents a confusing origin story.

John Sawyer Morse purchased the land at 259 Vaughan Street from John Bundy Brown, of course, in mid January of 1867. That deed has no mention of buildings. 3 months later, he sold it to John M Dolley. That deed includes the phrase “buildings there on”. Morse seems to have had a bad reputation as he was brought up on various charges including assault and forgery around this time. His father, Reuben, went so far as to advertise in the paper that he wasn’t going to pay for any debts he may have. Morse took a mortgage from Brown for the entire purchase price which seems daring and a bit uncharacteristic of Brown. When Dolley purchased the property, the deed noted the mortgage which had seen no payments. John Dolley was a carpenter/builder. He was John Morse’s brother in-law. Dolley married Mary Emma Morse in 1861. The 1860 census shows a son, also named John, born in 1859, living in Portland with his father. John Morse and his wife Philora named their son John Dolley Morse in 1874.

259 Vaughan Street is a tall cross-gable structure. The main block is 17′ wide at the street and is 30′ deep. It is 2 full stories with a ‘knee wall’ third story. The porch and entry are 8′ wide and 12′ deep in total. The ell carries the line of the north wall for 36′ feet and is 14′ wide. There are projecting bay on the street and south facades.

When John Dolley sold 259 Vaughan Street to Mary Shea in 1874, he and Mary were living in Cambridge Massachusetts. Mary died of pneumonia in 1875.
Mary Sullivan Shea was an Irish immigrant who had married William Shea, also Irish, sometime prior to 1849. That was the year their daughter Ellen was born. They had 3 other children with one, William, dying at the age of 2. William was a junk dealer with a shop on Commercial Street. The family lived here until 1880. That was the year Mary sold the property to Adam Leighton.

Adam Leighton was born in Falmouth in 1851. His family moved to Portland when he was 10. In 1866, Leighton went to work for the Chisolm Brothers publishing company. He married Isadora Butler in 1873. They had 4 children. Adam would go on to found his own company and is often considered to be the ‘father of the picture postcard industry’. Adam transferred our subject to Isadore in 1882. In 1991, Adam was elected to the Portland City Council. The Leightons lived here until 1892 when they sold it to Evelyn Lane.

294 Vaughan Street has some elaborate details. The corner boards are fluted and have heavily compressed Ionic capitals. Above these are plain architrave panels that rise to the eaves. Oddly, these panels are above the capitals only and do not span the entire wall. The gables do have complete architraves. The windows have pronounced moldings and are hooded. The casement window above the porch has a scrolled decoration below with a long vertical element at it’s center.

Evelyn Bibber and George Lane mere married in 1874. George was born in Poland ME in 1846 and Evelyn in Harpswell in 1851. They had 2 sons. George started as a store clerk and was working as a book keeper at the Star Match Company on Commercial Street when they lived here. George Lane died of heart disease in 1900. Evelyn and her sons lived here until 1905 when she sold it to an attorney named David Edward Moulton.

One notable feature of 259 Vaughan Street is the back yard. It stretches behind the Bramhall Fire Station on Congress Street to the northeast. On the southwest, it runs behind 303 Brackett and part way behind 299. It even includes a 2 car garage.

In 1905, an attorney and gentleman farmer originally from Falmouth named David Moulton purchased 259 Vaughan Street from Evelyn Lane. Moulton was born in 1871 and grew up in the Ferry Village neighborhood of South Portland. He graduated from Westbrook College & Yale Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He married Etta Knight in 1901. Etta was born in 1864. The couple had 2 daughters before Etta died of kidney disease in 1911. He married a divorcee, Helen Leavitt Bancroft, in 1918. Helen was born in Portland in 1882. The couple had no children.

Besides practicing law, David Moulton was was active in many other areas. He was a long time Mason, served on the boards of several companies and banks. He also served on the board of directors of the Maine General Hospital. Perhaps one of his most enduring activities was as a founder and 25 year head of the Maine Water Utilities Association. He was a champion of the Portland Water District and worked to defend it from outside political control. He served in the Maine House form 1900 to 1902. He developed property in the Portland area. He could be cantankerous at times.

In 1911, David & Dr. Willis Moulton purchased land along the Presumpscot River tidewater in Falmouth. There they developed a family retreat and farm that they called Gilsland Farm. The name coming from family lore. David inherited the farm after his Willis died in 1938. David had long been involved in breeding cattle and here at Gilsland, he carried on with a prize herd of Jerseys. After he died in April of 1951, Helen and his daughters, By 1974, only Ruth remained. That was the year she started donating parts of the farm to the Maine Audubon Society. Between then and 1994, Ruth and her family made more donations. Today, Gilsland Farm is the society’s headquarters and is a nationally known location. Through it, David Moulton lives on.

In 1953, 259 Vaughan Street was sold to Eva Emery Fiske. Eva was born in 1871. In 1897, she married Austin H Fiske in Manchester NH. Austin’s parents, Charles & Mary, ran the Fiske Hotel on East Grand Avenue.

In November of 1902, while working at the kitchen table of their apartment in the Fiske House, Eva was shot through her hand when Austin’s revolver accidently discharged. According to the Sunday Telegram of November 23, she

“knocked it to the floor where it went off. She then became aware of s sharp tingling in her left hand and, upon looking down, noted it was bleeding freely”.

She took the next trolley to Saco where her wound was treated. The bullet had passed through her hand and had damaged a bone. No further information was given.
In February of 1906, while in Little Rock Arkansas, Austin obtained a divorce from Eva without her knowledge. Newspaper reports state that they were estranged and she was living with her mother in Saco at the time. Austin’s reasons for the divorce were not clear. Eva travelled to Arkansas and got the divorce decree reversed. In 1909, the couple agreed on a divorce with Eva receiving a large lump sum payment.

Eva Fiske purchased a house on Congress Street in 1937. She ran a boarding house there. She sold that property in 1950 but I think she may have stayed there until she purchased our subject house in 1953. Eva died here on Vaughan Street in 1958 after which her estate sold it to a Freda Hall. Freda and her late husband Edward ran a print shop on Fore Street. She owned 259 Vaughan Street for 9 months before selling it to a Farmington resident named Frances Loveitt in 1959.

Frances Loveitt worked as a social worker for the State out of an office on Middle Street. She was a widow, her husband Clinton died in 1948. In 1950, she was living with her parents, Frank & Elizabeth Harding, on Neal Street. She served as first vice-president of the Cumberland County chapter of the Maine State Employees Association in the 50’s. When her father died in 1953, Frances was living in Yarmouth Village. When Frances purchased our subject, Elizabeth moved in with her.

In 1969, Frances Loveitt retired from the State of Maine. She sold 259 Vaughan Street in 1976. That deed says the buyers, Stephen & Kathryn Thomas, had a mailing address of 259 Vaughan. This would seem to hint that the Thomas’ were renting here. The property is showing as a 2 family so this arrangement would seem to work. The Thomas’ sold 259 Vaughan Street in 2026.

259 Vaughan Street is listed as a 2 family residence. The condition is very good.

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