The Portland daily press., 1886-05-01

If is q circumstance ~
vosti 10 fo find man with clear intellect
and memory. who is able to describe prls-
on and fine life led by prisoner, nlnety-one
wears after his execution. IL is the minute
description which L obtained from the very
aged Mr.. Motley,-the last Of distinguished
family.-Which leads me to dwell so long on
the Old block-house jail. Although it was
used in the county jail twelve years after the
court house was erected, the history of Port
land makes it one story building, and does
not mention the purchasing of the block
house by the county for prison, salthough
the one story part was joined to it.
This was the first capital trial in United
States Court. Prisoners frequently escaped
from the wooden Jail and it needed frequent
repairs. In 1892, a committee OF the court
reported that it would be more expensive 10
repair the old Jail than it would be to eree rec j.
new one, and, thereupon, it was deeldf t1 10
build stone Jail for the use Of the county.
A committee reported that the town want Van
ed the land on which the OLD }all sGooh b ioi
s'market place" and would purchase a
piece of1and adjoining the court house lot
for fine iail in exchange. In 1873, the county
treasurer took deed of another piece % tne
Plummer lot in the rear of the court mouse,
five rods wide and ten rods ueep' ny III n,
sideration was twenty pounds, Whlch was
Maid by the town, which received deeu Oh
the old iail lot, restricting its use Tor mar
ket purposes. 41,o ,,,;1d;ros
The county treasurer reseryedth buildings
and the right to occupy Vltll tIie new H ttoo
on was completed. The building committee
were directed to use the iron Work ana other
material in the old Jail in the construction OF
a new one. A., 4
house, after several postponeLmneentS lqr Tue
iail. The building was fifty by thlrty-1our
feet in size and two stories high, with gam
brel roof and rooms in the attic Granite
was not then the manageable material that IL
now is, which made the erectloh Of Sucn
building then a formidable job. rms was
the first dressed stone building erected IN the
county and, | think, in the State. The build
ing committee were Samuel freeman anu
VIM Gorham, both members OF the court OF
sessions. The superintendent of the build
ing was John Park of Groton, Mass, who
had recently erected a similar prison IN Con-
cord in that State. The. Jail had dormer
windows on the front roof. A gentleman;
now dead who built those windows, related
to me the talk which he mad win the pul lI1
ing committee. He inquired if he should
finish the back of the roof in the same style,
when they replied, mo, make 1t entirely
plain; there never will be any settlement on
that" The cost of the building was about
5000. From this prison, in 1908, Jo-
seph Drew of Saccarappa, walked to the gal
lows, near the observatory, a 1ull nan nllle,
with the sheriff on one side ana FarS0n
Bradley of Stroudwater on the other. he
was executed for the murder OF EDenl6zeI
L
was the last execution in Portland ms
Jail of 1897 was taken down In 1922, aIter ~
erection of the present. county jan OVSr t tIe
principal door was an inscription, CUT III IAe
Intel, giving the date OF us eIectlen. "a.
the conclusion is an odd character OF when
the meaning in late years has not Deen
known. That it is part Of the inscription
is shown by its being separated from the
date by semicolOn only, ana is followed by
period.
The Intel is built into the partition wall
of the basement of the county wing OF this
building, and has the original iron door yet
swinging beneath 1t.
The next building erected on this lot was
Jail keepers house. 1t was called the
county house." and was built In 1879. IL
was of brick and two stories in height IL
stood between the court house and the jail.
With nv grandfather / dined in it at the in
vitation of Mr.. Gerrish, the jailer, when l
was about nine years of age. After dinner
we were shown through the jail; me me- 2ld-
shackles, and ringbolts, impressed me deep
". The debtors rooms in the attic were not
SO repulsive yet those who were then con-
fined in them, for no crime but poverty, dld
not appear as if they were happy. imprIs-
onment for debt was then common. A Port
land paper of January 10. 1906, says, An
drew Hanson has been in jail for debt nine
months He has only one shirt and no
shoes"
In 1876, for $500, the county purchased t the
Piummer lot to Back Cove. Seven years Ia
ter recollect that there was the same com
plant of this single sewer, which had Its
outlet on the flats, as there has been OF late
years of the Back Bay nuisance During
the embargo and the endless lawsuits which
were its results, the old wooden court house
proved too small for the county business.
After the peace of 1915, commercial business
wore a brighter aspect, and the county ven
tured to erect a more spacious and elegant
court house. 49,
The old one was sold to the Free viii Bap-
list Society for house of Worship, and, IN
1876, it was hauled with oxen to the south
side of Court" now Exchange street, be
tween Congress and Federal streets. The
centre of the second story floor was removed
and rallied around, leaving a gallery on each
of the four sides. In 1927, the society yaca-
ted it for the then new Casco street church,
and the next year it was sold for a soap fac
tory and was moved to Green street, where
it was taken down in about 1875.
In 1915. an additional piece of land on the
northeast side and adjoining the court house
lot, 20 feet in width and loo in length, was
purchased of Henry Titcomb for, $500. =,
In 1916, under the direction of the commit
tee. consisting of Sheriff Hunnewell, Barrett
Potter, and Albert Newhall, was erected, on
the county lot, brick court house, 60 by so
feet, of pleasing architecture, and with,
cupola, which was surmounted by the scales
Exchange, then called Court street, making
a fine appearance from all parts of that
street. In 1881, two projecting wings were
added at the ends, of about 20 feet each, and
containing fire-proof rooms for the county
offices. The additions gave it an improved
appearance.
When the vote of 1919 was found to favor
the separation of the District of Maine from
Massachusetts, there was warm feeling in
nearly the whole State to make Portland the
capital. To do this, the county of Cumber-
land rendered to the new State the free use
of the court house, whereupon a company of
the leading citizens of Portland proposed to
erect on the county's lot, adjoining the court
house, a separate building, to be gratui-
tously occupied by the State government,
with apartments for the State officers. This
land was purchased by the county at "ven-
DUE sale in 1917, it being the remaining part
of the front of the Plummer lot, 81 feet on
Back street to Myrtle street, and being $50
feet on Myrtle street. On this lot was a sta
Bile, which was occupied by the owner, John
Plummer. On this part of the county lot, in
the spring of 1920, was erected, by those gen.
tlemen, two story wooden building with
nipped roof and high stories. The front was
finished with pediment supported by pilas
tiers, sheathed and painted white, and, at the
time, it was considered an elegant building.
The State officers had their apartments in
the lower story, and the upper story was
occupied by the Senate chamber and the
rooms lOr the OOVeTuOI anu OOuuCu. IHlS
building was dignifed by the name of the
estate House." which it bore while it was
occupied as such. The court room of the
courthouse was occupied as the representa-
tives' hall. Thus equipped the legislature
held its sessions here until 1881. 1t seems
odd to us, but it is true, that as late as 1922
spiritueus liqnors were sold in the court
house. In that year the court of sessions or
dered the sheriff to forbid it during the sit
ting Of the court or the legislature"
At the time of the visit to Maine Of Gen.
Lafayette, in June, 1925, an awning was
spread from the front coving of the State
House to the elm trees in front, and a plat
form at the entrance was built of two Steps
in height and ON this, after brief rest in
side, the General held his reception. After
the removal of the seat of the State govern
ment to Augusta, the city became The owner
of the State House and leased it to several
tenants until it was wanted for municipal
purposes, when it was used for the offices of
the city government. To make way for the
erection Of the new city building, it was
moved to the east corner of Congress and
Market streets and was occupied for city
purposes The lower story was the police
office. 1t went down in the great fire of 1866.
After the chaste old brick court house had
served the county forty two years, the courts
and county officers began to feel straitened
for room, and to think of increased accom-
modations. At the same time the city gov
eminent was in a like condition, the city Of
fcers having their rooms in detached build