The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-05-06
HISTORIC GROUND,
The Opera House Lot and Its Associations
Noble Merchants of Old Portland and
Their Generosity.

| And my youth comes back TO me-"
The site of our new opera house is his
toric, not from any great event that there
occurred, but from the noted men and
women of our town who have been con.
neoted with the houses in ownership or as
guests. Those old houses have been the
resort Of the best people of the time, those
who acted well their part in the build
| ing of our beautiful city. The destruc-
tion of the old houses carries sadness to
many an old Portlander, but they rejoice
with those that rejoice that we are to
have place of amusement that we have
waited 80 long and patiently for, and
such one as will be credit to the city.
The opera house lot, OH the corner of
Free and Oak streets, was part of seven
acres and twenty rods that Anthony
Braokett, and his second wife, Kerenhap-
puck sold. in 1772. to jeremiah Coffin for
AZ pounds and 10 shill1ngs. and in the
deed Congress street was then called,
the highway leading into town." The
field extended back from Congress
towards Spring street. Kerenhappuck
Brackett.was widow Hicks when he mar
ried her, and for a better name she was
called Happy Braokett.
In 1880, Woodbury. Stursr bought the
MCCobb' lot and in 1899 built the house
and barn, now standing, but without
| the piazza. Free street had been laid out
in 1885,, and Oak, between Free and
lSpring was used as lane before 1909, but
was not laid out as street until 1898.
The street received its name from a
grove of oak trees that stood near the
head of Prospect street. Ralph Cross
built, the same year as Storsr, the house
now occupied by the Catholic Orphan
Asylum. on the site of the upper battery
of 1776. and they were next door neigh
bors. These were among the earliest
brick houses in town, as the Wadsworth
house, now the Longfellow House, the
first, had been built but eight years be-
| fore.
Woodbury. Storer came from Wells to
Falmouth when quite a young man, was
the son of John Storer Of Wells, and a
descendant of Thomas Storer, the emil
grant. When but eighteen he enlisted in
Capt. Peter Warren company and served
in the Bagaduce Expedition, in 1779 In
| 1880. he married Anne Titoomb, the
second daughter of Deacon Benjamin
Titcomb, an honored citizen and Revo-
lutionary patriot of Falmouth Neck.
They had four children-Anne born 1881,
Woodbury. born 1888, Mary born 1885, and
Elizabeth born 1887 His wife died, the
next year after the birth Of her last child,
and was buried in her fathers lot in the
Eastern Cemetery, and the following is
the inscription on her grayestone.
''Here lies dissolving in earth the NOR
tai remains of Mrs. Anne Storer wife of
Mr.. Woodbury. Scorer whose fair form
fell victim to death the Sd day of Nov.
1888 having lived % years and days"
Mr.. Storer married in 1892, for his
second wife, Margaret Boyd, daughter of
James Boyd of Boston by whom he had,
John Parker born 1898, Robert Boyd born
1895, Bellamy born 1896, Frances Eliza
beth born 1898, who died in infancy,
Samuel born 1899, David Humphrey and
Margaret.
Woodbury. Storer was an honored mer.
chant of the town. was a prominent oiti-
zen and held responsible offices. He
brought up large family Of well edu-
Gated and respectable children, was select
man nine years, representative to the
General Court three years and was one of
the leading projectors of the Gu m berland
and Oxford Canal. but did not live to see
| it ccmpleted. He presided at the dinner
given in Union Hall to Commodore
Preble by his fellow townsmen on his
return from Tripoli in 1906. BE like
most of the leading merchants of the
time, went down in 1907, when commerce
was destroyed by the non-interoourse- act
of 1906, and the embargo act of 1907. The
house passed into other hands. He died
July II, 1926, aged "a years, and was bur-
led in the Eastern Cemetery, where lie
most of those old merchants who built SO
many of those fine houses which are slow
ly disappearing from our streets.
Cotton Browne Brooks purchased the
"MoCobb house" in 1918. He was the
son of Rev. Edward Brooks and Abigail
Browne, a sister of Rev. Thomas Browne
Of Stroudwater Parish. His father
preached at North Yarmouth about five
years and he was a descendant of Thomas
Brooks of Concord, Mass. Cotton B.
Brooks was a grandson of Rev. John
Cotton and his grand nephew was Rev.
o. B. rockingham. His brother was
Preston G. Brooks the distinguished mer-
chant of Boston, whose daughter married
Edward Everett whose son was Prof.
William Everett. There were other dis
tinguished family connections.
Cotton B. Brooks was born in 1765 and
his first wife was Jane Williams, rela-
tive of BILLY" Gray, for whom Gray
street &was named. They had Charles,
Thomas Browne, George, John Cotton,
William Gorham and daughters. His son
John G. Brooks had for second wife q
daughter Of Gov. Paris but she had no
children. The next son William G.
Brooks and his wife Mary Ann, had four
SONS who Ewere clergymen, one of whom
was the lamented Rev. Philljns Rrools