A nearly 240-year-old house in Portland’s historic Stroudwater neighborhood is for sale for nearly $1.4 million.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom colonial style home was built in 1786 and is known locally as the Captain Jesse Partridge House.
With more than 3,200 square feet of living space, the house has eight fireplaces, high ceilings and plenty of windows that fill the home with natural light, said Portia Clark, an associate broker at Waypoint Brokers Collective, the listing agent for the property.
One bay window on the back of the house in particular lets sunlight stream in, making it a perfect place to read, said owner Jonathan Werner.
“I think a lot of people think older homes are dark with low ceilings, but this is brilliantly bright,” Werner said. “I’m entirely at peace there.”
The 2.3-acre property sits on Westbrook Street in Portland, which is known as being the home of some of the city’s oldest homes. The Tate House Museum, built in 1755, is down the road from the property.
The Captain Jesse Partridge House also lies within the city’s Stroudwater Historic District, which marks one of the earliest colonial villages that later became part of Maine’s largest city, according to Portland’s Stroudwater Historic District Designation Report. Many of the city’s earliest homes settled in the area because the Fore River was used to transport goods.
Homes in that neighborhood also survived Portland’s Great Fire of 1866 that destroyed much of the city, as the blaze didn’t cross the Fore River.
Partridge, the home’s namesake, came from a large, poor family and watched his father rent rather than own property and be evicted, which hurt his social status, according to “This Was Stroudwater” by Myrtle Kittridge Lovejoy. This made owning land and a house one of Partridge’s personal goals.
In adulthood, Partridge gathered wealth and status through trading and shipping goods with vessels he owned, investing in land, and being involved in the mast trade, among other ventures.
Partridge died in his home in 1795 and is buried in the cemetery next to the property. The house was passed down through generations of women in his family until it was sold in 1939, Werner said.
The home has been lovingly cared for and updated throughout its long history with each owner adding something new, Clark said. The result is a home that still has historic features and charm — such as its wide pine floorboards — while being comfortable to live in.
“It’s the perfect mix of old and new with a more modern flow,” Clark said. “It’s very thoughtful and established while still being easy to live in and surprisingly functional. But it has the warmth and patina that come with old houses.”
Most recently, the current owners added a new heating system and re-sided the exterior since buying the house in 2011, Clark said.
In addition to the main house, the property has a barn or carriage house, which could act as the garage but the current owners use it as a hangout space, Clark said. There’s also an outdoor in-ground pool and pool house, a greenhouse and a garden shed on the land.
The property is spacious and quiet while being close to the Portland International Jetport and a 10-minute drive from downtown Portland.
“The planes don’t fly over it even though it’s so close to the airport, so you really feel like you’re out in the country,” Clark said.
A staircase on the property leads to the Stroudwater River where someone could kayak to Gorham, Clark said. There’s a landing at the top of the staircase that’s one of Werner’s favorite places to spend time.
“It’s unbelievably quiet and no one believes they’re in the city when they’re there,” Werner said. “It’s a paradise.”
While the home has been looked at by both local and out-of-state prospective buyers, an offer on the home hadn’t been made as of Thursday, Clark said.
Clark believes the home would be perfect for “someone who loves nature and old houses who also want the perks of being near a big city.”
“There’s so much potential for someone who’s creative and loves history,” Clark said. “There’s so much love and wonderful memories here. “It would certainly be a wonderful family home.”