History

In 1623, an English explorer named Christopher Levett received a massive land grant of some 6,000 acres near Casco Bay from King Charles I. He proposed to create a colonial settlement on a peninsula that juts out into the bay, which the local Native Americans had referred to as “Machingonne,” or “Great Neck.” Levett named the nascent community “York” after York, England, and constructed a quaint stone house along the shoreline. Sailing back to Great Britain, Levett left a company of ten men in his wake to monitor the budding colony. But the settlement failed, and Levett’s men abandoned the house. Nevertheless, the English returned nearly a decade later when George Cleeve and Richard Tucker established a fishing village called “Casco.” It remained isolated for the next 25 years until the neighboring Massachusetts Bay Colony annexed the whole territory in 1658. Renamed as “Falmouth,” the town continued to exist in relative harmony for some time. Then in 1676, the Abenaki people sacked the settlement amid a conflict called “King Phillip’s War.” (The war was a brief, yet intense struggle between English colonists and New England’s indigenous people for ultimate control over the region.) Barely given time to recover, France then attacked Falmouth at the Battle of Fort Loyal during the Nine Years’ War. The French colonists and their allies had targeted a citadel named “Fort Loyal,” which the English had constructed as a deterrent against potential raiders following King Phillip’s War. The French then destroyed the community, before heading toward the frontier of nearby New Hampshire Colony.

Falmouth was assaulted a final time during the American Revolutionary War. Having largely rebuilt from its earlier tribulations, the community had become a vibrant seaport and commercial center. The British Royal Navy recognized the town’s economic importance and subsequently destroyed it during the “Burning of Falmouth.” Undeterred, the residents once again resurrected the settlement, choosing to reorient its downtown core at the site of today’s Old Port district. The economy came roaring back and more people immigrated to the city. Its size had grown so great that Falmouth’s residents were able to form a new community out of the area’s southern neighborhoods in 1786. Called “Portland,” it encompassed much of the original colonial settlement that had formed around Casco Bay. Portland soon became the capital of Maine following its admission into the union in 1820 and maintained that title until the early 1830s. The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in the mid-1850s further augmented its status as a vibrant center for trade, as Portland’s merchants started shipping an unprecedented amount of goods from Canada. Industrialization even began to alter Portland’s landscape, with most of the construction occurring after the American Civil War. Perhaps the greatest industrial enterprise to operate within the community at the time was the Portland Company, which manufactured all kinds of vehicles, ranging from steam locomotives to fire engines.

As the 20th century dawned, Portland emerged as one of the most prosperous cities in all of New England. Heavy industry had surpassed its traditional maritime trade, although it never entirely replaced it. Nevertheless, shipbuilding remained an important part of the local economy, especially during both World Wars. World War II particularly had a profound impact on Portland, as the U.S. Navy opened many military installations across the city. Almost as soon as the war began in 1939, the Navy turned Casco Bay into a fortified base that serviced merchant convoys slated to cross the ocean. Those naval vessels—some as large as battleships—were specifically tasked with hunting down U-boats once America finally entered the conflict two years later. Many auxiliary offices for the U.S. Navy appeared in Portland, such as a Fleet Post Office, a Naval Dispensary, and a Navy Relief Society office. Sailors learned a wide range of skills in the city, too, such as long-range navigation (LORAN), fire-control radar operations, gunnery spotting, and anti-submarine warfare. Portland has since remained one of the most vibrant communities in the region, with its hallmark maritime commerce playing a significant role in its continued vitality. Tourism is also a significant part of its current identity, as people from the world over travel to Portland every year to experience its unique heritage. Few places in New England are better for a wonderful cultural experience than Portland, Maine.

The Inn at Diamond Cove stands today as a wonderful modern interpretation of Federal-style architecture. Historically speaking, Federal architecture dominated American cities and towns during the nation’s formative years, which historians best identify as lasting from 1780 to 1840. The name itself is a tribute to that period, in which America’s first political leaders sought to establish the foundations of the current federal government. Fundamentally, the architectural form had evolved from the earlier Georgian design principles that had greatly influenced both British and American culture throughout most of the 18th century. The similarities between the two art forms have even inspired some scholars to refer to Federalist architecture as a mere refinement of the earlier Georgian aesthetic. Oddly enough, the architect deemed responsible for popularizing Federal style in the United States, was in fact, not an American. Robert Adams was the United Kingdom’s most popular architect at the time, and his work largely infused Neoclassical design principles with Georgian architecture. (This is also the reason why some refer to Federal architecture as “Adam-style architecture.”) As such, his new variation spread quickly across England, defining its civic landscape for much of the Napoleonic Era. Despite the bitter resentments that many Americans harbored toward Great Britain after the American Revolutionary War, their cultural perceptions of the world were still largely influenced by the country. Adams’ new take on Georgian design principles thus rapidly spread across the United States, becoming the inspiration for its Federal-style architecture!