County of house: Cumberland County
Location of house: 1267 Westbrook St., Portland
House built: 1797
" The Tate House is now a museum and the only home of the Colonial period in Portland open to the public, The Capt. James Means House across the street houses the museum gift shop, office and event space and is also run by the Colonial Dames. The historic property is open for architecture, garden and school tours from June through October, holds an annual plant sale in May, and conducts "rambles" to historic sites elsewhere in New England twice a year. A pair of mast wheels were moved from Storyland in New Hampshire, restored and relocated to the Tate House property for exhibit in 2014." ~ Tate Muesum
"Means House 1270 Westbrook St., Portland, ME 04104 - built 1797 by Captain James Means - he served G Washington and was at Valley Forge - Lafayette visited in 1825" ~ pininterest
"James Means was Captain in Washington's army, serving at Valley Forge and Bunker Hill. Upon moving to Stroudwater after the War, he worked as a shopkeeper in George Tate's store, taking over from Jesse Partridge around 1786, just after marrying Mary Cox. James and Mary lived above the store for a time, and James bought Tate's business in 1785, running the store, while living upstairs until he had the 'means' to build his own home across the street from Tate.
"The Means House was built in 1797 (just a few years after George Tate died) on the triangle of land that was the former site of Colonel Westbrook's mast yard. According to Tate House Museum, the Tate and Quinby families were not happy about this new house being built, because it ruined their view of the river and bridge in front of their houses. They had wanted to keep this land going as a village green. When James died (a year after his wife Mary), the house went to James' daughter, also named Mary. When Mary passed, the house went to Mary's sister Sophie Means-Mason. Sophie's son Frank sold the house out of the family in the 1900s.
"It still stands today and is the home of the offices of the Tate House Museum." ~ oldbluegenes
"Several of the residences included within the Stroudwater Historic District are outstanding examples of the architecture of their time period. The George Tate House (1755) is a National Historic Landmark which was carefully restored by the National Society of Colonial Dames in Maine and is open to the public in the summer. The house of a mast agent for the royal navy, it is a wood-frame and clapboarded structure with a central chimney and an unusual gambrel roof pierced with windows which afford views overlooking the Fore River. The Captain James Means House (1797), the Francis Waldo House (c. 1765), the Samuel Ficket House (1795), the Martin Hawes House (1853), and the Dr. Jeremiah Baker House (1799) are significant examples of their respective periods. The remaining houses, even though more modest, contribute to the overall integrity of the historic district.
"As important as the surviving structures are the locations of early village activities, even though most of the early non-residential buildings do not survive. The burial ground to the north is still extant with the earliest grave stone dating to 1739. Along the Fore River are the sites of shipyards and wharves used from 1717 to the 1850’s, a bark mill and a tidal mill of the 1830’s, and the Cumberland and Oxford Canal (1825 – 1830). On higher ground near the Tate and Means houses is the site of the mast yard (1727 – 1770’s). And behind the houses on the west side of Westbrook Street are remains of the Stroudwater Dam of 1845, built to replace one further upstream." ~ City of Portland