Krista Luttrell

The Portland Company was founded in 1845 by John Poor, a lawyer and entrepreneur originally from Andover, Maine. It played a pivotal role in Portland’s industrial growth during the 19th century. Situated on the waterfront side of Fore Street at the bottom of Munjoy Hill, the Company quickly became a leading manufacturing hub, producing steam engines for locomotives and ships as the rail industry expanded rapidly across the nation. By the end of 1860, it had built several steam fire engines, including the Casco, the Greyhound, and the Machigonne. The Company soon became the city’s largest employer.

The boom in rail transport created a constant demand for labor. To meet need, the Company relied heavily on the city’s growing population of newly arrived immigrants, and most of them were Irish. Many Irish arrived in Portland with limited resources and unskilled, but they brought determination, resilience, and a willingness to learn and work hard. They performed physically demanding labor for long hours in the Company’s machine shops, foundries, and yards.

They sent letters with money home to their family and friends in Ireland, sharing news of steady employment opportunities. This helped fuel chain migration into the city. Before too long, Munjoy Hill and surrounding neighborhoods swelled with Irish immigrants and their growing families.

A research discovery demonstrates one option that immigrants like the Irish could take to improve their situation: the Company appears to have offered homeownership opportunities. On December 11th, 1860, five Irishmen-Michael J. Burke (an ancestor of this author), Patrick Arnold, James McMahon, and William and Patrick Parks-purchased residential lots along Adams Street, just one block from their job. The land had been surveyed only two months earlier by George Sherwood. Their property acquisitions represented forward progress in their family’s stability and economic security in America.

A bit about the property recipients: Michael J. Burke, laborer and boilermaker from Annaghdown, County Galway. He purchased a lot at 17 Adams Street for $240 and built a two-family home. The remaining purchasers were Patrick Arnold, a blacksmith from County Cork; James McMahon, a laborer from County Tyrone; and Patrick and William Parks, laborers from County Donegal.

These modest land transactions offer precious insight into the steady and upward progress made by the city’s Irish immigrant community. The ability to purchase property was important-especially near their employer. Homeownership allowed these men not only to secure permanent shelter for their families but also to build equity and lay down roots on Munjoy Hill-close to the rhythmic clatter of machinery in the Company’s busy shops.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this story. If you have information about an ancestor or another person who worked at The Portland Company, The Atlantic & St Lawrence Railroad, or The Grand Trunk Railway during the 19th century, especially if they acquired property from their employer, please share.

Thank you for reading this story.

♥︎ Krista

Notes

Luttrell, Krista. “Portland Irish and the Railroad” Slides from
lecture at Annaghdown Historical Society, Galway, Ireland, 2019.