Woodfords Corner

Last updated
Woodfords Corner
Neighborhood in Portland, Maine
Woodfords Corner 2024.jpg
Looking south along Forest Avenue in 2024
Woodfords Corner
Location in Portland, Maine
Coordinates: 43°40′15″N70°17′04″W / 43.67087°N 70.28442°W / 43.67087; -70.28442
State Maine
County Cumberland
City Portland

Woodfords Corner is a neighborhood and major intersection in Portland, Maine, United States. Centered around the intersections of Forest Avenue (part of U.S. Route 302) and Woodford Street, it is named for brothers Chauncey, Ebenezer and Isaiah Woodford, merchants from Connecticut who settled in the area. [1] [2]

The corner developed in the 18th century as part of a major route from the Portland peninsula inland to the northwest. [1] It is at the convergence of four neighborhoods: Back Cove, Oakdale, Deering Center and Rosemont. [3]

The Kennebec and Portland Railroad was laid through the neighborhood in 1847. It was abandoned in 1911. [1]

One of the most prominent buildings in Woodfords Corner is the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Block (IOOF). Located on the eastern side of the intersection, the building's clock tower was restored in 2017 at a cost of $60,000. [3]

The nearby Woodfords Congregational Church was dedicated in 1872. The original church buildings were designed by architects Francis H. Fassett and E.F. Fassett. They were demolished in 1956 and new ones were built that year. [4]

Woodfords Club is a social club and event space for area elites founded in 1913. [5]

Donald Valle opened a beer parlor in Woodfords Corner in the early 1930s, the start of his Valle's Steak House empire. [6]

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Chauncey Woodford was a merchant and an early settler of Deering, Maine. Portland's Woodfords Corner is now named for him and his brothers, Ebenezer and Isaiah.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "History". Friends of Woodfords Corner. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  2. The Origins of the Street Names of the City of Portland, Maine as of 1995 – Norm and Althea Green, Portland Public Library (1995)
  3. 1 2 Hall, Alexandra. "At the heart of Woodfords Corner's revival is this: 'You don't get very many opportunities in life to do what you really believe in' - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  4. Anderson, Patricia McGraw; Barry, William David (2010). Deering: A Social and Architectural History. Greater Portland Landmarks, Incorporated. p. 182-183. ISBN   978-0-939761-14-2.
  5. Routhier, Ray (November 14, 2004). "Just the guys".
  6. "Maine Places to Love: Deering Center". Press Herald. 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2024-04-07.