The John B. Russwurm House is an historic house at 238 Ocean Avenue in the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Built about 1810, it was the residence of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

abolitionist and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n colonist

John Brown Russwurm John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was an abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonizer of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mother. As a child he t ...

. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Description and history

The Russwurm House is located on the northwest side of Ocean Avenue ( Maine State Route 9), between Gleckler and Wellington Roads. It is set back from the road, just south of the Church of the Holy Spirit. It is a typical Federal period -story wood-frame structure, with a five-bay front facade and side gable roof. It is one room deep, and has a center entrance with a modest Greek Revival surround that includes sidelights and pilasters. A single-story ell extends to the rear on the left side, its gabled roof perpendicular to the main roof. The interior has a narrow stair in the entrance vestibule, with a Greek Revival parlor to the left and a Federal period parlor to the right. This house was built about 1810, and was from 1812 to 1827 intermittently the home of

(1799–1851). Russwurm was born in Jamaica to white plantation owner, John R. Russwurm,''Old Times in North Yarmouth, Maine''
p. 841 and an enslaved black woman. His father died in 1815, and his stepmother, Susan, lived there with her third husband, local miller William Hawes, after their marriage in 1817. Educated at Hebron Academy and

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

(where he was the first African-American to graduate), he was co-editor of '' Freedom's Journal'', the first newspaper in America owned and published by African-Americans.http://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2014/02/voice-of-america/ Portland Magazine, "Voice of America" February/March 2014 He was active in abolitionist circles, and was a proponent of returning blacks to Africa. In 1836 he was chosen to serve as the first black governor of

Maryland in Africa The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...

, a colony which eventually became part of

. This house is the only known property in the United States associated with his life.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places African-American history of Maine Houses in Portland, Maine Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Houses completed in 1812 National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine

Description and history

See also

References