WESTBROOK – “A little tree-shaded fiefdom of houses … all designed from 1870-1885 by John Calvin Stevens.” So Portland Monthly magazine once described this city’s Cumberland Mills Historic District, a relatively little-known riverside enclave that includes a row of shingle-style cottages. Here is one, recently introduced to the market, and a gem.

Built in 1887, over the past decade the riverfront home has been thoroughly and sensitively restored by its owners, who preserved and even enhanced all charm and details, while also modernizing and updating systems.

The front porch has been enclosed as a foyer with the utmost fidelity to period authenticity, from the transoms to the elegant letter-box. Flooring is cherry, the ceiling paneled, and the built-in bench provides a reading nook as well as storage. Directly ahead is the formal dining room, which has an open china closet, and a French door out to the mahogany deck – a wonderful haven that overlooks the Presumpscot, on which the property has 50 feet of frontage. (A two-minute walk away, there’s a public dock where you can fish or put in a kayak.)

Like the dining room, the living room has new, birdseye maple flooring. The custom kitchen is tiled and has abundant cabinetry and slate undermount sinks. Subway tile complements the polished concrete counters, and stainless appliances include Jenn-Air gas cooktop.

Up the carpeted staircase are three good-sized bedrooms and full bathroom, around a broad hall. The Art Deco-flavored bath has a cast-iron clawfoot soaking tub, beadboard wainscoting, and a handsome pedestal sink.

One front bedroom also makes an excellent office/library, thanks to wall shelving, and accesses the attic via pull-down. The back bedroom has its own, cool, beadboard built-in; and, of course, looks out and down over the river. The master bedroom, at the front, has a large, daylight walk-in closet one can easily imagine returned to its probable initial purpose – a nursery.

Down notably wide stairs, the partially-daylight, full basement includes laundry, and walkout to a gravel patio below the deck, and offers the option of finishing one or two rooms to augment the home’s 1,380 square feet of living space.

The home at 22 Brown St., Westbrook, is listed for sale at $216,500 by Kirk Goodhue of Port Island Realty, and is being shown by appointment. For more information or to arrange a private viewing, please contact Kirk at 766-5966, 671-3199, or at kirk@portisland.com.

Produced by the Marketing Department of the Portland Press Herald, the Friday feature home is provided at no cost.

Staff photos by Derek Davis.

Send feature home suggestions to jrolfe@pressherald.com.

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