Nearly 2 months since closing & I’m still awestruck each time I come home.

Welcome to my “new” house.  Better known as the Francis Waldo-Daniel Dole House of Stroudwater Village, Portland.  Yes, that is a mouthful.

Above is a street view taken a century ago.  Here’s what it looks like today.

This is the view from the back.  The house itself is spectacular, but it’s the yard that first drew us in.  Talk about beautiful.  Waking up to this each morning makes me thank God I am alive.  Although we’re still in Portland, we’re about as far away from the Old Port as you can be w/in city limits – about 10 minutes by car.  The feel of the place is suburban, almost rural.  Our neighborhood, Stroudwater Village, is one of the oldest sections of the city, founded in 1658 (according to the sign on Congress Street), but more often stated as 1727.  Our house – the Dole House – predates the American Revolution.  But we have yet to determine its exact age.  The former owners give the date as 1740.  We have a book which claims it was built between 1760 and 65.  An online reference states 1771-2.  At this point it’s anyone’s guess.  Officially, the oldest home in Portland – The Tate House – is right down the street and was built in 1755.   But it’s owned by an historical society and maintained as a museum.  It could be reasonably argued our house is the oldest surviving colonial residence in Portland.