Misses Martins’ School for Young Ladies
Posted on: May 17, 2021 - 11:25am
(Photo Courtesy: Prince Memorial Library)
In 1788, William Martin, a London businessman, purchased the Jeremiah Powell estate, which comprised of more than three hundred acres and a shipyard on Broad Cove. (The home sat on what is now Powell Road.)
Two years later, William and his daughters Penelope, Eliza, and Catherine, established Misses Martins’ School for Young Ladies, a private school for girls in the home. It was one of the first schools in Maine to offer a thorough curriculum and higher education to women. The school remained in Cumberland until 1804 when it moved to Portland.