Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2025.100.93 |
Collection |
A Window on the Past columns |
Object Name |
Clipping |
Reference code |
US SPHi 2025.100.93 |
Title |
The Cole family - grocers of Ferry Village, part 1 - Cole Bros. grocery |
Date |
2025 |
Scope & Content |
Feature story about the Cole family of Ferry Village and the Cole Bros. grocery at 68 Sawyer Street, South Portland, Maine. A Window on the Past history column by Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo, executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. Published on the South Portland Historical Society blog on wordpress.com, October 17, 2025. Aurelius and Rotheus Cole were sons of William and Lupira Cole of Buckfield, Maine. Aurelius Cole moved to South Portland (known then as Cape Elizabeth) in August of 1856. Rotheus Cole moved here in 1858 and went into partnership with his brother in a grocery at 68 Sawyer Street, corner of Monroe Street. The store operated under their names, A.V. and R.M. Cole, for nearly two decades. Aurelius sold his interest in the grocery to his brother Rotheus in 1877; Rotheus renamed it R.M. Cole & Son, running it primarily with his eldest son Albert. After Rotheus retired in the early 1890s, his sons Albert and Arthur took over, renaming the store Cole Brothers. Arthur would later leave and Albert would end up running the store on his own as A.A. Cole's Market. Albert's son Hiram grew up in the business and later took over the operation from his father and ran it into the early 1950s. |
Search Terms |
A Window on the Past (news columns) Cole Brothers Store |
Subjects |
Grocers Grocery stores |
People |
DiPhilippo, Kathryn Onos Cole, Aurelius V. (1827-1911, grocer) Cole, Rotheus M. (1830-1909, grocer) Cole, Albert A. Cole, Arthur W. Cole, Hiram S. |