The Thornton family homestead at Oak Hill in Scarborough; the home no longer exists. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
James B. Thornton Jr., 1794-1873, head of the family that acquired a large amount of land in western South Portland in the mid-1800s. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
The area in South Portland that is now known as Thornton Heights was known in the 1800s as Skunk Hill or Skunk’s Hill. While we’ve never seen any written documentation about how Skunk Hill changed its name, it would appear that the Portland Country Club may have been the instigator. The changeover in the name happened around 1897-1898, the same time period when the Portland Country Club moved its golf course from the Fort Preble area to Skunk Hill.
It’s rather striking how quickly all of the residents began using the new name for the neighborhood, as well.
So where does the name Thornton Heights come from? It’s actually related to a very well-to-do family that lived first in Saco and then at Oak Hill in Scarborough. Let’s take a closer look at this very wealthy and well-connected family.
There were several men with the name James Brown Thornton – always a challenge when doing historical research. For ease of identifying them, we refer to the father as James B. Thornton Jr., and his son as the Rev. James B. Thornton. The Rev. Thornton also had a son, Dr. James B. Thornton.
James B. Thornton Jr. was born in Saco in 1794. He was the son of Thomas G. Thornton and Sarah Cutts. James was their oldest son and his suffix is because he was named for Thomas’ younger brother.
Thomas Thornton of Saco was a notable figure in Maine history himself. Thomas was trained as a medical doctor and worked as a physician for 10 years. He was also a merchant, involved in politics, served as president of the Saco Bank and was one of the first few men who were appointed U.S. marshal in the District of Maine. His 19-year tenure as U.S. marshal happened to coincide with the War of 1812; Thomas’ papers related to his service as U.S. marshal are housed at Maine Historical Society. Thornton Academy, originally known as Saco Academy, was named in his honor due to his significant financial support.
Thomas and Sarah Cutts Thornton had two children – James Jr. and Anne Paine Thornton. Anne would go on to marry John Fairfield, the U.S. congressman and senator, and governor of Maine.
James Jr. grew up in Saco and married Eliza Gookin of North Hampton, New Hampshire, in 1817. They settled in Saco where they raised their family and where he worked as a merchant. James Jr. and Eliza had 11 children: John Wingate, Sarah C.G., Daniel (died young), Thomas G., James (the reverend), Albert G., Henry, Charles C.G., Eliza G., Frances A.D., and Frank (also died young). John Wingate Thornton attended Harvard and became a lawyer and a noted historian and author.
Thomas, James and Albert all attended Bowdoin – Thomas and Albert became lawyers. During the Civil War, Charles C.G. Thornton organized men from the Scarborough area into Company C of the 12th Maine Volunteer Infantry; that regiment mustered at Camp Abraham Lincoln and Charles served as captain of Company C.
As early as 1819, while continuing to live in Saco, James Jr. began buying land in Scarborough. He acquired hundreds of acres of land in and around the Scarborough marshes. His wife Eliza died in July of 1854 and that same month, James Jr. started buying land in South Portland (known then as Cape Elizabeth) on the western side of the town. Among the many properties acquired, he purchased the “Wescott Place” from Ezekiel Wescott, in the area where Wescott Road and South Portland Middle School are today.
Also after his wife died, James Jr. moved to Scarborough where his son James was serving as a church pastor.
Their son, the Rev. James B. Thornton, was born in Saco in 1825. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1846 and decided to enter the ministry. He was ordained in Scarborough on June 4, 1851, and served as the pastor of the First Congregational Church from 1851 to 1855. The church building at that time was located on Black Point Road, near the intersection of Highland Avenue, and was known as the Causeway Meeting House. When the current church was built in 1892, Charles C.G. Thornton donated the church bell; when the church was dedicated in 1893, it was reportedly the first church in Scarborough to have a bell.
Due to the father and son having the same name, it is difficult to determine exactly which James B. Thornton was buying land in Cape Elizabeth in the 1850s and ’60s. Because the family was wealthy, many of the family members were very actively either buying land or extending loans to individuals who would sign over their land as collateral. As far as the South Portland properties, however, there is one deed from 1869 where James Thornton Jr. specifically talks about his many properties in both Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth which he was leaving to four of his sons. Much of the land that he owned was in the triangle area to the west of Cash Corner, roughly bounded by Main Street, Westbrook Street and Broadway. James Jr. died in 1873.
This 1898 plan for the Portland Golf Club shows the roughly 52-acre property in South Portland that the club purchased from the Thornton family, along with the notation that the land adjacent to the golf course was also owned by the Thornton estate. The “County Road” at the bottom is Main Street; the “County Road” on the left is Westbrook Street. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
When the Portland Country Club, known then as the Portland Golf Club, was first established, they utilized a 12-hole course near Fort Preble from 1895 to 1897. In the fall of 1897, the club found land available on the “Thornton farm” at Skunk Hill.
According to an article in the Portland Daily Press on Sept. 22, 1897, at a meeting of the Portland Golf Club, “it was voted to lease the Thornton pasture lands on the Saco road (Main Street) beyond Cash Corner, and the committee on grounds were instructed to lay out the grounds immediately … The great superiority of the new links over the old course at Fort Preble will doubtless greatly revive the interest in the game.”
In July of 1898, they purchased the land which was owned at that time by a number of Thornton children and other descendants; it took three separate purchases to acquire everyone’s interests. The Thornton heirs also financed the deal; holding a mortgage on the golf course for $5,500. The term “Skunk Hill” is conspicuously absent from all news and writings about the golf club in 1897 and into 1898. By 1899, the neighborhood was referred to by most people as Thornton Heights.
After operating in Thornton Heights for almost a decade, the Portland Country Club had this larger clubhouse built in 1907 to accommodate its growing membership. The clubhouse was built on a site close to where the St. John’s Church was later erected. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
South Portland Historical Society offers a free Online Museum with nearly 17,000 images available for viewing with a keyword search. You can find it at sphistory.pastperfectonline.com and, if you appreciate what we do, feel free to make a donation by using the donation button on the home page. If you have photographs or other information to share about South Portland’s past, we hope you will reach out to us. South Portland Historical Society can be reached at 207-767-7299, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, or by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106.
Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is the executive director of the South Portland Historical Society.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
