An inside view of a greenhouse at the Reuben and Henry B. Higgins farm, circa 1911. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society

In September of 2019, we published an article about the Buck Bros. and Taylor farm at 501 Highland Ave. (the street has been renumbered – that address used to be known as 451 Highland Ave.; the farmhouse is still there and the former farm/greenhouse property is now home to the Church of the Nazarene). In that story, we briefly mentioned the origin of the farm as that of Reuben Higgins. Let’s take a deeper look at the Higgins family who established a major growing operation on Highland Avenue and, like many of their neighbors, were Free Will Baptists and active members of the church on Sawyer Street.

This image from the 1857 Map of Cumberland County shows the Higgins farm on Highland Avenue (the street runs from lower left to upper right) when it was operated by an earlier Reuben Higgins and his brother Emerson. Their father, Micah Higgins, began to acquire farm property in Cape Elizabeth/South Portland as early as 1807. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society

As with many early families, the Higgins family often named their children after other family members, creating a challenge for future researchers. In this case, the first Higgins in this line to come to South Portland (known back then as Cape Elizabeth) was named Reuben Higgins. According to “The History of Cumberland County,” published in 1880, this first Reuben Higgins “came to Cumberland County from Cape Cod, and met an untimely death by being drowned while capturing sea-cows.” We find this account of the incident in the Hartford Courant on Sept. 7, 1784: “We hear from Falmouth (Casco-Bay) that a vessel arrived there last week, which sailed from that place last May for the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on a voyage for Sea-Cows – soon after their arrival there, the master, Captain Reuben Higgins, and three of his crew went out in a boat, and pierced one of those animals with one of their iron weapons for that purpose; but the cord, to which it was fastened, having accidentally got entangled in the boat – the Cow in her flight, with the instrument fixed in her body, forced the boat under water, and left the unfortunate crew immersed in that dreadful element – Captain Higgins and one of his men were drowned – but the other two were saved by the men who (as is common in such dangerous enterprizes [sic]) remained in the vessel to observe the motions of the adventurers. – Captain Higgins had lately removed to Cape Elizabeth (a town adjoining to Falmouth) from Truro on Cape Cod, which place he sometime since represented at the General Court.”

That first Reuben Higgins (1739-1784) married Mercy Dyer and, after his death, Mercy stayed in Cape Elizabeth with their numerous children, including Sylvanus Higgins (the father of William B. Higgins who we mentioned in last week’s column) and Micah Higgins.

Micah Higgins (1775-1838) first started buying his own land in Cape Elizabeth in 1807. He not only farmed the land at 501 Highland Ave., but he was a popular and active member of the early Cape Elizabeth community. He served as the collector of taxes in 1807-1808 and again from 1815-1823. In 1823, he was elected a selectman of Cape Elizabeth, then elected and served again in that position from 1825-1827 and in 1829 (there were just three selectmen in those days and each served one-year terms, so had to be reelected if they wished to continue to serve). From 1826-1828, Micah Higgins was also elected and served as the state representative in the Maine House. With his wife Polly, he was the father of many children, but the two brothers who continued to be related to the farm at 501 Highland Ave. were Reuben Higgins, born in 1811, and Emerson Higgins, born in 1818.

Reuben Higgins (1811-1886) attended early schools in Cape Elizabeth while helping on the farm, then left while still a teenager to work on sailing vessels. After about three years, he left the sea and settled in Bangor for a few years where he learned the blacksmith trade. He sold his business there to his brother Arthur and moved back to Cape Elizabeth around 1830, working either on the farm here or, for a time, as a grocer in Portland.

The Reuben and Henry B. Higgins farm, circa 1911. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society

When his father Micah died in 1838, Reuben bought out most of his siblings (Mary, John, Jefferson, Elizabeth, Arthur, and Micah Jr.); only his brother Emerson didn’t sell his share in the family estate. Reuben was living in Portland when he married Calista Smith in 1839, but they would settle in the farmhouse on Highland Avenue, along with his brother Emerson and his family. Reuben eventually followed the path of public service like his father. He was elected a selectman of Cape Elizabeth in 1843, 1845, 1847 and 1848. He also served as a town Overseer of the Poor. In 1849, he was elected by Cape Elizabeth voters to serve as the state representative in the Maine House in 1850.

With his focus leaving the farm operation, in 1847 Reuben sold a half interest in the homestead and the farm on Highland Avenue to his brother Emerson, leaving Emerson in charge of running the farm. Reuben would go on to work as a clerk on a steamship that ran between Portland and Boston. He later was elected a county commissioner for Cumberland County, where he served for three years, and he also served another year in the state Legislature in 1862.

Emerson Higgins and his wife Frances raised their children on the farm on Highland Avenue. Two of their sons, Reuben Higgins (1854-1936) and Henry B. Higgins (1856-1918), would be the next generation of Higgins to operate the farm.

Around 1876 when the two brothers took over, they had ambitions to grow the business. Year by year, they began adding equipment, building greenhouses and employing more people. In a news article that was published around 1911, the now large farm of Reuben and Henry B. Higgins was described: “… today, they employ from 40 to 50 people, and have an outfit, including horses, wagons, buildings, etc. … worth thousands of dollars. For the purpose of raising special garden stuff they have greenhouses and hot bed sash aggregating 81,000 feet of glass. In addition they have upwards of 150 acres of ground under cultivation, divided as follows: For spinach, 6 acres; corn, 7 acres; squash, 6 acres; cabbage, 8 acres; potatoes, 15 acres; tomatoes, 2 acres; carrots, 1 acre; parsnips, 2 acres; beets, 4 acres; green peas, 6 acres; cauliflower, 1 acre; rhubarb, 2 acres and celery, 8 to 10 acres. In addition they raise other vegetables of all kinds in demand by the great markets of the Country. In the line of specials they cultivate and ship during the year – 20,000 dozen heads of lettuce, 30,000 dozen bunches of radishes, 15,000 musk melons, 500,000 cucumbers, 3,000 boxes of celery, 2,000 bushels of tomatoes, 5,000 bushels of potatoes, 2,000 bushels of dandelion greens, 1,000 pole and bush string beans, etc.

“For the purpose of handling this enormous business it requires a plan of no small dimensions. A 150 h.p. steam plant furnishes heat and power. To pack goods for shipment, there is a large warehouse, two stories, 50×70 feet in dimensions; here all vegetables are sorted, washed and packed in convenient and attractive shape for the market. For the winter storage of vegetables, etc., there is a modernly equipped cellar, 60×100 feet, fitted with burs [sic] and racks, etc., for the proper handling of the products. The stable is also a modern structure of 60×100 feet in dimensions. In addition there is a special place for the storage and care of fine celery in the Winter. These pits cover ground space of nearly 5,000 square feet … The Messrs. Higgins are skilled and practical farmers and conduct their enterprise on most modern scientific and sanitary principles. They even look carefully after the welfare of their employees, many of whom have been connected with the enterprise for many years. Each man has a most pleasantly situated cottage, all of them being of modern construction, and so placed as to command a most beautiful view of the surrounding country … In addition to the enterprise just referred to they also own several fine farms on the Cape. Most of it is fine shore property, including Bowery Beach.”

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. The 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. Monetary donations to help support the historical society can be made using the donation button on the home page. If you have photographs or other information to share about South Portland’s past, call 207-767-7299, email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, or send mail to 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106.

This circa-1935 photo shows the greenhouses on Highland Avenue, between Highland and Nutter Road, operated by the Buck family; the greenhouses had previously been operated by the Higgins family, up until about 1925. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society