There are still many people in South Portland who are alive to remember the W.W. Rich & Sons store that was once a fixture in the downtown of Ferry Village, on the corner of Sawyer and High streets. Although the grocery was in business for nearly 40 years, Willie Rich, for whom the store was named, wasn’t a grocer at all – he was a baker.

Let’s take a look at the family which, for about 70 years, operated a bakery business, restaurants and a grocery in Ferry Village.

The Rich family had a long history in Cape Elizabeth (our community changed its name to South Portland in 1895). Elbridge Rich, the son of Randall and Betsey Rich, was born in Cape Elizabeth in 1839. He married Sarah Jane Griffin from Long Island in 1856 – he was 16 years old and Sarah was only about 14. Elbridge and Sarah had many children including Emma, Ida (died at 3 years old), Lottie, Frank (died at 10 months), William, and Henry (died at 1 month).

Their son William W. “Willie” Rich was born in Cape Elizabeth around 1868 (census records show November 1867, his birth record says November 1868, and his gravestone says 1869). His dad Elbridge died in 1875 when Willie was only about 7 years old. In 1891, in his early 20s, he married Lizzie Eastman; together they raised two sons, Lewis and Mulford.

In his early adult years, Willie Rich tried his hand at several different occupations. Starting around the age of 18, he was employed as a shoemaker. He worked for Allen & Soule shoe manufacturers on Middle Street in Portland. From about 1893 to 1895, while still working as a shoemaker, he also went into business with John H. Edwards, operating a livery stable at 11 East High St. in Ferry Village – the livery business was called W.W. Rich & Company.

In 1895, Willie changed occupations and became a baker. He operated a bakery on Sawyer Street, utilizing a wagon to make deliveries of baked goods to local residents.

In the April 19, 1895, edition of the Coastwatch, “Mr. William Rich has a new bakery wagon which presents a fine appearance. The painting was done by Mr. Lowell.”

Willie was in business with his mother for many years. Willie was the baker and focused his energies on running a bakery; in the same space, Sarah would operate a small dining room/restaurant. They moved the business several times.

In 1895, they opened a bakery and dining room in a building on the corner of Sawyer and Front streets. Around 1896-97, the bakery/dining room was on the corner of High and Stanford streets. In 1897, they moved back to the corner of Sawyer and Front street, at 48 Sawyer St.

A description of Willie Rich’s restaurant appeared in the Cape Elizabeth Sentinel in August, 1899:

“Mr. Rich’s well-patronized home bakery and restaurant has been established for some two years and has proved to fill a much needed demand for a place of this kind. So much so, indeed, that the people would hardly know now how to get along without it. Mr. Rich’s bread, cake and pastry are all of home manufacture, and consequently can be relied upon to give universal satisfaction. For a quick and satisfactory lunch or meal this is also a good place to visit, while prices are always reasonable.”

Around 1901, Willie and his mother moved their bakery/dining room to 102 Sawyer St. where they remained for over a decade. By 1910, Willie’s son Lewis, now 18 years old, was clerking in the bakery full-time. About two years later, his son Mulford finished schooling and also went to work in the bakery full-time.

After his mother Sarah died in 1912, Willie and his sons continued the operation. As the business grew, they decided to move to a larger space, so he leased space in the building on the corner of Sawyer and High streets around 1914. With his sons having grown up in the business and now adults, Willie officially named the business W.W. Rich and Sons. They operated the expanded bakery and an ice cream parlor from their new larger location at 124 Sawyer St.

In 1924, Willie, Lewis and Mulford decided to expand their product lines, changing from a bakery to a full-service grocery store for the Ferry Village neighborhood. Just a few months after W.W. Rich & Sons expanded into the grocery business, Willie Rich died unexpectedly. He was only 56 years old. Lewis and Mulford continued operating their now-grocery, with Mulford working as the meat cutter and Lewis running the grocery.

In the early years of the grocery, there was a soda fountain on the left as you entered, with a counter and high stools. The meat counter was along the back wall with a glass case in front, and customers would come to the counter and give their list of items to a clerk who would then retrieve them.

Over the years, the store’s layout changed, the soda fountain was eventually replaced by a produce display, and customers would come in and pick out their own items from the shelves. Frank Greenlaw, who used to work at Rich’s, remembered, “They had a molasses barrel with a pump on the top, and when customers wanted molasses, I would pump it out into a cardboard container for them.”

Mulford died in 1944 and Lewis went on running the grocery for almost two more decades, until his retirement in 1963.

South Portland Historical Society offers a free Online Museum with over 16,000 images available for viewing with a keyword search. You can find it at https://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 would love to hear from you. 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 executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.

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