USM's African American Collection Receives Gift from Cummings Family of Portland

A group of African American men in the Portland area pooled their money to invest in real estate in 1911, organizing the Eastern Real Estate Company of Portland, an investment company in existence for nearly a century.

Last month, the family of Leonard W. Cummings Sr. and Mary Jane Hill Cummings donated the archives of the Eastern Real Estate Company to USM's African American Collection of Maine, part of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine. The records span the years from 1911-2000, and include the articles of association, meeting minutes, stock records, lists of stockholders, tax records, bankbooks, and the legal documents that dissolved the company.

"This is a remarkable primary resource for the history of African Americans in Maine," said Sampson Center Director Susie Bock. "It is rare for a collection to be so complete. There are meeting minutes from the company's inception in 1911 to 1917, followed by a gap until 1941, after which they are complete to 1983. It is interesting to note that by 1941, women, such as Mrs. Zelie Lindenberger, were serving as president. Moses S. Green, one of the founders, was still serving as treasurer three decades later."

The Cummings name appears in the minutes as early as 1916. By the 1980s, Leonard W. Cummings was serving on the board of Eastern Real Estate Company of Portland, and acquired the records for safekeeping from the company's long-time secretary, Margaret Gaskill. Cummings, who is involved with the restoration of the Abyssinian Church, realized that the records of Eastern Real Estate were an important piece of the history of Portland. "I gave the records to USM so this story would be preserved and made available to the community, just as I am working to save the story of the Abyssinian Church."

Faculty Scholar for the African American Collection Maureen Elgersman Lee says, "The history of the company should be considered in the light of other comparable companies such as the Afro-American Reality Company in New York. The Archives will allow us to examine property ownership patterns and explore issues of power, race, gender, and economics." Elgersman Lee said that Portland will be the focus of the February, 2007, annual exhibition of the African American Collection, so the Cummings' gift could not have been timelier.

The collection will allow scholars a peek at the African American community in Maine, its genealogy, and its impact on southern Maine businesses, and Portland's history. The Eastern Real Estate Company Archives are now available to faculty and student researchers.