Portlaw was built in 1898 by owner William J. Curtis of New York and renowned local builder, Cyrus Porter Brown.  Mr. Curtis named the property after his father Captain John Curtis' ship, “Portlaw.”

Mr. Curtis graduated from Bowdoin College
in Brunswick, Maine, and became a partner at the prominent law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell
where he worked on the acquisition of the Panama Canal.  In 1904, Mr. Curtis presented the town
of Brunswick with the Captain John Curtis
Memorial Library in honor of his father.  In the library are a bust of Mr. Curtis, a painting
of his father and a painting of the ship “Portlaw.”

The Curtis family owned Portlaw until 1943, when
it was sold to a couple who operated the property
as "Portlaw Inn".  The room numbers and door knockers from that time remain on the bedroom doors.  Local residents can still recall having
supper in the formal dining room.  The property remained an inn until 1968.

Portlaw has only been owned by two families, including the present owner, since then.