John Martin (1823-1904), an accountant, opened his own store on Center Street in Bangor in about 1862. The illustration of the store appears on page 559 of a journal Martin wrote about his life and experiences.

He wrote, "In giving the previous outline I have coppied a sketch made by a lovesick man who came along July 20 1862
dressed in dirty ragged clothes sitting on the high ways by the fences and sketching churches and various buildings on a roll of paper laid across his knees I found on examining his samples that they were remarkably correct and his only instrument was a pencil and for the fun of it I gave him 10 cents a piece to draw my house & store and I have both coppies before me now."

The store was by the Rail Road Bridge.