Part 4

The pioneer home which replaced the original cabin was of southern origin for Grandfather was of North Carolinian stock. Built in 1854, it was low and wide with a small gallery above and a wider one below facing the west and overlooking Centennial Butte where, in 1876, Mitchell Wilkins planted maple and fir trees. He carried water by sled to the butte’s very top to make sure the trees would live. They stand, to the present day, like a tuft of hair on an Indian’s skull.

Willamette Forks post office was housed in one of the small outer buildings, bringing neighbors together when stage or pony rider dashed past on East Side Territorial Road, dropping off mail. “Late news” was at best a month old but worth discussion as the years brought disunion and secession problems to be faced among southern democrats and members of the newly organized Republican party. Indians had made the hillside trails which were to become the Territorial Road, and Calapooias still roamed the trails and dug camas roots in the blue-flowered fields.

When the Wilkinses built a cabin, there was not yet a Eugene village. Mr. Skinner had only just brought his family to a sheep-herder’s cabin on the butte called Ya-po-ah, and had hardly formed his dream for Eugene City. That town would one day be ten miles south of the Wilkins home.

The land proved out Mitchell Wilkins’ plan for raising fine grain and fine cattle. He took his prize grains to Philadelphia’s Centennial in 1876, New Orleans Exposition and Chicago’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, returning with honors for Lane County and Oregon. He served in the State Legislature, 1862-64, there presented Eugene’s petition for incorporation, and was instrumental in its passage. He was one of the men who organized Oregon’s Agricultural Society and Fair, which became the State Fair. He served as an early president and on its board until paralysis forced him to give up all activities. Inaction was hard for the tall, eager-eyed Scotsman, but he endured it with a smile, though he was unable to speak.

He had lived a full life. He had been a member of the “Union Club,” a Civil-War-time club of Lincoln and Union enthusiasts as determined and as secretive as the members of the secessionist “Knights of the Golden Circle.” He saw the Union saved, saw Lincoln elected; and rode the secret trail to the James Daniels house in the hills where a few men swore allegiance by candlelight. My father, at 13, was allowed to go there because he knew the words to _John Brown’s Body_. Oregon, a baby state, was half inclined to secede and could not have supported Lincoln except for a division among its Democrats—the loyalty of southerners like Mitchell Wilkins who had come to settle in this Willamette Valley and who did not want slavery for the West.

The University of Oregon _Nina Wilkins McCornack_

Deady Hall, the first building of the University of Oregon, was the realization of a great dream. In 1803, a Government policy was declared for the purpose of establishing State universities, this to apply to any state entering the Union after that date. Forty-seven years later, in 1850, by a donation land act, the Territory of Oregon was given this grant.

At first, state politicians handed the Capitol to Salem, the Penitentiary to Portland, and the University to Corvallis; then later it was promised to Jacksonville. The controversy grew bitter, the arguments so strong in every direction that the issue finally died of overdoing.

In 1857, Judge Matthew P. Deady, a southerner and President of the State Constitutional Convention, was much in favor of the parochial school system, though later he was one of the most loyal supporters of the University. Mr. R. S. Boise of Salem, with a large group of northern followers, felt the state should have one nondenominational school of importance, with lower fees, so the political dickering continued. By 1872, the issue had built up in tension and was again a red-hot argument.

On a July night of that year, a group of five men met to discuss again the need of adequate schools. In the old McFarland home on Charnelton street, kerosene lamps burned into the morning hours, and the young be-whiskered gentlemen discussed the good of future generations. They were B. F. Dorris, S. H. Speence, John M. Thompson, Judge J. J. Walton, and John C. Arnold. Later, J. S. Scott, J. B. Underwood, S. S. Comstock, A. S. Patterson, E. L. Bristow, E. L. Applegate, and Dr. A. W. Patterson joined them to organize the Union University Association. John Thomas was elected President, and T. G. Hendricks, Treasurer, while Walton, Dorris, Scott, and Abrams formed the first board of directors. This board appeared before the next meeting of the State Legislature to present a bill permitting purchase of a site for the erection of the first building on the new University campus. Fifty thousand dollars was allowed for Deady Hall, to be completed and turned over to the State in January, 1874. The bill also provided for a Board of Regents of nine—six to be appointed by the governor and three by the association itself. State scholarships were to be awarded by counties and forbade any sectarian or religious tests for either students or instructors.

Again plans ran into trouble. Outside interests appeared declaring the location bill unconstitutional because “_all state institutions were to be located in Salem_.” Again the pioneers fought for their rights with good arguments; increased population, high standards of living, value of land, and so on. In spite of all the evidence, opposing elements obtained a revocation of the bond issue, and only private subscriptions saved the university.

Committees were appointed for selection of the best site, and ways of raising money. The final choice was left to the State board of commission, which meeting in Eugene “found the fine view from the Henderson property most to their liking” so, in April of 1873, their selection was made of this thirteen-and-three-fourths-acre tract.

The University was at last on its way, but it proved to be a very rough road.

Plans were for a thirty-thousand-dollar bond issue by the courts, with twenty thousand to be raised by private subscription. The financial panic was on. Cash was scarce. Subscriptions came in slowly. There were loud protests at tax time! But plans never stopped: of the two hundred families making up the listed population, one hundred and forty names were on the subscription list, many of them for labor and farm produce. Thomas Judkins sold land at six dollars an acre, the proceeds to go to the building. Churches helped out with suppers and strawberry festivals.

At last Deady Hall was completed—as far as the roof, when again money ran out and again citizens dug deep in their pockets to complete the tall stately building, the first of the new University.

The Applegate House _Josephine Evans Harpham_

Applegate, one of the most famous names in Oregon history, belongs to a family whose origin was English. As early as 1635, there were Applegates who came to New England, and from there they went to New Jersey, thence to Maryland, and on to Kentucky in 1784.

In 1843, three Applegate brothers, Charles, Jesse and Lindsay, became greatly interested in the far Oregon country and made their departure from Missouri (Independence). Jesse’s experience had included school teaching, sawmill operation, and an important position in the Surveyor General’s office in St. Louis, Missouri. All this fitted him admirably for the role of trail blazer, pioneer, and train leader, which he was to assume.

Those with blooded stock elected Jesse Applegate as Captain of the now famous “Cow Column.” He was ably assisted by his brothers Charles and Lindsay. With the Looneys, Waldos, Nesmiths, Fords, Kaisers, and Delaneys, they pressed on and in time, assisted by Dr. Whitman, arrived at the mission in October, 1843. After leaving Fort Hall, they blazed their own trail—and finally arrived safely in the Willamette Valley. They discovered that the powers in the East refused to give aid to the new settlements because England held the Columbia and there was no other means of ingress to the country for soldiers. The Applegate brothers decided they would provide one, and that from the south. They asked Levi Scott, a brave and trusted man, to lead it. Before the party crossed the Callapooya it fell out and began straggling back. The Applegate brothers met and gathered them together as they returned.

Jesse was elected Captain, with Lindsay second in command. Charles remained at the settlement to look out for several families of small children and their mothers, as well as to watch the crops and to be alert for Indian attack. The party left on June 22, 1846, to locate and open a southern route to the Willamette Valley. They returned in late October. Over one hundred wagons made this historic trip.

Jesse served in the Provisional Legislature from 1845 to 1849. Later he became Indian agent and candidate for the U. S. Senate. In 1849, he settled in the Umpqua Valley, where Charles also decided to make his pioneer home. Lindsay settled in what is now the Ashland area. The Charles Applegate house is one and one-half miles northeast of the town of Yoncalla, and was completed in 1856. The home faces the south and is surrounded by stately trees. Many shrubs still bloom in the garden which were planted by Melinda.

The structure is two and a half stories, and the lumber for it was cut by Washington Cannon of Scotts Valley. Many of the timbers were hand hewn and the chimney brick were burned on the grounds. A long veranda, with balcony above, was built under the overhanging roof. The first floor contained two large rooms with sizeable fireplaces in the middle, opening into each room, and a front door opening out onto the long porch. The west room was formerly known as “Grandmamma’s room.” To the east were the living room, sewing room, dining room, and kitchen. Each of these had heavy beamed ceilings. There were, in those early days, small winding staircases rising in the fireplace corners, and a landing near the chimney in the center of the house above the staircase. Upstairs the design was much the same. There were two large rooms, both opening out onto the balcony. Alongside them and above the dining room were four small bedrooms with attractive nine-paned windows.

Fifteen sons and daughters grew up in this historic house. Uncle Charley’s home, being centrally located, was the gathering place of all the Applegate clan. Today the home is owned by Miss Eva Applegate, a direct descendant. The home has never been sold to others in over 105 years.

The Cartwright House _Josephine Evans Harpham_

One of Lane County’s most historic, most well preserved, and architecturally charming houses is that known as the Cartwright place or Mountain House hotel. It is located on the Old Territorial Road, three miles south of Lorane, Oregon, and is now the property of Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Thompson.

It was built in 1853 by Darius B. Cartwright. Dee, as he was familiarly known, was born near Syracuse, New York, February, 1814. In 1832 he served in the Black Hawk War. Some years later his family moved to Illinois. Here a brother, Barton, became a Methodist circuit rider who saw to it that his family had educational opportunities, one son becoming an early-day judge.

Darius B. Cartwright with his wife and several children left Illinois for the gold rush in California in 1849. Sometime later they pressed on to Oregon, remaining for a time near what is now Medford. In 1853, the family took up 530 acres near what is now Lorane and called the location Cartwright. Upon this beautiful site was built the fine home which was also to serve as a stagecoach inn, the official stop between Portland and San Francisco, a telegraph station and a post office, with Mr. Cartwright as postmaster. One of the first messages received over these wires during the Civil War was that of the assassination of President Lincoln.

William Russell had accepted an offer from the Cartwrights to be their wagon-train driver, for which he was to be paid the considerable sum of five dollars per month. He was born in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1827, but later moved to Illinois. Upon reaching the Cartwright’s destination, he went on and settled in Salem, Oregon, where he married and had three children: Mary, Emma, and Charles. While the latter was still an infant, his wife died so he and the family went back to the Cartwright place.

Here, on January 12, 1866, he married D. B. Cartwright’s daughter, Katie. On May 3 of the same year, he purchased the property from Mr. Cartwright, and the home became known as the Mountain House hotel. Here two children were born to the Russell’s: Darius B. and Myrtle. Mr. Russell’s father-in-law stayed on as postmaster until his death on July 29, 1875.

Through the years the property changed hands a number of times until John and Nancy Addison purchased the house and land in 1902. Mr. Addison built the first sawmill in the area, at which time lumber was selling for six dollars a thousand. It was bought by Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Thompson in 1952, who are the present occupants. The house has a lovely setting. It is surrounded by softly rolling green hills, magnificent trees, and rich bottom soil. The black walnut trees in front were planted over a century ago, from nuts brought across the plains. Original flagstones lead up to the old eight-paneled front door.

The house is of all-wood construction, has two stories, and classical design. Hand-hewn timbers are used throughout. The walls consist of irregular-width, hand-split cedar, put together with square, hand-forged nails. Still visible are sizeable squared-off, round supporting timbers with bark still attached, which accounts in part for the fine condition of this 108-year-old structure. The floors are made of irregular, wide boards throughout the house. Still remaining are the woodwork, the high ceilings, the sixteen stairs with cedar balustrade, the nine original twelve-paned windows, the original wood trim, and the old red-brick fireplace with mantel, and small cupboards above, the gun closet, and marks of bullet holes in the baseboards.

The Condon House _Josephine Evans Harpham_

The early-day house of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Condon stands at 1268 Jackson Street near 13th Avenue West. The home, built in the late seventies, originally stood at the Southwest corner of 11th and High Streets and was purchased by the Condons in 1882. It is a two-story house of wood construction with approximately ten rooms, which include a parlor and a charming living room with an old brick fireplace and plank walls, 2×10 and 2×12, set vertically. In earlier days a low white railing gracefully decorated the top of the house, which had a mansard roof, the latter also having been used in early University of Oregon buildings.

On its original site, the house stood on one half of what is now a city block and was not surrounded by any other buildings. The Condons planted many fine shrubs and trees, some of which are still standing at this home’s former location. In 1907, Dr. Condon passed away, and after a time the home was moved to its present location by Elwin McCornack of Eugene, a grandson.

Thomas Condon, pioneer Geologist of Oregon, was born in Southern Ireland in 1822 of Norman Irish stock, and the name is prominent in Ireland’s history, especially from the eleventh through the seventeenth centuries. When young Thomas was eleven years old, his family moved to America, and their first home was in the wilderness which is now Central Park, near the site of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Here as a boy he began the study of nature and the flora and fauna of that region. After completing his education, he spent several years in teaching and later completed a course in Auburn Theological Seminary in 1852. A few months later, he married Miss Cornelia Holt, a young teacher of New England ancestry, whose home was near Buffalo, New York. The young couple decided to go to the Oregon Country as missionaries, the Home Missionary Board of the Congregational Church having accepted them for this important endeavor.

After a long voyage around Cape Horn and up the West Coast, they arrived in Portland, Oregon, and from there went to St. Helens and later to Albany. After a time the Condons decided to move to The Dalles. Here they established a church which was open to any denomination and to all kinds of people in all walks of life. Many of the latter, inspired by Dr. Condon’s avid interest in science, assisted him in collecting geological data and specimens. Too, at times he accompanied the U. S. Cavalry of old Fort Dalles, on field expeditions into the John Day region. Here he collected “fossil” material and other data of the utmost importance in the field of geology and palaeontology, and in turn exchanged this valuable information with the Smithsonian Institute.

After about ten years, the Condons left The Dalles, going to Forest Grove, where Dr. Condon taught at the college awhile. In 1876, he was asked to become a member of the first faculty of the University of Oregon and became head of the Natural Science Department, later the Department of Geology. In the latter capacity, he opened up the John Day “fossil beds” and adjacent regions to scientists from all over the world; he also contributed much to the literature in his field, one of his best-known works being his book, “Two Islands.” Condon Hall and Condon Museum of Geology on the University of Oregon campus bear his name, as does also the chapel in the First Congregational Church of Eugene.

Dr. Condon, a scholarly man and a very fine teacher, possessed also a fine sense of humor. In addition, he manifested a warm interest in, and a kind of sympathetic understanding of, the people with whom he came in contact. The Condons opened their home to faculty, students, world-famous scientists, ministers, neighbors, and friends, with true hospitality. Mrs. Condon always shared her husband’s activities.

The Christian House _Josephine Evans Harpham_

The historic house at 170 East 12th was built by Daniel Christian, III, about 1855. In 1852, a year of great westward emigration, Daniel Christian, III, his wife, and five children, joined a party of over 100 wagons headed by Samuel and John Alexander, whose destination was Oregon. This well-managed train encountered few real difficulties. It was well supplied with dried fruits, berries, corn, and flour, while the cows provided milk, cream, and butter. They escaped the dread cholera and had no trouble with Indians. However, a young chief, seeing Daniel’s pretty daughter, tried to bargain for her. Fearing that the Indian might steal her, she was hidden in another wagon until the young brave gave up following them. Six months after beginning their trek westward, they reached the Columbia River and proceeded down it by flat boat to The Dalles. From there they proceeded by primitive railway—with wooden rails and mules for power—and on by steamboat to Portland. After a short stay, the Christians settled for the winter in East Tualatin.

The following fall, Daniel III acquired a donation land claim, 160 A, in the Eugene area, later known as the Christian Addition. Here upon a choice spot, a log cabin was built, being replaced two years later by the frame house.

The eldest grandchild of the Christians, the late Irena Dunn Williams, handed down to her children—Mrs. Howard Hall of Eugene and Mrs. Wallace Hannah of Vancouver, Washington—many stories of the happy times spent with her grandparents; memories of stirring apple butter in an old brass kettle; of eating fresh-baked bread spread with delicious homemade butter; of popping corn on winter evenings; and of Bible reading—for the Christians were devout Methodists.

It was Daniel III who cut and hand-hewed the lumber for the First Methodist Church of Eugene. Through the years this pioneer family has contributed much to the religious, cultural, and educational life of the community, since that far-off day when Daniel III came to the Oregon country well over one hundred years ago. The two-story house rests on a foundation of hand-hewn timbers and is of all-wood construction, overlapping weather board, being used throughout. The house and barn both were put together with wooden pegs.

The downstairs consists of an entry hall with a stairway leading to the second floor. On the left is the living room, and off that the dining room, which contains an attractive built-in china closet. Adjacent to this is a bedroom. Just off the dining room are the kitchen, a small hallway, and porch, back of which is an old-fashioned woodshed. Originally, a hall, several bedrooms, and a bath comprised the upstairs.

In 1947, Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Meisel, the present owners, completely renovated the pioneer home. The upstairs was converted into two apartments and the downstairs was all remodeled. During this process the walls were stripped back to the original eight-inch wood boards. Pasted on these were old papers dated 1868, over which cheese cloth and quaint wallpaper had been placed. Old flues became visible, another reminder of the past.

The front porch still has its old-style weather-boarding and supporting pillars, and the cornice extends far around the gable ends of the house. Likewise many of the original small-pane windows remain. To the rear of this historic home, one may still see Waxen and Bellflower apple trees, which were on the 160-acre donation land claim of Daniel Christian, III.

The Montieth House _Henrietta Stewart Brown_

Although modern in appearance, this was the first house in Albany, built by Thomas and Walter Montieth in 1849. The house was erected on the corner of Second and Washington streets but since has been moved back from the corner. The house was much smaller when first built but has been remodeled and enlarged several times. The most extensive remodeling work was done by Henry Wolz in 1925. Although remodeled, the original Montieth house is still embodied in the structure.

In 1845, Abner Hackleman had made his way up the Willamette Valley and staked out his claim in what is now the east end of the city of Albany. He had been the captain of a large wagon train that had come over the Oregon Trail from Iowa. As it was winter when the group arrived in the Oregon country, most of the emigrants remained in the lower part of the valley. Abner, however, continued on up the valley, probably on horseback, with the idea of finding suitable land on which to found a settlement.

With him on this trip, or joining him shortly afterwards, were Hiram Smead, Tommy Summerville, and several others, none of whom settled in the Albany area. Smead was the man who later sold what is now the business district to the Montieths, when they arrived in 1847.

Abner erected a temporary shelter and stayed through the winter of 1845. In the Spring, he arranged to have Hiram Smead “hold down” one of his claims for him, and he himself returned to Iowa to bring the rest of the Hackleman family to the Willamette Valley. The land-grant law at that time permitted a man to be absent from his claim for two years while bringing his family from the East.