Historic Hillsboro Booklet

HISTORIC HILLSBORO

A SELEC TION OF THE CIT Y’S HISTORIC RESOURCES

Photos in this booklet appear courtesy of the City of Hillsboro and Washington County Heritage Online.

This publication has been funded with the assistance of a matching grant-in-aid from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and Historic Preservation Fund, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, or handicap. Any person who believes she or he has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of federal assistance should write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1201 Eye Street, NW (2740) Washington, DC 20005.

Published August 2019

HISTORIC HILLSBORO

A SELEC TION OF THE CIT Y’S HISTORIC RESOURCES

CONTENTS A&W Characters ................................. 6

Pioneer Cemetery ...................... 24

Bump House ....................................... 7

Pittenger House ......................... 25

Carnegie Library ................................. 8

Rice-Gates House ..................... 26

Donelson House ................................. 9

Richardson House .................... 27

Five Oaks Meeting Place .................10

Schulmerich Building ................ 28

Heidel House .................................... 11

Sewell Clay Works ..................... 29

Hill Theater ........................................ 12

Shorey House ............................. 30

Imbrie House .................................... 13

Shute Bank Building .................. 31

Johnson-Belluschi House .............. 14

The Manor .................................. 32

Lyons House ..................................... 15

Tongue House ............................ 33

Masonic Temple .............................. 16

Washington County Courthouse

McDonald House ............................. 17

& Sequoias .................................. 34

McGill/Pitman House ..................... 18

Washington County

McGinn Apartments ........................ 19

Jailhouse .................................... 35

Methodist Meeting House Site ..... 20

Wehrung House ......................... 36

Milne House I .................................... 21

W.W. Barrett House ................... 37

Milne House II .................................. 22

Zula Linklater House ................. 38

Morgan and Bailey Building ........... 23

INTRODUC TION The City of Hillsboro is home to unique historic and cultural resources. Settled in the 1830s and inhabited by the Atfalati people long before that, Hillsboro has deep historical roots.

Since the 1980s, the City’s most significant historic resources are documented in the Hillsboro Cultural Resource Inventory (CRI). The CRI ensures that listed buildings, landscapes, and trees are continually preserved for the benefit of Hillsboro’s residents. Any significant alterations or additions to these resources must be reviewed and approved by the City. Joan Krahmer Historic Preservation Grants are also available to aid in the continued preservation of CRI properties.

This booklet presents a sample of Hillsboro’s 82 CRI listings as of June 2019. These listings include single-family homes, apartment buildings, Downtown storefronts, landscapes, and even statues. They are located throughout the City, from Old Orenco to alongside Tualatin Valley Highway.

A&W CHARACTERS 626 SE 9TH AVE. | 1959

CRI #76

For many Hillsboro residents, the iconic A&W Characters are nostalgic icons. The family of four originally stood outside of an A&W restaurant on Tualatin Valley Highway in the early 1960s. They were a gimmick to attract customers and represented the sizes of burgers and drinks available to purchase. When the A&W closed in the mid-1980s the three remaining family members were given new paint jobs and relocated to a local pizza place.

The City of Hillsboro came into possession of the Burger People in the 1990s, restored them, and placed them outside of the Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center. In 2008, the Baby burger suffered damage and was removed for a year for restoration. The City received so many worried calls about the location of the statue that the baby received the name Amber, after the Amber Alert system.

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Another example of roadside figures, Harvey Marine, Tualatin Valley Highway, 1973.

BUMP HOUSE

CRI #44

472 S 1ST AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1925 The Bump House is a simple but unusual building in the City of Hillsboro.

The single-family residence turned commercial property is clad in stucco and features Italian renaissance style details. The building is complex in plan, featuring several projecting cubes, an asymmetrical façade, and a porch with an Italian renaissance arch, ionic columns, and stucco piers. A simple low, flat, parapet roof tops the home.

The unusual home was constructed in 1925 for a local lawyer, Mark Bailey Bump, and his family. Mr. Bump and his family lived in a smaller house on the property prior to construction of the new home. When it came time for a bigger home, the Bumps simply relocated their previous home to the backyard.

While the Bump House was being built a similarly styled house was constructed in Forest Grove by Mr. Bump’s brother.

The Bump House, 1980.

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CARNEGIE LIBRARY

CRI #14

209 NE LINCOLN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1914 2009 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient This simple Italian Renaissance building was constructed using funds from the Carnegie Foundation, established by Andrew Carnegie, a steel industry tycoon who had a fond memory of borrowing books as a young man.

Between 1906 and 1916, Carnegie Foundation grants funded 26 libraries in Oregon. Hillsboro Mayor Dr. F.A. Bailey received a $10,000 grant (about $25,000 today) to build the new library. To receive the grant the City simply had to supply the land and ensure continued maintenance of the building.

Once the funding was secured, respected Portland-based architect Ernest Kroner was retained to design the building. The library was designed to serve a population of 2,000. By 1920, just six years after construction, Hillsboro’s population had already climbed to 2,468. By 1975, the library’s size had become restrictive and a new public library was built to meet the needs of the growing city.

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Carnegie Library in the 1980s.

DONELSON HOUSE

CRI #17

171 NE 3RD AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1910 2018 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient The Donelson House is an architecturally significant house with ties to two of early Hillsboro’s significant families. The home is a bungalow style featuring decorative elements including brackets, columns with ornate capitals, and hipped eaves. The property was originally owned by W.H. Connell and was sold to William Donelson after the home was built.

Donelson’s roles in the Hillsboro community included city undertaker, furniture dealer, and farmer. Located next to the house, the Donelson Funeral Home was an ornate Queen Anne building with a large water tower. Mr. Donelson’s daughter Jessie married John Sewell, a member of one of Hillsboro’s early pioneer families.

The Donelson Funeral Home, c. 1918. The corner of the Donelson home is visible to the left.

The funeral home no longer exists, but the Donelson House is a reminder of the significance of both Hillsboro families.

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FIVE OAKS MEETING PLACE

CRI #CR-A

NE CASPER COURT | 1600s 2015 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient Just one of Hillsboro’s original five oaks still stands, but the enchanting stories associated with the once-towering trees remain. Before white settlers arrived in the Tualatin plains, the Atfalati people used the circle of five white oaks as a camping spot. When settlers reached the plains, the five oaks were a central point for meetings and community gathering.

The Mountain Men, organizers of the first settler farming community in the West, held court hearings, picnics, horse races, and religious festivals around the branches of the oaks. A common tale recounts one particularly festive Fourth of July: Nearly 1,000 Atfalatis and 200 settlers celebrated together.

By the 1940s, two of the five oaks were lost to a storm. In the 1980s, one of the remaining three oaks was merely a dead trunk. Today one oak stands, set back from the highway in an office park. The last oak is a living testament to Hillsboro’s earliest history.

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Five Oaks surrounded by farmland, 1980s.

HEIDEL HOUSE

CRI #36

641 E MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1905

In the early 1900s, the Climax Mill, owned by the Heidel family, was Hillsboro’s largest milling operation. The mill was steam powered and had a capacity of producing 75 barrels daily.

The Heidel family lived near Downtown Hillsboro in a home large enough to accommodate the sizable family: Frederick and Ursula Heidel, both German immigrants, had seven children listed in the 1910 census. The twostory home was craftsman in style and featured bell-cast eaves and a large front porch.

Climax Mill, 1909.

The Heidels occupied the home for only ten years, then sold it in 1921.

Through the 1940s and 1950s, it served as a boarding house and in 1966 the property was purchased by the Washington County Museum.

The Museum used the Heidel House as its headquarters until the 1980s.

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HILL THEATER 137 NE 3RD AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1936

CRI #20

The Hill Theater was the last theater opened in Hillsboro by local developer and community leader Orange Phelps. Phelps opened five theaters in the City between 1908 and 1937: the Arcade, the Liberty, the Majestic, the Venetian, and lastly, the Hill. Of all the theaters in Hillsboro, the Hill is the only example of art deco architecture. It features high stepped parapets emphasized by decorative vertical lines, stucco exterior walls, and a threesided marquee topped with neon lettering spelling out “Hill�. In the interior, the style is reflected in art deco railings that have been preserved.

The Hill is significant for its unique architectural style and also its association with Phelps, a former baseball player whose civic roles included Planning Commissioner, City Councilor, and three-term Mayor from 1929 to 1935.

Hill Theater, 1957.

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IMBRIE HOUSE

CRI #CR-B

4045 NE CORNELIUS PASS RD. | 1855, 1866, & 1913 2011 & 2017 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient Listed on the National Register of Historic Places The Imbrie House represents one of the best intact collections of rural architecture in Oregon. The farmstead includes the family home, an octagonal barn, a granary, and a milk house. The granary was constructed in 1855, the large Italian villa style home in 1866, and the iconic octagonal barn in 1913. The Imbrie family first laid claim to land in the area in the 1840s and the patriarch, James, was an involved citizen. He was a farmer and stock raiser and played a role in lobbying for the construction of a road between Hillsboro and Portland.

Imbrie octagonal barn,1977.

The Imbrie family homestead ceased farm production in the 1950s. The family operated a restaurant there until the 1980s. McMenamins began leasing the property in 1986; after a grassroots campaign to save the farmstead from redevelopment, the company purchased the property.

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JOHNSON-BELLUSCHI HOUSE

CRI #CR-T

1513 NE STILE DRIVE | CONSTRUCTED 1951

Pietro Belluschi, an Italian who immigrated to Portland in 1925, was an internationally renowned architect and pioneer of the Pacific Northwest regional style (a modernist architectural style designed for the climate and often using locally sourced wood). Belluschi lived in Portland for most of his life and designed buildings throughout the state. Along with his famous Pacific Northwest regional designs, Belluschi is known for his design of the Equitable Building in Portland. This was the first modernist, glass faรงade office building constructed after WWII. The Johnson-Belluschi House is the only Belluschi designed house in Hillsboro. The home was designed to evoke images of a large barn and was originally located among farmland. The home is modernist, featuring minimal ornamentation, and has vertical wood board siding, a design element common to the style. The home is now in a developed residential area but still retains some of its original setting due to its location back from the street and surrounded by trees.

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LYONS HOUSE

CRI #29

421 SE WASHINGTON ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1905 2010 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient Edward J. Lyons built this home for William Nelson, the owner of a local hardware store. Lyons had owned the land since the 1880s, but as a bachelor did not need a large home. The home he constructed for Nelson was quite affluent for the period, featuring two full stories and an ornate Queen Anne style. The home has been well preserved and is one of the best examples of this style remaining in Hillsboro. It features stick work, fish-scale shingles, bell-cast eaves, and a false Palladian (tri-part) window.

The interior of Lyons Thirst Emporium, 1890s.

Lyons was likely able to finance the construction of such a residence using funds from his other business venture, the Lyons Thirst Emporium.

This saloon was one of four operating in the City in the 1880s and was a popular and lively meeting place. Along with the others that dotted Main Street, the saloon gave Hillsboro its early nickname of “Sin City.�

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MASONIC TEMPLE

CRI #18

176 NE 2ND AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1925 2012 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient The Mission Revival architectural style is common in the southwest and California, having become popular in the U.S. during the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century. The style was a revival of the architectural elements found on early Spanish Mission churches in the southwest and featured stucco exteriors, flat roofs with parapets, broad eaves, exposed rafter ends, and minimal ornamentation. The Masonic Temple building in Hillsboro, however, is an excellent and unusual example of the style in Oregon. It features a stepped parapet, smooth stucco walls, and minimal ornamentation with mission style tiles.

The Masonic Temple was organized in Hillsboro in the mid-1800s and still exists. The building was the fourth meeting place for the organization in Hillsboro, preceded by a lodge adjacent to the city hall. The building is still actively used as a meeting place for lodge members.

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Masonic Temple c. early 20th century

McDONALD HOUSE

CRI #CR-J

7248 NE BIRCH ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1911 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places The Oregon Nursery Company was one of 20th century Hillsboro’s largest employers. The operation moved from Salem in 1907 and became the largest nursery on the West Coast. To house its workers, the company’s owners created Orenco, a company town that grew rapidly and incorporated in 1913. During the height of its growth, company president Malcolm McDonald constructed his personal home on nearly 40 acres of land adjacent to the town. The massive craftsman style house includes 17 rooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 sleeping porches, an enclosed porch, and a full basement. It featured architectural elements including deep bracketed eaves with purlins, a broad entry porch, and brick chimneys.

McDonald House, 1911.

The house remained in the McDonald family until the company went bankrupt in 1929. In the 1950s the surrounding land was transformed into a golf course. Today, the land is used as a public park and the home is owned by the city, which hopes to redevelop and preserve the property.

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McGILL/PITMAN HOUSE CRI #CR-F 6832 NE CHERRY DR. | CONSTRUCTED 1907 2017 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient The McGill/Pitman House was the first home constructed in the town of Orenco. Built in 1907, the large home was owned by the vice president of the Oregon Nursery Company, Archibald McGill. It is craftsman in style, featuring ornamentation like exposed rafter ends, purlins, knee braces, and wide eaves. Historically, the home was connected to the McDonald House and Orenco Company Office by a wood plank sidewalk.

McGill lived in the stately home he constructed for just four years. After a falling out with the president of the company, McGill left Orenco and continued work in the nursery business elsewhere in Oregon. The second namesake of the home, Archibald Pitman, purchased the home in 1932 after it had passed through several hands. Pitman was a doctor in Hillsboro for nearly 40 years, the mayor of Orenco, director of the Hillsboro School District, and president of the Washington County Historical Society.

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McGill/Pitman House, 1911.

McGINN APARTMENTS

CRI #22

169 N 1ST AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1946 2015 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient The McGinn Apartments building is one of Hillsboro’s only Moderne style structures and is one of just six designated mid-century buildings. The Moderne style, part of the Modern movement and closely related to the Art Deco style, was popular in the United States between the 1930s and 1950s.

It is a more streamlined modern style, featuring very little ornamentation.

This style is associated with smooth exterior wall surfaces (often times stucco), flat roofs, an emphasis on horizontal massing, curved corners or windows, and the use of metal detailing. The McGinn Apartments employed many of these elements in its design.

Today the McGinn is relatively unchanged in appearance but has a new use as an office building owned by the City.

A Moderne style J.C. Penney in Downtown Hillsboro, 1940. This building still exists but has been significantly altered.

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METHODIST MEETING HOUSE SITE

CRI #CR-I

EAST OF NE STARR BLVD. | CIRCA 1843

What at first seems like an unassuming patch of land boxed in by industrial development is actually one of Hillsboro's most significant historic sites.

The Methodist Meeting House Site was once the location of Hillsboro's first Methodist church, constructed in 1844. Reverend Joseph Hosgry built the church on the Richard Constable Farm, where outdoor sermons had been held. The first such sermon on the farm attracted 16 worshippers; 60 people attended the next week.

The church was also used by other denominations and as a court during periods of Territorial and Provisional government.

In 1865, after securing land for a new church closer to the center of the city, the Meeting House was deconstructed.

The materials were brought to the land purchased in town and used to build a new church, completed in 1872.

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New Methodist Church on 3rd and Washington, 1910.

MILNE HOUSE I

CRI #47

144 SE WALNUT ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1890 2017 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient In the late 1800s, popular architectural taste turned against astute Georgian styles and re-embraced the ornate Queen Anne style popular in the early 1700s. The Queen Anne revival ushered in Eastlake style architecture, which is highly elaborate and generally features a variety of exterior claddings, curved timber work, and curved archways. This style is exemplified in the Milne House I. The home, built for the influential Milne family, features shiplap and board and batten siding, sawtooth bargeboards, scrolled brackets, pilasters, and other decorative elements.

Milne House I, 1980s.

The Milne family could afford such an ornate home because of their successful company, Hillsboro Mills. John Milne built the company from the ground up, constructing all of its machinery himself.

He was also an involved citizen, having served as a City Councilor. He helped to bring modern water and electric services to the City.

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MILNE HOUSE II

CRI #46

510 S 1ST AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1907

The second Milne House in Hillsboro was owned by the daughter of John Milne, Elizabeth. Elizabeth purchased the property in the early 1890s and had the home constructed in 1907. This later Milne House is in the Queen Anne style and features decorative elements including fish-scale shingles, spindle work, and Doric columns.

At the time of construction, the Milnes’ company, Hillsboro Mills, was only a few blocks away on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Shortly after the construction of Milne House II, Mr. Milne retired from the mill business and set out with Elizabeth on the trip of a lifetime. Over three years, the fatherdaughter duo travelled around the world, venturing to several locations Mr. Milne had visited before his immigration from Scotland to Hillsboro in 1870.

After the trip, Mr. Milne fell ill and moved into the newly constructed house with Elizabeth, who supported herself and her father by taking in boarders at the home.

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Milne House II, 1980s.

MORGAN AND BAILEY BUILDING

CRI #19

203 E MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1890 The Morgan and Bailey Building, a two-story brick and stucco commercial building, is the most ornate 19th century brick building remaining in Hillsboro. It features architectural elements like arched brick bays, stained glass transom lights, and brick pilasters. Historically the building also featured an intricate iron cornice visible in the historic image below. When the newly constructed building opened in 1892 it housed a printing office, a dry goods store, and a drugstore.

The owners of the building, Dr. F.A. Bailey and John J. Morgan, were both prominent figures in Hillsboro.

J.J. Morgan was a railroad agent and warehouse operator who speculated on the growth of the city. Dr. Bailey opened the City’s first pharmacy in 1873 and served three terms as mayor of Hillsboro.

The Morgan and Bailey Building in the 1920s.

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PIONEER CEMETERY

CRI #78

1601 SW BASELINE ST. | CIRCA 1851 2019 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient Pioneer Cemetery, located along Southwest Baseline Street, is the final resting place of some of Hillsboro’s early settlers. The graves of David Hill (the City’s namesake), former mayor William Hare, and prominent banker John Shute can be found within the cemetery grounds.

In the mid 19th century, the first section of the cemetery was plotted by the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF). The plat was next to the Tongue Estate family cemetery and the Washington County Hospital burial grounds for residents of the county poor farm. The cemetery was expanded by additional IOOF plats and the Masonic Lodge until the 1930s. By the 1950s, the cemetery had fallen into disrepair and an endowment fund was established to maintain it. In 2014, the City adopted a master plan for the cemetery’s continued preservation. Today, visitors can stroll the cemetery grounds and immerse themselves in Hillsboro’s early history.

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Pioneer Cemetery, 1926.

PITTENGER HOUSE

CRI #10

337 NE 2ND AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1905

The Pittenger House is a classic example of the foursquare style popular in the early 20th century. The home is square in plan, has a hipped roof with dormers, and a large front porch with boxed columns — all traits common to the foursquare style.

Mrs. Mary Pittenger is the namesake of the home although she lived at the residence for only a short time.

Mrs. Pittenger was a school teacher and the widow of William Pittenger, a former mayor of Hillsboro and a dry goods merchant. Together they raised their family in Hillsboro.

A dry goods store likely owned by Mr Pittenger, 1880s.

In 1911, Mrs. Pittenger sold the home for $3,000 to an elderly woman who would share the home with the Pittengers’ son, a local dentist.

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RICE-GATES HOUSE

308 SE WALNUT ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1890 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

CRI #43

The Rice-Gates House is the one of the only examples of the Second Empire architectural style in Hillsboro. Second Empire, also known as Baroque or Mansard style, was inspired by French architecture under the reign of Napoleon III. The style was popular in America from the mid to late 1800s and consistently featured design elements including mansard roofs, decorative roof cresting, and intricate ornamentation such as brackets, dentils, and quoins.

The Rice-Gates House is also significant for its association with Harry V. Gates, a railway surveyor and civil engineer who lived in the home between 1903 and 1927. Gates oversaw the construction of over 1,000 miles of railway in Oregon and California and owned and operated the Hillsboro Power and Light Works along with several other plants across Oregon.

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The Rice-Gates House, 1910.

RICHARDSON HOUSE

CRI #4

244 NE 3RD AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1925

The Carnation Milk Company was a large Hillsboro employer during the early 20th century. It began as a small, local company in the 1880s and grew to encompass 13 establishments across the Pacific Northwest by 1920, including a milk condenser plant in south Hillsboro. In 1917, Cornelius T. Richardson was transferred to the Hillsboro plant and remained there until 1957, serving as a manager for 25 years. In 1925, Richardson commissioned the construction of a simple bungalow for himself and his family. Its design featured classic bungalow style elements: deep eaves with purlins and braces, exposed rafters, an exterior brick chimney, and truncated obelisk columns.

Although the Carnation Milk Company plant ceased operations in 1947 when it switched to producing dog and cat food, the Richardson house is a reminder of the importance of the company in Hillsboro’s heritage.

The Carnation Milk Company, 1905.

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SCHULMERICH BUILDING CRI #23 180 E MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1890

In the 1890s, the City of Hillsboro mandated the construction of brick buildings and the Schulmerich Building was one of the first constructed.

Conrad Schulmerich, a German immigrant who proved lucky in the California Gold Rush, financed the construction of the building to house his general store. Conrad and his wife Margaret moved to Hillsboro with their ten children in 1875 and purchased a farm with funds earned through the gold rush. The family established a dairy and slowly expanded their farmstead. Eventually, grain and butter sales enabled the family to live quite comfortably and helped fund construction of the general store.

A year after construction, Conrad retired and his two sons, Edward and George, took over the business. Each son built a home in Hillsboro, both of which are listed in the Cultural Resource Inventory.

The Edward Schulmerich House is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Schulmerich family farm, 1940s.

SEWELL CLAY WORKS

CRI #CR-E

SE CORNER OF EVERGREEN & SEWELL | 1885

The Sewell family was one of Hillsboro’s original pioneering families and occupied a 526-acre Donation Land Claim. Henry and Mary Ann Sewell emigrated from England, settled outside of Hillsboro, and their son James was born and raised on the land claim. After working elsewhere in the state, James returned to Hillsboro to manage the family farm in 1870 after the death of his father. While trying to fix drainage issues, James discovered a significant amount of clay suitable for the production of drainage tiles (essentially clay pipes). Initially, James intended to produce tile for himself but soon realized the opportunity and began manufacturing on a large scale.

The North Pacific Clay Works became the largest producer in Oregon and served national clientele. It is believed the company operated for nearly 20 years and ceased operation upon James’s death in 1913.

The North Pacific Clay Works, c. 1891.

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SHOREY HOUSE

CRI #56

905 E MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1908 2009 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient Listed on the National Register of Historic Places The Shorey House is an excellent example of the vernacular Queen Anne Style in Hillsboro. Built by carpenter Charles Shorey, the home features recognizable Queen Anne elements including diamond and fish scale shingles, turned spindles, and brackets. The house’s location at the confluence of Cornell Road, Baseline Road, Main Street, and Tuality Valley Highway made it the first sight in Hillsboro for travelers coming West.

While the Shorey family was not wealthy, the size and craftsmanship of the home reflected the comfort of the middle class in Hillsboro. Its most visible feature was its large front porch ornamented with spindle work and brackets. The ornamentation visible today was reconstructed from historic photos, restoring some of the home’s lost grandeur. (Reconstruction of historic buildings is recommended only when considerable documentation exists.)

Shorey House, 1908.

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SHUTE BANK BUILDING

CRI #24

276 E MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1911

In 1888, John Shute established the first bank in Washington County, Oregon: the First National Bank of Hillsboro. After being reorganized into two institutions in 1897, Shute’s share became the Shute Savings Bank.

Shute bought a large corner lot on Main Street in 1911 and began construction of a new bank building. Its design was simple but grand, featuring elements inspired by the Chicago School style of architecture made famous by architects like Louis Sullivan. The two-story brick building was symmetrically massed, had large paired windows, a projecting stone cornice, and decorative lions’ heads motifs. Much of this architectural detail remains today.

Immediately after constructing the bank, Shute retired and passed control of the company to his son Arthur.

Unfortunately, the bank did not remain in the family long; in 1933 it was liquidated as a result of the Great Depression.

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The First National Bank of Hillsboro, 1900.

THE MANOR

CRI #75

725 SE 7TH AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1920

In 1920, Dr. Charles Wells Sr. owned an entire block in Hillsboro and constructed upon it one of the finest homes in the City: the Manor.

The large masonry and wood home was craftsman in style with exposed rafter tails, purlins, and wide eaves with brackets. Its first floor was clad in stucco, while the second floor was clad in wood shingle. A large front porch ran the length of the primary façade and featured truncated stone pillars.

Dr. Wells raised his family in the stately home and his son Charles Jr. inherited it after Dr. Wells’s death. The Manor remained in the Wells family for nearly fifty years.

The Manor (Wells House), 1980s.

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TONGUE HOUSE

CRI #63

328 W MAIN ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1909

The Tongue House is a large Craftsman-style bungalow associated with Edmund Tongue, a prominent attorney born and raised in Hillsboro. Tongue attended Hillsboro public schools, the University of Oregon, and Pacific University before passing the bar and becoming District Attorney in 1908.

In 1909, Tongue married Maud Shannon.The couple moved into their newly constructed home, built by H.M. Shannon (possibly a relative of Maud). The house was two full stories and featured wide eaves with brackets, exposed rafter ends, and brick quoins.

Tongue and his wife lived in the house their entire lives and were prominent members of the Hillsboro community.

After their passing, the estate remained in the Tongue family until at least the 1980s. Today, the estate has been adaptively reused as an office building.

Tongue Estate, 1980s.

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WASHINGTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE AND SEQUOIAS

CRI #21

124 NE 2ND AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1927

The Washington County Courthouse is a stately building flanked by historic sequoia trees. Its temple entrance, featuring four Greek columns with curved capitals and lion motifs, projects the site’s significance and association with the law.

Today’s historic courthouse is the fourth iteration: In 1853 a two-story wooden building was built, in 1873 a brick building replaced that, in 1891 the brick building was extensively remodeled, and in 1927 it was replaced by the current building.

The looming sequoias that make Courthouse Square so recognizable were planted on site in 1880 by John Porter, a pioneer nurseryman who gathered the seeds in California during the California Gold Rush.

The sequoias’ location originally served to enhance the main entrance of the 1873 brick courthouse.

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1873 Courthouse building, 1890s.

WASHINGTON COUNTY JAILHOUSE

CRI #62

WASHINGTON CO. MUSEUM| CONSTRUCTED 1853 For 100 years, Washington County’s first courthouse stood at the corner of 4th Avenue and Washington Street in Hillsboro. Built in 1853, the one-room jailhouse was simple and sturdy, featuring hewn logs with tongue and auger joints, a cedar shingled roof, and a solid door of boiler iron.

The jailhouse held County and Territorial prisoners until 1870, when blacksmith Riley Cave and his wife bought it for $75. They lived in it with their newborn son until moving into a house constructed next door. The jailhouse was used as a shed until 1953, when Cave’s daughter sold the property and the new owner donated the jailhouse to the Washington County Historical Society.

After several relocations, the jailhouse sits at the Washington County Museum. Although unassuming, the jailhouse is one of the only remaining examples of log architecture in Oregon dating from the 1850s. It is also a rare example of an existing building from the settlement period of Oregon history.

Jailhouse, 1960s.

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WEHRUNG HOUSE

CRI #33

494 SE WASHINGTON ST. | CONSTRUCTED 1880

2015 Preserving Historic Hillsboro Award Recipient The Wehrung House is a good example of Queen Anne style architecture in Hillsboro. Named for its first owner, Henry Wehrung, the home features classic Queen Anne elements including decorative bracket work, a large wraparound porch, a complexly massed roof, and an asymmetrical façade.

Wehrung was a French immigrant trained in cabinet making, but transitioned to construction after his arrival in Oregon. Wehrung built his home and lived it in with his wife and four children until 1910. In addition to constructing his own home, Wehrung built and operated Hillsboro’s first hotel, the Tualatin Hotel, in 1852. The hotel was a prominent building on Main Street and offered room and board to travelers. The building was demolished in 1919 after Wehrung passed his home to his children.

The Tualatin Hotel, 1909.

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W.W. BARRETT HOUSE 183 SE 6TH AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1912

CRI #30

The W.W. Barrett House illuminates the story of one of Hillsboro’s most notorious residents. The house was built for W.W. Barrett, a well-reputed lawmaker and State Senator. One of Barrett’s three children, William, fell far from the tree and earned the nickname “Diamond Bill” after forging a check to buy a diamond ring for a young woman and landing himself in jail. Bill was charming and good looking and used these traits to swindle women out of their money and belongings.

During a trip abroad Bill stole a $100,000 diamond and pearl necklace from a female acquaintance, then fled to Los Angeles and evaded the police by convincing them the necklace was simply a gift. Between 1920 and 1930, Bill’s whereabouts were a mystery, but rumors circulated he was hiding out in Mexico and begging on the streets of Hollywood. In 1932 the law caught up with Bill and he was placed in a prison cell in Brazil for counterfeiting.

Although the W.W. Barrett House has undergone several renovations and looks quite different from its original design, its association with W.W. Barrett and his notorious son makes it a unique historic landmark.

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ZULA LINKLATER HOUSE

CRI #13

230 NE 2ND AVE. | CONSTRUCTED 1923 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places This simple Mediterranean style home is one of a kind: It is the only residence constructed from concrete during the 1920s in Hillsboro. Built for Zula Linklater, the late wife of Dr. Samuel Linklater, and her six children, the family home was intended to last forever. Dr. Linklater was a prominent resident of the City — a doctor and mayor for one term — until his untimely death in 1914. Fortunately, his wife and children inherited a large estate and lived comfortably after his passing. This estate allowed Mrs. Linklater to finance the construction of a new family home in 1923.

Unique for its time, the home was constructed of horizontally reinforced concrete. The design may have been inspired by a model featured in an early edition of Portland Cement Association’s “Plans for Concrete Houses.”

The home remained in the Linklater family for sixty years and retains its association with the prominent Hillsboro family.

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