John Phillips House is a historic 1853 vernacular Greek Revival[3] house in the Spring Valley area of Polk County, Oregon, United States. It was built for pioneer John Phillips,[3] who came to Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1845.[4] He finished his journey to Oregon on the Meek Cutoff as part of Stephen Meek's "lost wagon train".[4][5]
John Phillips House | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 6565 Spring Valley Rd. NW Salem, Oregon |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Salem, Oregon |
| Built | 1853 |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival[2]/Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001588[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 15, 1976 |
John Phillips, born in 1814, was a native of Wiltshire England who came to the U.S. in 1834 and settled in Florida.[5][6] After living in New Orleans—where he met and married Elizabeth Hibbard in 1839—and St. Louis, he came to Oregon and bought the Turner donation land claim in Polk County for $100.[5][6] The locale was once known as Spring Valley Ranch.[5] John Phillips hired carpenter Samuel Coad to build a house for him there.[7]
Samuel Coad served during the Cayuse War in 1855, and helped construct buildings at Fort Hoskins, including one commissioned by then-Lieutenant Philip Sheridan, which was moved near the community of Pedee.[7][8][9] Also known as the Condron House, the Philip Sheridan House has been returned to the Fort Hoskins site and is being restored.[8] Samuel Coad married the daughter of General Cornelius Gilliam, Henrietta, in 1853.[7] Coad also constructed the woolen mill at Ellendale.[7]
As of 1980, the John Phillips House was the oldest residence in Polk County and was still in the Phillips family.[5] The 1+1⁄2-story house has horizontal wood siding.[10]
The house has a Salem mailing address, but the closest settlement is the unincorporated community of Zena about a mile to the southwest.[5] John Phillips is buried in the Zena Cemetery at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. January 5, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places: Oregon—Polk County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com (mirror site of official NRHP NRIS database: www.nr.nps.gov). Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b "ArchitectDB structure record: Phillips, John, House, Salem, OR". University of Washington Digital Library. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
- ^ a b "Emigrants to Oregon In 1845". oregonpioneers.com. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wirfs, Charlotte L. (1980). "Tour No. 1: Early Settlements of N.E. Polk County". Historically Speaking. IV. Polk County Historical Society: 2.
- ^ a b "John Phillips". The History of the Willamette Valley, Being A Description of the Valley and its Resources, with an account of its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and its Subsequent History; Together with Personal Reminiscences of its Early Pioneers. Chapman Publishing Company. 1903. p. 644. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Samuel Coad". The History of the Willamette Valley, Being A Description of the Valley and its Resources, with an account of its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and its Subsequent History; Together with Personal Reminiscences of its Early Pioneers. Chapman Publishing Company. 1903. p. 520. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b Maxwell, Ben (May 1, 1959). "Group Seeks Hoskins House". Capital Journal. forthoskins.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ Hines, H. K. (1893). An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. p. 677. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ "John Phillips House listing in the Oregon Historic Sites Database". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
External links
edit- John Phillips biographies and obituary from Polk County Pioneer Cemeteries
- Image of Condron House, also built by Samuel Coad, from Salem Public Library