200 East Fourth Street
Isabella Gray House on October 20, 2009
This American Queen Anne house was built in 1878 as a residential duplex owned by Mrs. Isabella Gray. After her death in 1914, her will stated that a church was to rent her property and to take the income. After a terrible fire burned the church down, the church elders persuaded Mrs. Gray's heirs to rescind that part of the will allowing the house to be sold for funds to build a new church at Fifth and Court Street. It is now Planetree Health Resource Center, a Health and Medical Library of Mid-Columbia Medical Center.
Continue to 23: Caleb Thornbury House…
"From: "Earline Wasser"
ReplyDeleteSubject: Snippets: #257 Harding House The Dalles
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 07:16:47 -0700
Snippets of The Dalles Area Local History
The Dalles Chronicle, April 17, 2005, Page A5
By Rodger Nichols of The Chronicle
Several sharp-eyed history buffs noticed that the building of the far
left in last week's History Mystery photo was the same as the Harding
House that holds the Planetree Library and Resource Center. So the view
on the 1910-era postcard is from the middle of the 200 block of East
Fourth Street, looking west, and the lighter colored building next to
the telephone pole is now occupied by Bank of the West.
J.R., T.H. and J.L. all figured it out, but R.K.V. gets the prize for
the most detailed answer, a three-page (typed) history of the building,
as researched by the late Pat May.
Some highlights: Original owner was Orlando Humason, called "the father
of Wasco County." He was the one who presented the petition to create
Wasco County to the Territorial Legislature in Salem. He also served as
the first Wasco County Judge.
O.S. Savage, a former mayor of The Dalles, also lived there, for a time,
eventually selling the house to Isabella Gray. She owned the house from
1879 to 1914, and left it to the Congregational Church to be used only
to rent out for income.
In January 1935, the Congregational Church burned to the ground, and the
church was able to convince Mrs. Gray's heirs to rescind this part of
the will, and sell the property. The money from the sale was used to
help build the stone church building at Fifth and Court Streets. The
church honored Mrs. Gray by naming a room in the church after her.
[Taken from the History Mystery Photos in The Dalles Chronicle
published every Sunday.]
Permission to reprint given by The Dalles Chronicle
Earline Wasser"