Oregon City #2: Francis Ermatinger House

619 Sixth Street

Francis Ermatinger House on August 19, 2006

The Ermatinger House was built in 1845. It features Federal style architecture, and is the oldest home in Oregon City. It was in this house that the city of Portland got its name. The two largest landowners in what would become Portland were Asa L. Lovejoy and Francis W. Pettygrove. At a dinner party at the Ermatinger home, they decided to combine their land claims into a single city. They just had to settle on a name for the new town. Lovejoy was originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and so wanted to name it Boston, while Pettygrove was from Portland, Maine, and wanted to name it Portland. They decided to flip a coin to settle the matter, and Pettygrove won two of the three tosses, thus the city was named Portland.

Francis Ermatinger House Plaque on August 19, 2006

The Ermatinger house was originally located near Willamette Falls, however it, like several other houses, was threatened by industrial development along the river. In 1910, the house was moved to the upper part of town and placed at the corner of 11th and Center Streets. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 27, 1977. In 1986, the house was moved again, to its current location at 6th and John Adams. The Ermatinger house is maintained as a museum with appropriate furnishings for the period.

Continue to 3: Dr. John McLoughlin House…