Less is More, Shelton-McMurphy House circa 1895

Here is a photo from the Oregon State Archives of the Shelton McMurph-Johnson house showing again that the original stairs leading to the house were very simple and under stated, not the out of proportion monstrosity being installed now. Too bad something along the lines of the original could not have been constructed and the left over funds used to replicate the wonderful Victorian fence that once surrounded the estate.

Emil Koppe House Then and Now

This is an other Cogswell house, built in 1892 for Clara Cogswell and her husband E.H. Ingram. It is one of the earliest Queen Anne style structures in Eugene and retains much of its original detailing. As can be seen in the early photo the house originally had a smaller porch with Eastlake/Queen Anne detailing. A corresponding side porch on the east side of the house still remains. The larger craftsman style porch was added circa 1910 greatly increasing the visual impact of the house. In later years the house was owned by Emil Koppe who was President of the Eugene Woolen Mills. The original carriage house circa 1895, still stands behind the house and was shared by Emil's son Paul who built the house due east of his parents home in 1926.

Cogswell-Miller House

This house in the Rural Gothic style, mentioned in last Fridays post, was built in early 1884 by John Cogswell for his daughter DeEtta on the corner of 3rd and Pearl at the foot of Skinners Butte, next to the Dr. Thomas Shelton property. DeEtta became ill and died in early 1885 at age 25. Her sister and brother-in-law, Lischen and George M. Miller, purchased the house in August, 1885. George was a brother of Joaquin Miller, famous "Poet of the Sierras". Educated as a lawyer, George also became a real estate developer who became known as the "Prophet of Lane County" He advocated a trans-continental highway from New York to Florence, Oregon; designed a flying machine in 1892; platted the town of Fairmont; and laid out the road to and founded the coastal towns of Acme and Florence. The house was moved by horses, on log rollers in 1909 to its current location, at 246 East 3rd Ave., where it has been beautifully restored, decorated and maintained.

Southern Pacific Depot Looking East

This view of the Southern Pacific Depot was taken circa 1910 and shows one of the large planters that were once placed around the depot grounds. They along with the fountain, rose garden and other plantings were part of depot beautification effort which was popular in the early 20th century. Before auto travel become popular the local railroad station was the first place a traveler would see when they arrived in a town, hence the effort to make it as much of a showplace as possible.

Belshaw-Condon House

The mansard roofed Belshaw-Condon house was built by George Belshaw in 1878 at 148 E. 11th Avenue ( S.W. corner of 11th and High). It is the only example besides Deady and Villard Halls on the University of Oregon campus of the Second Empire style in Eugene. In 1882 the house was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Condon. Condon, a long time geology professor at the University, would live the rest of his life in the charming house. Sometime in the 1880's Dr. Condon added a wing on the right side of the house which added two rooms to the original eight room house. The additional was carefully constructed to match the existing style of the house with mansard roof, dormers and bracketed cornice. The house stayed in the family after Dr. Condon's death and was used as a rental until it was moved to 1268 Jackson (second photo)by a grandson sometime in the 1920's where it stands today. Other than the lose of the original porch and roof-top railing the exterior of the house is basically intact after the removal of non-historic siding circa 2000.

Southern Pacific Depot

Here a large crowd gathers for a now unknown event at the Southern Pacific Train Depot. It was most likely to great some visiting dignitary. The fountain mentioned in last Wednesday's post can be seen in front of the depot on the right. The Shelton-McMurphy House can be seen on the Butte with one of the many warehouse that used to line the tracks, between it and the depot.

A Now Impossible View

It seems that most of the photos taken from the top of Skinners Butte looked out due south over downtown and few early shots included the growing University of Oregon campus to the south-east. Starting at left is the bend of the Willamette River with Villard and Deady Hall in the upper center of the photo. Just below center is the Midgely Mill complex approximately at the far western reaches of the current E.W.E.B. site. In the extreme lower left is the rear of the Cogswell-Miller house of 1884. This house was moved in 1909 to its current location at 246 E. 3rd. In the extreme lower right is the back of the Shelton-McMurphy house. This view would now be impossible as the Ya Po Ha Terrace (along with a heavy stand of huge firs all over the butte) now looms up on the left about where the old Shelton carriage house stood.