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Oregon Historic Sites Database

address: ADDRESS RESTRICTED historic name:Lamson Ranch
ADDRESS RESTRICTED, Yamhill County current/other names:Lamson Farm House and Barn Lamson, Jeremiah & Helen, Farm House
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr:S Side twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:6S 7W 2
resource type:Building height (stories):1.5 total elig resources:6 total inelig resources:4
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:c.1883 second date:c.1850 date indiv listed:07/09/2013
primary orig use: Single Dwelling orig use comments:
second orig use:
primary style: Gothic Revival prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Horizontal Board siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: architect:William Parker, attributed
builder:
comments/notes:
Barn reportedly built in 1850 and used in the 1850s to provide services to the military at nearby Fort Yamhill. Address restricted: See file for physical address
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
Farmstead/Cluster Name:Lamson Ranch
NR date listed: 07/09/2013
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date:
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The Lamson Ranch is located at (REDACTED), about one mile west of the Yamhill County town of (REDACTED). Sited on a knoll overlooking (REDACTED) and open grass fields to the east and north, the residence and agricultural buildings are arranged in an irregular pattern on a slight north- and east-facing slope with mature Douglas fir forest and scattered remnant fruit trees to the south, east and west. The nominated area is comprised of a little more than eight acres that includes six contributing features: a circa-1850 hewn-frame barn and its adjacent wood frame silo of circa 1915 vintage; the 1880-1883 box-constructed, Gothic Revival main residence; a pre-1880 worker residence formerly used as a wash house; an undated outhouse and an historic orchard remnant. This extant collection of buildings and features spanning over half a century is an increasingly rare representation of a long continuum of agricultural development and use in the Willamette Valley. The four non-contributing buildings include a garage, woodshed, and pump house all dating to the mid-twentieth century (post-World War II), and a modern storage shed. None of the non-contributing features detract from the overall character of the site, and all contributing features retain sufficient integrity to convey their period of construction and historic function. Of particular note are the house and barn. The house is largely intact, showing few alterations since about 1930. The barn retains good integrity of location, materials, setting, workmanship, feeling and association. In the area of design it is compromised by deterioration of the south wall and sheds, though it still successfully conveys its original period of significance, function and workmanship through the remaining structure. Overall, the farmstead constitutes a group of buildings of various ages joined by a common historical context and function, which in aggregate illustrates the evolution of a settlement-period Willamette Valley farm from the 1850s to the mid-twentieth century.
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The Lamson Ranch is locally significant under National Register Criterion A in the areas of Exploration/Settlement and Agriculture, and under Criterion C in the area of Architecture. Under Criterion A, the ranch has significant associations with early Yamhill County, Oregon settlement and agricultural pursuits extending into the twentieth century. The Lamson family was among the earliest settlers in this part of the Willamette Valley, and developed a successful ranching operation in addition to participating in local and territorial government activities. They were peripherally associated with the establishment and maintenance of nearby Fort Yamhill and had business dealings both with the Fort and with the Grand Ronde Agency, although that is not a main focus of this nomination. The remaining ranch buildings, specifically the house and barn, are significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as excellent and now-rare examples of their respective types. The circa-1850 barn is an extremely rare surviving example from the settlement-era, which at the time of its construction was one of the largest barns in the Willamette Valley. The 1880-1883 Gothic Revival residence, the third dwelling on the property, is a virtually intact example of the rural Oregon interpretation of that style, retaining many exterior and interior features from the period of its construction. The period of significance for the ranch, circa 1850 to 1942, corresponds to the Lamson’s late summer 1848 arrival to this property, and the subsequent occupation and growth of the ranching enterprise by both Jeremiah and Helen’s family and later their son, Edward Francis Lamson and his family. The six contributing features include the circa-1850 barn and adjacent silo, the early 1880s main residence, the smaller pre-1880 secondary residence, a historic outhouse, and a remnant orchard of three large fruit trees. The site of the original log cabin is also believed to be in close proximity to the barn (and within the nominated area), but the exact location has yet to be determined. Non-contributing features, all of which date to the years following World War II, do not detract from the group’s overall character, appearance or significance. In aggregate, the grouping retains a high degree of integrity in all areas (location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association), allowing it to convey its story of development and use over a period of more than eighty years. The Lamson Ranch was initially settled in 1848 by Jeremiah and Helen Hawks Lamson, and has been continuously owned and occupied by family members since. Buildings and features on the property are representative of the period of significance encompassing the first two generations of ownership and agricultural pursuits on the land, from 1848 to 1942. The ranch is eligible for listing in the National Register in the areas of Exploration/Settlement, Agriculture and Architecture. In the area of Exploration/Settlement, the property represents one of the earliest established farmsteads remaining in Yamhill County. Arriving in the late summer of 1848, the Lamsons were among the first Euro-Americans to settle permanently in the county, and Jeremiah was involved in early political activities at both the local and territorial levels. The Lamson children were fully engaged in early Oregon’s opportunities and challenges, attending and excelling in their educations locally and at the Oregon Institute in Salem, witnessing the strife between native people and the settlers, and working on the ranch, helping to perpetuate the success initiated by their parents. The family was also engaged with the military at the newly-established Fort Yamhill during the 1850s and 1860s. In the area of Agriculture, the Lamson Ranch is of note locally as the core of the Lamson’s once-considerable land holdings, on which they successfully grew hay and raised livestock for over ninety years. Jeremiah Lamson applied his experience as a merchant to his ranching activities, and in addition to his success selling dairy products and beef, he obtained contracts with the military and the Grand Ronde Agency to provide them with beef and oxen. Jeremiah and Helen’s son Edward, who took over the management of the ranch in the early 1870s, was well-known and respected for his knowledge and success in the realm of raising livestock. The Lamson Ranch, encompassing over 2,000 acres for at least fifty years, was prominent in this part of Yamhill County in acreage and breadth of the operations during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The land continues to be used for agricultural purposes today. Architecturally, the Lamson house and barn are each exemplars of their respective periods and types. The circa-1850 barn is perhaps the oldest building of its type in Yamhill County. Retaining an unusual amount of original 1850s material, the building is also unique in design and was at one time among the largest barns of its type and age known in the Willamette Valley. The 1880-1883 residence is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style, retaining high exterior integrity, and exceptional interior character. Collectively, the farm group represents an early settlement site that illustrates the changes - through both attrition and additions - that occur over time as needs dictate, reflecting the evolution of farm groups through two centuries (now three) and multiple generations of agricultural use.
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society: Other Respository:
Bibliography:
Brown, Charlene. “(REDACTED) (city),” Oregon Encyclopaedia Entry. Copyright 2008-2012. http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/(REDACTED)_city_/ Cawley, Martinus. Father Crockett of Grand Ronde: Adrien-Joseph Croquet, 1818-1902, Oregon Indian missionary, 1860-1898: a life in honor of the 125th anniversary of his arrival. Lafayette, Oregon: Guadalupe Translations, 1985. Clark, Rosalind. Oregon Style: Architecture from 1840 to the 1950s. Portland, Oregon: Professional Book Center, Inc., 1983. Dole, Philip. ”Farmhouses and Barns of the Willamette Valley,” in Space, Style and Structure: Building in Northwest America. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 1974. “Farmhouse and Barn in Early Lane County,” Lane County Historian 10:2 (August 1965). Dole Philip and Gregg Olson. Fort Yamhill: The Building Program and the Officers’ Quarters. Circa 2002. Draft document on file with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. Forsythe, Warren. “1847 Oregon Trail Emigrant Families,” researched from the Frances W. Milne files in 1980. Accessed July 2012. Gallagher, Mary et al., “Historic Context Statement: The Barns of Linn County, Oregon, 1845-1945.” Albany, Oregon: Linn County Planning Department, 1997. Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Genealogical Material in Oregon Donation Land Claims. Portland, Oregon: Genealogical Forum of Oregon, 1957. Genealogical Material in Oregon Provisional Land Claims, Abstracted from Volumes I-VIII, 1845-1849 Portland, Oregon: Genealogical Forum of Portland, 1982. Hines, Rev. H.K. “Cyrus Buell,” An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1893. Lamson, William J. Descendants of William Lamson of Ipswich, Mass. 1634-1917. New York: Tomas A. Wright Printer and Publisher, 1917. Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, Belchertown (Mass.), 1765-1893, page 342. Accessed via Ancestry.com, Ancestry page 314. McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur. “(REDACTED)” in Oregon Geographic Names, Seventh Edition. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2003. McClintock, Thomas C. “Henderson Luelling, Seth Lewelling and the Birth of the Pacific Coast Fruit Industry,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 2 (June 1967). McKern, Elery. Personal communication with author, September 2012. (Mr. McKern married one of Edward Delgrado Lamson’s daughters, LoDell.) McPherson, James M. and Patricia R. McPherson. Lamson of the Gettysburg: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Historic Sites Database Accessed July and October 2012. Oregon State Archives, Salem, Oregon. Oregon Historical County County Records Guide (online), “Yamhill County History.” Oregon Provisional Land Claim Records, “Jeremiah Lamson,” Clatsop and Yamhill Counties Tax Roll, 1853, Yamhill County, Oregon Territory, Case Number (REDACTED) Tax Roll, 1855, Yamhill County, Oregon Territory, Case Number (REDACTED) Tax Roll, 1857, Yamhill County, Oregon Territory, Case Number (REDACTED) Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley. Chicago, Ill: Chapman Publishing Company, 1903. Rockwood, E. Ruth. “Diary of Rev. George H. Atkinson, D.D. 1847-1858 (Part II),” Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol 40, No. 2 (June 1939), pp 168-187. Sands, Francis P.B. “The Brilliant Career of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy,” War Papers Number 76, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. (Read at the State Meeting of January 6, 1909). http://www23.us.archive.org/details/brilliantcareero00sand Spalding, J.L. & Co. Commercial and statistical review of the city of Burlington, Iowa... Des Moines, Iowa: J.L. Spalding & Co., 1882. Summers, Reverend R.W. (Martinus Cawley, ed.). Indian Journal of Rev. R.W. Summers: first Episcopal priest of Seattle (1871-73) and of McMinnville (1873-81). Lafayette, Oregon: Guadalupe Translations, 1994. United States Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1840-1940. Accessed April and July, 2012. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis Oregon. “History of Fruit Growing in the Pacific Northwest, Henderson Luelling and Seth Lewelling,” 2002. Accessed April 2013. United States General Land Office. Survey maps, (REDACTED) Surveyor notes, “Jeremiah Lamson Survey of Claim,” 1856. Western Historical Company (publishers). The History of Des Moines County, Iowa… Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. (REDACTED) Historical Museum, (REDACTED), Oregon Barber, Myrtle, “Lamson Family History,” unpublished narrative. Genealogical Files, “Jeremiah Lamson” Lamson Family Notebook, Volume 1. Lamson Land Abstract collection, “History of Jeremiah Lamson Lands, 1848 Forward, Property of Keith Lamson.” Williams, George H. “Political History of Oregon from 1853 to 1865,” The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1901), pp. 1-35. Yocom, O.C. Interview with author. November 2, 2012. (Great-great-grandson of Jeremiah Lamson) Yocom, Traci L. Personal communication with author, October-November, 2012. (Great-great-great-granddaughter of Jeremiah Lamson.) Newspapers Burlington Daily Hawkeye. “Death of Jeremiah Lamson.” November 27, 1879, page 4. McMinnville Daily News-Register, “Ancient Structure Being Preserved.” April 1, 1954, page 1. Oregon Spectator, “The Immigration.” September 30, 1847, page 2. Portland Oregonian “Another Pioneer Gone.” November 24, 1892, p 8 “Edward F. Lamson,” September 26, 1929, page 14. “Yamhill Journal of 1850s Found.” April 26, 1937, page 4. Helen A. Lamson Obituary, August 20, 1942.