| This infromation is based on the 2016 Lake Oswego ILS:
The George Rogers House is located at 59 Wilbur Street in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Originally built in 1929 in the Old Town neighborhood, this house has retained excellent integrity and has become a prime example of Mediterranean style dwellings that were common throughout the United States from 1890-1955. In addition to its architectural distinction, it is also associated with George Rogers who is known for his contribution to Oswego through his grocery store enterprise. For these reason, the George Rogers House is significant under Criterion C for its architecture and Criterion B for its association with the lives of persons significant in Oswego’s past.
The Rogers House sits on land originally owned by Albert Alonzo Durham as part of his 640-acre Donation Land Claim. After having arriving in Oregon in 1847, Albert and Miranda Durham platted a town site and named it Oswego three years later in 1850 (McArthur 273). Early development of Oswego revolved around the Old Town neighborhood, where the Durhams built their home. In 1855, the Durhams started to sell their 640-acre Donation Land Claim for the sum of $20,900 (Lake Oswego Preservation Society “1850 Oswego”). Those who purchased this land were the Missionary Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church and John Corse Trullinger who filed the official plat of Oswego and named the streets to honor the iron industry investors in 1867” (Lake Oswego Preservation Society “1850 Oswego”). Around this time and after the construction of the Oregon Iron Company furnace, this neighborhood began to resemble a company town, complete with hotels, boarding houses, and homes. Years later, “the Oswego Iron Company incorporated to produce pig iron in 1878. The Oswego Iron Company underwent further reorganization and changed ownership in 1882 and became known as the Oregon Iron & Steel Company. By 1894 production of pig iron ceased and the company began to change its business from iron production to development of the 24,000 acres it owned in and around Oswego Lake, known at that time Sucker Lake” (Passchier 4). By 1888 the population of this neighborhood shifted to others such as Oswego’s third neighborhood, First Addition.
George Rogers was “born in the City of Camanario on Madeira Island, Portugal in 1888 and emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. He arrived in the United States via South American landing in New York City. He subsequently continued traveling up to Boston where he obtained training as a cook and worked at Wellesley College form 1908-1909. In 1911 he moved to Oregon and opened a restaurant in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland which remained in business for a very short time. He then obtained employment at the Glenmmorie farm located near Lake Oswego and was owned by Fred Morey” (Grimala 18).
Years later after marrying Lottie Smoke in 1914, “George and Lottie Rogers purchased a farm in Sherwood where they lived until 1915 and then moved back to the Glenmorrie farm for a short time before moving to Wilbur Street, Oswego” where he “eventually purchased a modest cottage located at 59 Wilbur Street, Oswego and opened a grocery store in Oswego, Oregon in 1923. Lottie Rogers stated in an oral interview completed in 1977 that ‘Mr. Rogers had a lot of vision and had he had a little more we could have had half of Oswego at that time’” (Grimala 19). The cottage “served as their residence until 1929 when they moved into their new house designed by Van Evera Bailey and located on the same lot ” (Grimala 19). George Rogers paid $9,000 for the house and lived in it until his death in 1961.
According to Lottie Rogers, “our house on Wilber Street is built from brick from the second old furnace, or whatever was down by the cement plant before it was torn down. And Mr. Rogers also was in the stone business and picked up all the rocks around Oswego, sold them in different places. That’s what our house is built of. The bottom part of stone and the upper story is brick form the old furnace (Lake Oswego Public Library 208).
“The Rogers family chose to open their store during a particularly robust economic period for Oswego, Oregon. Much of this prosperity can [be] traced to Paul Murphy prominent Portland developer and capitalist.” Their grocery store was “located at the corner of State Street and B Avenue in Oswego, Oregon. It proved to be so successful that less than two years later they were able to purchase a corner block and build a new store at 402 North State Street, Oswego, Oregon. Rogers chose the northwest comer of A Street and State Street for his commercial building which was well within the emerging downtown business district of Oswego, Oregon” (Grimala 19).
Today, the house continues to reflect many of the character-defining features associated with Mediterranean style dwellings common during its time of construction. These features include widely overhanging opened eaves, red tile roof covering, and asymmetrical forms. Currently, the George Rogers House retains excellent historic integrity, as it continues to embody many of the Mediterranean style characteristics used during its time of construction, making it a prime example of its style and type. The design of Lakewood School is attributed to the work of Van Evera Bailey.
Born in La Grande, Oregon in 1903, this native of Oregon is considered one of the leaders in developing the Northwest Regional Style. Prior to become a trendsetting architect, Bailey was a draftsman in Portland, Oregon where he first worked on the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company building in 1923. Later that year, Bailey began a pattern of working for multiple architects such as Otis J. Fitch, N. Torbitt in 1925, Wayland & Fennell in 1926, and John Maloney in 1927. After years of working for different architects throughout the Pacific Northwest, taking time to travel, and moving abroad, Bailey finally obtained his architects license in 1932. Once a certified architect, Bailey continued to find himself working for others, while at the same time crafting his own style, which is expressed in his collaborative work with Richard Neutra on the Jan De Graaf House in 1940. In the late 1940s and 50s, Bailey started to define his style even further with others such as Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon, who are also noted for their contributions to the Northwest Regional Style. After years of designing houses throughout the greater Portland area and receiving national attention, James Van Evera Bailey died in 1980, at the age of 77. Notable works by Bailey include the Jon De Graaf House, the David Erye House, and the L.H. Hoffman House (Ritz 18-20). Additionally, Bailey is known for his contribution to the Northwest Regional Style through innovative design techniques such as laminated roofs, large plate-glass windows, stilt-type construction (Svenson), and sliding glass doors in wood frames (Ritz 19).
Overall, the George Rogers House is significant in the areas of architecture and community planning/commerce. Based upon its retention of its historic integrity it has been listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 making it eligible as a contributing resource in a historic district. |
