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Inventory Document
NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:501 S Park St historic name:Wennerberg, John B., Barn
Carlton, Yamhill County current/other names:
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:building height (stories): total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:c.1895 second date: date indiv listed:06/25/2018
primary orig use: Agric. Outbuilding orig use comments:
second orig use:
primary style: prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Horizontal Board siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: architect:
builder:
comments/notes:
12-16-2015 - HRR response sent. Appears to be eligbile under Criterion A for Agriculture. Site visit in January 2016. DJP
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 06/25/2018
ILS survey date: 12/16/2015
RLS survey date: 12/16/2015
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The John B. Wennerberg Barn is located on tax lots 1 and 2 of Block 21 of J. Wennerberg’s 2nd Addition to Carlton, Yamhill County, Oregon, slightly to the south of Carlton’s downtown in a small residential neighborhood on the city’s margin. The barn is the only contributing resource within the nomination boundary and is currently not in use. John B. Wennerberg built the three-aisled, end-opening (“New England” or “Dutch” style) barn c. 1895 to be used for hay storage and housing livestock. The barn’s timber framed post and beam structural system appears to be completely intact and much of the historic drop siding on the exterior remains along with a number of historic doors. The barn’s interior is divided between its ground-level, comprised of three separate enclosed aisles, and a voluminous second-level hayloft. Alterations within the interior include, the addition of two partial walls within the central aisle of the barn on the ground-level and the construction of an enclosed three-room structure in the second-level hayloft designed as office space. The changes to the exterior include the addition of a vinyl window on the east elevation and the replacement of a portion of cladding on the west elevation with transparent plastic paneling to create a fixed window. Despite these interior and exterior alterations, the Wennerberg Barn retains integrity and the alterations that occurred are arguably reversible.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The John B. Wennerberg Barn is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as locally significant under Criterion A in the area of Agriculture, for its associations with late 19th and early 20th century commercial agricultural practices in Yamhill County, Oregon. The Wennerberg Barn’s period of significance 1895-1936 represents the completion of the shift in Yamhill County’s agricultural practices from homesteading and subsistence farming to larger-scale commercial agriculture at the end of the 19th century and reflects the barn’s use over a 41-year period by two distinct commercial farming operations. Built by John Wennerberg c. 1895, the Wennerberg Barn was first used a part of his commercial farm south of Carlton. This period of use ends with the sale of the Wennerberg Barn and the surrounding property to Adelbert Brooks’ Carlton Nursery Company in 1919. Though alterations to the barn over time have obscured evidence of Wennerberg’s use of the barn as part of his commercial farming operation, the barn’s architecture and Wennerberg’s letters to his brother Daniel suggest a traditional agricultural use. The three-aisled, end-opening barn’s design, as well as the remnant notches in the crossbeams and posts of the ground-level aisles (described in Section 7) convey the Barn’s use for housing livestock and storing grain. The voluminous second-level hayloft was clearly designed for storing hay, and the existence of a high central beam suggests the use of a mechanical hayfork during Wennerberg’s period of ownership. In addition to this remaining physical evidence, letters sent from Wennerberg to his younger brother Daniel detail the older Wennerberg brother’s farming operations in Carlton. The letters suggest that John Wennerberg farmed hay for sale in addition to growing grains such as wheat, barley and oats, and raising hogs and sheep. The second farming operation to use the Wennerberg Barn was the Carlton Nursery Company (1919-1936). The Company used the building as a warehouse and distribution center for its horticultural products while they operated in northern Yamhill County. This second period of use begins with Brooks’ purchase of the property and ends when the Company moved its growing and shipping operations to Forest Grove, Washington County, OR in 1936. Following Wennerberg’s death in 1918, the property was purchased by Adelbert D. Brooks, who along with his brother Frank, owned and operated the Carlton Nursery Company. In 1919, the Carlton Nursery moved its packing and shipping operations from a nearby warehouse on Pine Street to the Wennerberg Barn. The barn was used until 1936 as the Carlton Nursery’s packing and distribution center for the stock grown on the Company’s primary nursery to the east of Carlton near Lafayette. These years were significant to the Carlton Nursery Company as it grew from a state and regional distributor of a variety of agricultural and horticultural products to a company that sold its products to markets nationwide.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
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:
Yamhill County Deed Records Tax lot 1 and 2 of John B. Wennerberg’s 2nd Addition to Carlton Roscoe E. Hibler to John B. Wennerberg. November 13, 1889. 22/290. John B. Wennerberg, Estate by Executor to A.D. Brooks. July 7, 1919. 78/25-26. A.D. Brooks Et. Ux. to Frank Brooks. September 25, 1922. 86/444-445. Frank Brooks Et. Ux. to A.D. & Elizabeth Brooks. September 25, 1922. 86/445-446. Elizabeth Brooks, a widow, J.K. Brooks and Marine Brooks, his wife to G.K. McDaniel and Essie V. McDaniel, husband and wife. May 7, 1946. 136/451. Essie McDaniel to Phyllis Miller, Trustee of the Essie McDaniel Trust Under Agreement Dated November 21, 1995. January 2, 1998. File No.: 1032-2553602. Phyllis Miller, Trustee of the Essie McDaniel Trust Under Agreement Dated November 21, 1995. To Phyllis Miller. August 23, 1999. 46/432. Phyllis P. Miller, Trustee of the Phyllis P. Miller Trust Under Agreement Dated September 26, 1996 to Susan Cole. November 17, 2015. 52/296. Tax lot 2100 of Section 20 T3S R4W Yamhill County, Oregon James Kelty to William McCoy, April 2, 1869, I/395. William McCoy to Simeon G. Reed, May 19, 1871, K/553. Simeon G. Reed to Ladd and Reed Company, July 7, 1892, 27-521. Chas E. Ladd et. ux. to W.A. Howe March 1, 1912, 62/413. W.A. Howe to Frank Brown November 14, 1918, 77/114. Tax lot 2300 of Section 20 T3S R4W Yamhill County, Oregon Chas. E. Ladd et. ux. to W.A. Howe, October 11, 1911, 62/105. W.A. Howe to Frank Brown November 14, 1918, 77/114. Tax lot 05600 Block 5 of Original Townsite of Carlton, Yamhill County, Oregon Portland Association of Credit Men, Inc. to the Carlton Rose Nurseries November 13, 1956. 182/598. United States Census Records 1870. Venango, Erie, Pennsylvania. Line 37. 1880. District: 274, Spring Creek, Warren, Pennsylvania. Line 30. 1880. District 0133, Yamhill County, Oregon. Line 19. 1900. District 0164, Carlton, Yamhill County, Oregon. Line 63. 1900. District 169, Lafayette Precinct, Yamhill County, Oregon. Line 72. 1910. District 0286, Carlton Precinct, Carlton City, Yamhill County, Oregon. Line 10. Maps General Land Office Maps State of Oregon, Twp. 3S Rng. 4W, 1852, 1860, 1867. Metsker Atlas Yamhill County Oregon, 1942. Twp. 3S Rng. 4W. US Department of Interior Geological Survey, Topographical Map of Twp. 3S Rng. 4W, 1957. Plat of J. Wennerberg’s Addition to Carlton, September 23, 1905. Plat of Plat of J. Wennerberg’s Second Addition to Carlton, May 22, 1906. Sanborn-Perris Map Company, Sanborn Map of Carlton, December 1893. Sanborn-Perris Map Company, Sanborn Map of Carlton, January 1913, Sheets 1-4. Directories Heald Map & Directory Company Inc. Ownership Directory Northwest Oregon: Comprising Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill Counties. 1915. Johnson Publishing Company. McMinnville-Newberg, Oregon City Directory: Including Yamhill County, 1972. Directories Portland, Oregon City Directory, 1889, 169. Portland, Oregon City Directory, 1890, 163. Portland, Oregon City Directory, 1891, 199. Newspapers The Oregonian, “Carlton Benefactor Dead” April 21, 1918. The Oregonian, “John Wennerberg Passes” April 21, 1918. The Oregonian, “Daniel W. Wennerberg Obituary”, August 25, 1922. Elaine Dahl Rohse, “Carlton Nursery offers quality, quantity Family’s green thumbs keep nursery growing,” News Register, McMinnville, Oregon, April 13, 1981. Letters Letter from Daniel Wennerberg to John B. Wennerberg. Portland, Oregon, December 22, 1877. Personal collection of Karen Atiyeh. Letter from John B. Wennerberg to Daniel Wennerberg. Carlton, Oregon, January 18th 1894. Personal collection of Karen Atiyeh. Excerpts from Letters from John B. Wennerberg to Daniel Wennerberg. January, February, May, and August 1890. Personal collection of Karen Atiyeh. Websites Biodiversity Heritage Library, “Descriptive Price List and Catalogue, Carlton Nursery Company, 1922DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.128222 “John Samuel Brooks,” U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line], https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41229198, accessed (June 29, 2017). Kipp, Curt “Pacific Nursery, Inc.” Digger, January 4, 2017, , accessed (June 29, 2017). McKay, Floyd J. “Alderman Farms,” The Oregon Encyclopedia, June 15, 2015, https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/alderman_farms/#.WXwGc9MrIY1 accessed, (June 30, 2017). Swedish American Heritage Online. accessed (January 13, 2016). Books Barn Plans and Outbuildings. New York City, New York: Orange Judd Company. 1904. Carlton Elementary School Bicentennial Club. Reflections of Carlton. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Lithoprint, 1976. Dole, Philip. “Pioneer Days: Farmhouses and Barns of the Willamette Valley” in Space Style and Structure: Building in Northwest America, Thomas Vaughan, ed. and Virginia Guest Friday, as. ed. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 1974, 78-129. Dole, Philip. “Railroad Era: Farmhouses and Barns of the Willamette Valley” in Space Style and Structure: Building in Northwest America, Thomas Vaughan, ed. and Virginia Guest Friday, as. ed. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society, 1974, 209-240. Nobel, Allen G. and Richard K. Cleek, The Old Barn Book: A Field Guide to North American Barns and Other Farm Structures. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997. Peterson, Martin. The Swedes of Yamhill. Portland, Oregon: Swedish Roots in Oregon. 2002. Peterson, Martin Severin. Courage to Endure: The Story of Early Swedish-American Families in Yamhill County. Unpublished, manuscript provided by John Pope, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Carlton. Manuscript based primarily on letters collected by Martin Severin Peterson. Yamhill County Historical Society, Old Yamhill: The Early History of its Towns and Cities, Lafayette: Oregon, 1976. Other Beckham, Stephen Dow. Inventory Form for Thompson (L.C.) Barn. Salem, OR: State of Oregon Inventory Historic Sites and Buildings, State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon State Parks, March 8, 1976. Carlton Nursery Company, “Descriptive Catalogue and Price List,” 1922. Biodiversity Heritage Library, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.128222 Gallagher, Mary K. National Register of Historic Places, Multiple Property Documentation Form: Barns of Linn County, Oregon, 1846-1946. Albany, Oregon: Linn County Planning Department. 1998. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Bernard Place. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3429/11 I-78, August 1984. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Fenton, James Barn. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3426/45 I-92, September, 1984. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Kelty, James and Priscilla House. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3420/7 I-74, August 10, 1984. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Sitton/Kirk House. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3420/7 I-74, September, 1984. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Westerlook Farm. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3428/26 I-84, August 1984. O’Brien. Inventory Form for Yonderly Farm. Yamhill County Cultural Resources Inventory, Resource No. B3417/58 I-99), September 8, 1984. Speulda-Drews, Lou Ann, and Oregon. State Historic Preservation Office. Oregon's Agricultural Development: A Historic Context, 1811-1940. Salem, Oregon: State Historic Preservation Office, 1989. Oregon Historic Sites Database Reference Form for Wennerberg John B. Barn – Letter from Susan Cole to Oregon State Historic Preservation Office dated December 9, 2015, and Letter from Susan Cole to Oregon State Historic Preservation Office dated December 12, 2015. Phone Interview with Patricia Strahle of McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon, former owner of Carlton Rose Nursery, July 27, 2017.