| Construciton of the subject building began in 1882, and is located on the donation land claim settled by William Hatchett Vaughan and his family. The Vaughans were the first white people to settle in the Molalla River area, crossing the Oregon Trail by wagon train in 1844. William Vaughan volunteered to fight in the Cayuse War (triggered by the Whitman Massacre, circa 1850) in eastern Washington. Vaughan is listed in the 1870 U.S. Census for Clackamas County as a resident of the Molalla precinct, a 48-year-old farmer from Tennessee. His wife Susan was 37 in 1870; at that time they had seven children, Isom, Virginia, Mary, Viola, Stonewall, Longstreet and Susan.
In 1912, the Vaughan family deeded a portion of the property to Susan Moody, who may have been the former Sarah Vaughan. Eight years later, in 1920, Moody deeded her portion to Allan T. and Roxie Cutting. The remainder of the property was deeded to the Cuttings by Frank W. Vaughan in 1917. In 1924 the Cuttings sold the entire parcel to Maurice Buxton, et al. The Buxton family owned the property until 1974. Maurice Buxton is listed in the 1947 48 Clackamas County Directory as a farmer in the area.
The Vaughan House is a rare example of a high style 19th century building is the Molalla study area. The builder drew inspiration from the Italianate style, which was constructed in Oregon from 1860 until approximately 1900. Few were built in Clackamas County. Twenty four are included on Clackamas County Cultural Resource Inventory, and the vast majority are modest examples of the type.
Salient architectural features of the Vaughan House include the polygonal window bays which flank the exuberant entrance. The polygonal bay windows are enhanced by paneled spandrels below the window openings. The entrance is decorated with a sawtooth motif, chamfered posts and a jigsawn balustrade. The scale and quality of details of the Vaughan House equals that of the Asa Sanders House (See SHPO #1281) and surpasses any only house in the study area. Other notable elements include the pedimented window heads. The paired interior chimneys are also typical of early Oregon architecture.
The house has had some alterations. Double-hung sash windows have been replaced with fixed sash type on the first floor, side elevation. Changes have also occurred on the rear elevation. The garage, which is attached to the side of the house, appears to have been added after the historic period or altered since that time. Despite the alterations to the building it retains sufficient physical integrity to convey its historic character.
The Vaughan House is significant as an example of the architectural style and for its association with William Vaughn, early settler of Oregon.
HISTORIC BACKGROUND
The subject property is located within the larger study area of Molalla Liberal Mulino. Early settlement throughout this area, as well as the rest of rural Clackamas County, was sparse as indicated by the 1845 federal census which lists 704 people in the entire Clackamas district. Clackamas County's rural population was the smallest of any district, with the exception of the Clatsop district. The earliest settler in the Molalla Valley was William Russell who arrived in the early 1840s. Another early land claimant was William Barlow, who settled a 640 acre donation land claim near Russell. The first wagon train arrived in the valley in 1843. It is this date that is generally given for Molalla's initial founding. Early settlers carried out subsistence farming activities coupled with raising livestock. Wheat, supplemented by hay, was the primary "cash" crop, serving as the medium of exchange until 1849. Production of rails, shakes, and timbers were early cottage industries.
Molalla was originally called Four Corners for its alleged location at the intersection of two Native American trails, and because it is centrally located within the Molalla Valley, at what was the intersection of four adjacent donation land claims. The Molalla area remained sparsely settled in the early years. A circa 1850 photograph shows only one house and a few sheds.
In 1853, the Preston Barger family arrived in the area. After fording the Molalla River, they found no stores and only a few settlers. By 1856 the first school was constructed approximately four miles east of Four Corners, and in 1857 Augusta Engle established the first store in the settlement. The earliest known post office, given the name Molalla, was established in 1850, at or near Liberal, four miles north of Four Corners. It was established by Harrison Wright, who settled in the Liberal area in 1844 and operated a ferry across the Molalla River. Wright served as first post master. The post office was discontinued in August 1851. It was reestablished in 1868, operating until 1874. Its exact location of is unknown. The following year it was moved to the present community of Molalla.
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 had a significant impact on the settlers in the Oregon Territory and in Clackamas County. Within one year after the discovery of gold, Oregon was transformed from a subsistence level of agricultural activity to a major supplier of goods to miners in California. During this period agriculture expanded to include horticulture, dairying, increased livestock raising and more. Gold fever struck the Molalla River basin in the late 19th century. Although gold was initially discovered in the area in the 1860s, lack of confidence and capital delayed exploration for a number of years. By the mid 1880s, however, several new discoveries led to the proliferation of claims along the Molalla River. This flurry of mining activity brought increasing numbers of people to Molalla, which was reflected in numerous developments in the early years of the 20th century. In 1900, the Molalla Public Library was founded, reportedly the oldest continuous library in the County (not confirmed at this writing). In 1903, the first phone line was installed at Robbins Store, at the corner of Main and Molalla Avenue. In 1906, the community's first jail was constructed, and in 1911 Frank Perry constructed Molalla's first hotel, along with his livery stable and saloon.
In 1913, the Molalla Pioneer, a weekly newspaper, was started, and it heralded the coming of one of the most momentous events in the community's history: the arrival of the railroad. Equipped with steam trains, the Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railway ran its first train from Canby, on the main line of Southern Pacific, to Molalla. Although Molalla was the shipping center for agricultural and manufacturing products, up to this point all transportation was by wagon. The coming of the railroad provided a significant boost to the town's prominence as a distribution center and allowed for increased volume of goods both to and from the area. With the celebration of the coming of the railroad in 1913, a large rodeo was organized which became an annual event. Called the Molalla Buckeroo, the rodeo continues to draw crowds to the city each year.
Molalla was incorporated in 1913 with a population of 240. W.T. Everhart was elected mayor with W. Robbins, W.T. Echerd, I.M. Toliver, A.T. Shoemake, W.M. Mackrell and Fred M. Henriksen as the City's first council people. That same year also brought construction of a new school, housing both primary and secondary pupils. The school opened in 1914. By 1916, the town's population had reached 600. Electrical lights were installed the previous year, and in 1917, the first street in Molalla was paved, followed soon after by paved sidewalks. The first automobiles appeared in Molalla during the teen years, and in 1920, gas was still transported to the area in single railcar loads. Drivers were asked to bring a container to get their supply, or if lacking a container, bring the vehicle.
The timber industry burgeoned during the early decades of the 20th century. The Southern Pacific Railroad reported shipment figures that doubled between 1919 and 1920. One report indicated that if railroad cars were available to transport the amount of timber ready for cutting, business could be tripled. Changes in transportation and industry during the teens and twenties had a tremendous impact on the growth and development of the area. It was during this period that many of the historic buildings included in this Inventory were constructed. In 1921 the population of Molalla was approximately 500. The town boasted its own bank, two churches, a weekly newspaper, two garages, several sawmills and various stores, which offered hardware, imports, drugs, automobiles, notions, paint, furniture, general merchandise, feed, warehousing, meats and lumber to the community. Two physicians and one dentist were in residence.
Throughout the 19th century the Willamette Valley was the center of Oregon agriculture, producing primarily wheat as an export crop and a variety of secondary crops. Farmers in the Molalla River Valley followed much the same pattern; however, by the turn of the century, wheat farmers were experiencing serious soil depletion due to poor farming practices. As a result much of the wheat acreage was turned over to other crops. The most significant of these in the Molalla area was teasel: Teasel deserves special mention...During the late 1880s and early 1890s at least one farmer successfully raised teasel...Clackamas County was the only center of teasel production west of the Mississippi and one of the few areas of cultivation outside of New York and Pennsylvania (Olsen 1970:160). |
