The Old Gates House, Circa 1965, from the McMinnville News-Register
The Old Gates House of Lafayette, Oregon
What's in a name? The oft-quoted answer says that a rose by any other name smells as sweet, but in deciding upon the right name for a house surely one choice may have more pertinence than another.? After all, houses most frequently are named for people who live, or have lived, in them.? And who can deny that different people conceivably might impart some variations to a habitation?s fragrance?
If the house is very old and this one is it is likely that many people have lived in it. Actually, at least a dozen families have made the house at the northeast intersection of Sixth and Jefferson Streets in Lafayette a home since the time it was built in its original form more than 100 years ago, when Oregon was yet a territory and Yamhill County stretched southward all the way to the California boundary.
So many occupants over such a long period (113 years as of this writing in A. D. 1965) provide a wide choice of name possibilities; but rather than apply Shakespeare's indiscriminate dictum of attaching no significant difference to any one over another, an effort has been made to discard most of them and to choose a name that, with good reason, appears apt and meaningful.
Two of the possible choices seem to stand out above the others.
One was the name of Lemuel (or Lem) Scott, who the writer believes first occupied and likely built the house. His name appears on the Yamhill County assessment roll of 1852 as owner of the lots included in the present tract:? lots 1, 2, 5, and a portion of 6, in block 40 of Lafayette.? At the time Mr. Scott owned all of lot 6 and additionally lot 4.? They were assessed variously at $25 to $40.
Of incidental interest were some other assessments: two horses at $175, two cows at $65, and clocks and watches at $100.? The significant item, however, was improvements on land assessed at $500. This surely must have referred to a dwelling house and documents its existence in 1852.
Whether or not it was built before 1852 is not known.? The 1852 assessment roll is the earliest extant record in state archives.
Mr. Scott was a very early pioneer, settling his donation land claim in July of 1848 when he was 27. A member of the noted Scott family?which included Harvey Scott, early and long-time editor of The Oregonian he was born near the line between Kentucky and Illinois in 1821. He married his first wife, Mary Jane, in 1843 before coming west.She died April 9, 1851, and he married his second wife, Julia, some time after selling the Lafayette property in 1859.
The other name of choice for the house originates from a much later occupant and owner, Peter P Gates. Peter grew up in the Lafayette vicinity, and one senses from certain implications of the meager records pertaining to his childhood that his family was disadvantaged by the apparent death of a father and by poor financial circumstances.
Nevertheless, he grew to prominence as a soldier, civic leader, local politician and state legislator. This prominence seems to have rubbed off onto to the house in which he lived for barely five years, for the name Gates has clung to it. The dwelling is generally known in Lafayette by the town's present-day residents as the Old Gates House.
The writer has chosen to follow this consensus and is aware of no label that appears more fitting. Certainly it has been a lasting one, for Mr. Gates has been dead more than 70 years.
So the Old Gates House it is.
From the frequent reference to Peter Gates, or P.P. Gates, found in the historical records pertaining to Lafayette, it can be assumed that he was indeed a most active and prominent person. The very few individuals still living (in 1965) who spent portions of their childhoods in this early community and who knew the Gates family remember Peter as a large, powerfully built and barrel-chested man of imposing presence and great physical vigor.
His physical sturdiness and an apparent aptness for civic leadership were possibly the reasons for his growth as a public figure. Early military service undoubtedly helped to demonstrate his leadership qualities. From a private when he enlisted in the First Oregon Cavalry at the Civil War?s start, he rose in rate and rank to lieutenant by the time of his discharge four years later. A brief account of the incident by his company commander, on D.P. Thompson, when Peter enlisted January 16, 1861, described his as extremely youthful in appearance but armed with a letter of written consent from his father.? Young Gates had left his studies at Willamette University, according to the account, and quickly showed a scholar's curiosity for learning by assiduously studying Hardee's Tactics and poring over it day and night.
Gates soon was made a sergeant, thus causing some jealousy among the older soldiers, and had the rating of a sergeant major when the company in 1864 was ordered on an expedition into far eastern-southeastern Oregon to hunt down and engage renegade bands of Paiute or Snake Indians. He was discharged January 20, 1865.
Some time after resuming civilian life he was elected to the office of sheriff, while Lafayette was still the county seat, and held the office through two terms.
He was the towns postal agent for a time. In 1865 he was listed among incorporators of the Portland and Willamette Valley Railway along with Aaron Meier, W.W. Ladd, J.M. Kelty, Ira Powers, and many other prominent Oregon citizens of that day. The corporation undertook to construct the Dundee-Portland extension subsequently merged into the Southern Pacific system about 1887.
In 1888 he was elected to the office of Yamhill County treasurer; and in 1890 he won election to the Oregon State Senate, in which he represented the county for two sessions of the Legislature. He was a Republican, as one might anticipate from his loyalty to the Union cause during the Civil War period.
Records of his childhood and the period of his early manhood are not abundant.? The U.S. census of 1860 lists him among five persons with his family name and obviously comprising a single household of a presumably widowed mother and four children (although the assumption of widowhood is in conflict with the supposed written consent of his father to which reference has been made in describing Peter Gates army service). The mother, Elizabeth, gave her birthplace as Pennsylvania during 1805, and the children as well were listed as natives of that state. These included Peter, the eldest at 19, Rebecca, a sister 22; and John and James, brothers aged 17 and 15. An obituary appearing in 1894 after Peter Gates' death gave his birthplace more specifically as Huntington County, Pennsylvania, and the date as June 29, 1841. The same source stated he had come to Oregon with his parents at age 11, which possibly could place the family among the many who were part of the great wagon-train migration of 1852. The family settled on Dayton Prairie according to the obituary account.
The plural reference to parents and other mention of an elder Gates would indicate that a father was alive at the time of the family's arrival in Oregon.? One bit of documentary evidence, however, may indicate he died soon afterward.? This is an item among the vital statistics appearing in the weekly Oregonian of January 8, 1853, noting that a Mr. Gates (no first name given) had died of freezing near Dayton, Yamhill County, leaving a wife and children as survivors. He was described as late of Iowa by the item's source, General Joel Palmer, noted Oregon pioneer.
Another implication of the father's death is a listing of the presumed widow, Elizabeth Gates, on the 1858 assessment roll for Yamhill County as solely the owner of personalty with an assessed value of $4.10. The listing carried a notation that she owned no land, and in the column labeled remarks there appeared the statement: ?Two miles north of Lafayette, assumed to be her place of residence at the time. Elizabeth died in 1871 at the age of 65 and lies buried in the Lafayette Masonic cemetery.
In the daily and weekly issues of The Oregonian dated June 24 and 29, 1867, were carried notices that Peter P. Gates, late lieutenant in the First Oregon Infantry (cavalry was probably correct) had been married June 10 to M.L. Mertes near the town of Auburn in Placer County, California, by Judge Pollard. No other reference to this marriage has been discovered. The name Mary Gates, however, appears on the 1870 U.S. census roll taken in the Lafayette precinct. The listing gives her age as 18 and her occupation as keeping house.? The initial M of the name M.L. Mertes could stand for Mary. If she were this person, she would have been only 15 at the time of her marriage; but this was not unusual for girls to marry that young during pioneer days.
Peter Gates was married, what may have been a second time, to Elbertie Olds, a member of a prominent family both in the history of early Lafayette and in the small but burgeoning city of Portland. The marriage took place in 1876 when Peter was 35, but she 18. Tragedy soon ended the marriage when the young bride died from presumed complications following the birth of the couple's first child. Grave inscriptions record the birth of an infant daughter on May 8, 1878, and the baby's death on the same date. Elbertie Gates died twenty days later, May 28, 1878.
Link to Lafayette Masonic Cemetery, with photos of the tombstones.
His next marriage was to Ella J. Hoberg of Lafayette on July 4, 1882. The new Mrs. Gates was the daughter of the Rev. Joseph Hoberg of Lafayette, who performed the ceremony. Three children were born of the marriage:? Chester, the eldest; a daughter, Rebecca; and a second son, Norval. After the accidental death of Mr. Gates in 1894, the widow married D.M. Metzger and subsequently moved with her new husband and family to Dallas, Oregon.
The death of Peter Gates was a tragic one, occurring as the result of a freakish accident while on a hunting trip into the upper Nehalem Valley. While encamped with other members of the hunting party on Gales (or Salmonberry) Creek, a violent windstorm arose and carried away the party's tent.? The cracking of tree limbs as they were broken by the wind, caused the members of the party to take alarm and run for a cleared space; but before reaching it, Mr. Gates was struck and instantly killed by the heavy top of a large tree.
The site of the Gates house is on a portion of the original Joel Perkins donation land claim. Perkins founded Lafayette in 1847, naming it for his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana, and filed the original plat of the new city on December 4, 1849. With the filing, the block immediately to the north was donated to the city as a public park and is still devoted to that purpose, certainly one of the very oldest city parks in Oregon. The blank in property-transfer and assessment records between the time the city play was filed and the early 1850's makes it impossible to be certain just who (but most likely it was Lem Scott) built the house in its original form and precisely when. Old-time Lafayette residents are only hearsay authority for the statement that the house is one of the town's three oldest still standing and that it has been on the present site since the early 1850's or thereabouts.
Fortunately, however, the 1852 Yamhill County assessment roll, to which reference as been made earlier, documents the age of the house as dating at least from that year and its then ownership by Lemuel Scott.
Further investigation may in time establish additional corroboration of age of the premises.? One possibility for doing so exists in the ancient fruit orchard surrounding the house. If disease or other cause necessitates removal of any trees, it is planned to determine their ages by counting the annular rings.? It was customary in pioneer days to plant an orchard immediately after a family succeeded in raising a roof over its head.
Peter Gates purchased the house from A.C. and Jane Martin in December 1889, according to Yamhill County deed records. Prior to then the property had a succession of owners, the earliest of record being Lemuel and Julia H. Scott (his second wife). They sold it June 30, 1859 to Harmon H. Snow and Morris Wolfe. Morris and Iola Wolfe ((web author note, the wolfe's are on the 1860 records, as M. Wolfe--merchant, born in Bavaria, and Iola born in Ohio.) sold their one-half interest to Judge J.W. Cowls ((web author note--I added the judge title, and he was a pioneer member of The McMinnville Christian Church, 1852, and later married to Lucretia Martin) on March 8, 1861; H.H. Snow and Nancy Snow sold theirs to S.C. Adams November 13, 1862.? Adams then bought Cowls? interest on February 9, 1864, and sometime thereafter the title passed to Yamhill County.? The county sold lots 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 (approximately the present tract except lot 4) to Harrison Allison on September 6, 1876.
Link to info on family tree of Harrison Allison, Born 1811)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~familyhistorypages/William_Stennett_Family_History.htm
The Allisons,
husband and wife, transferred the tract plus some farm acreage to Martha E.
Christensen in exchange for an agreement by the latter to provide the Allisons
with a home for their natural lifetimes.
H.H. and Clara Allison ((web author notes--Clarissa Huston Shores Allison))and Martha Christensen sold to A.C. Martin on
November 23, 1888.
Following Peter Gates' death in 1894 the house had another succession of owners. The record shows D.M. and Ella Metzger (the latter Mr. Gates' widow) as sellers in 1903. Other names appearing in the chain of title are Nels S. Brock, until 1906; David S. and Mary L. Stem, 1919; John Houtare, 1927; John B Franklin, 1932; L.W. and Fern Ames, 1934; R.F. and Minnie Warner, 1947; Frank and Edna Billington, 1950; Edward and Esmond Upgard, 1958; Albert P. Millsap and Ella Freeburg Millsap, to present.
Extensive reconstruction accomplished in 1965 now assures that the Peter Gates house will stand stronger and more staunchly than when originally built, possibly good for yet another century. In the late 1850's it was erected, as many houses of that vintage were, on mud sills and joists resting directly on or close to the ground.? The so-called box construction of the house was unlike the framed and studded homes of today.? Walls were formed by wide rough-cut, vertical planks with battens nailed over the cracks between. Later the exterior surface was covered and embellished with horizontal, milled lap siding. Interior wall and ceiling surfaces were finished first with thick foundation paper that in turn was covered with decorative, patterned wallpaper.
The house appears to have been modified in minor ways and enlarged from time to time by various occupants during its more than a century of use. There is evidence that the present dining-kitchen wing was added after the main wing, and some of the former original porch areas were evidently walled in to obtain enclosed spaces for pantry, nook, laundry and interior bath. Inside plumbing (the outside privy stills stands) was ultimately installed, and the coming of electricity in due course stimulated the installation of primitive wiring and light fixtures.
Early in 1965 while occupied by Mr. And Mrs. Albert P. Millsap, a couple in their middle 80's, the dry rot of a century, termites, and settlement combined to seriously weaken the floors and portions of the lower walls. Habitability was affected, and structural collapse threatened.
Under the supervision of Mr. And Mrs. Ralph H. Millsap, Portlanders, a project was started to reconstruct the house extensively while preserving as much of its exterior and basic design as practicable.? The original board-and-batten walls still exist, although strengthened from the inside.? Roof and trim have not been altered.? The foundation, however, is now solid concrete slab.? The walls are studded, insulated and refinished in modern materials. New electrical wiring of adequate capacity for major appliances is installed, including full electric heating,although the old main-wing chimney has been preserved and still vents the smoke of a wood-stoked heater on chilly days.
Rather than striving to accomplish an exact restoration of the old house to its original form, an effort has been made to reconstruct the interior to fully modern standards of utility and comfort, while keeping intact the original character of room arrangement and general exterior appearance. One will note some unavoidable changes in the latter, notably several aluminum frame windows. These have replaced old wooden sash too badly rotted for preservation. The dining room, parlor, and upstairs bedroom windows were found to be fully sound and are still in place.
At this writing it is planned to continue reconstruction to include additional kitchen modernization, renovation of upstairs bedrooms, straightening up a woodshed separate from the main house, and resetting the privy on a better foundation.Roof and chimney repairs also will be required.
A number of persons helped the writer assemble the incidents of Peter P. Gates' lifetime and the facts concerning his house.? Mrs. Barbara Elkins of the Oregon Historical Society's genealogy department was especially helpful, as were friends H.P. Vickrey and John Scott, senior citizens of Portland who spent part of their boyhoods in Lafayette and knew the Gates family. Phil Bladine, McMinnville publisher, steered us to some early items from his morgue; and the McMinnville branch of Title and Trust Company, through Alex M. Hamilton, Jr., provided early chain-of-title information. David Duniway, Oregon State archivist, offered some suggestions that proved highly productive. Mrs. Helene Etheredge, Portland General Electric Company librarian, dug out some good references, as did attendants at the Multnomah County and State libraries. Ella Freeburg Millsap gathered some notes from a number of Lafayette sources. The assistance of all is acknowledged thankfully.
Ralph H. Millsap
June 3, 1965
Revised August 18, 1965
Albert Millsap (born December 28, 1879) passed away in October, 1971, following the death of his wife, Ella, a short time earlier.
Link to Photos of their tombstones at Fairview Cemetery.
Linn County Fairview Cemetery, where they are buried. Ella listed death as 1966.
Ron and Linda Johnson, both native-born Oregonians, purchased the house in January 1972 from Ralph (B 7-29-06, D 9-12-95) and Mary Ellen Millsap (born 2/28/1911, died 11/6/1988) (both Ralph and Mary Ellen buried Willamette Nat. Cem.), through Elijah Ramsey (born 5/26/21, died 8/28/91, buried in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon) of Lafayette Real Estate. Ron worked as a Civil Engineering Technician for the Bureau of Reclamation construction office in Forest Grove, Oregon, and Linda provided child care in the home. They lived in the house with their son until November 1976, when Ron was transferred by Reclamation to Grand Junction, Colorado. The house was then rented to Dan and Francis Heimlich, until July 1984. At that time, Homer and Margie Logan, Linda's parents, moved into the house, and have lived there until the present time.
From January 1972 to present, the following improvements were made: wood fence was installed around the lot and insulation added to the dining/kitchen area attic (1974), a new 30-year fiberglass shingle roof was installed over the dining/kitchen area (1983), new kitchen and bathroom cabinets and sink installed (1985), back porch repaired (1986), upstairs bedrooms remodeled with electrical outlets and light switches (1988), and new 30-year fiberglass shingle roof installed over the living room/bedroom area (1990).
The Gates House continues to receive loving care and appreciation for its value as a historic structure and as a comfortable home.
Ronald Johnson
November 12, 1988
Revised September 29, 1995
Grand Junction, Colorado
In April of 1996, my grandparents, Homer and Margie Logan moved to a retirement center in McMinnville, Oregon.
In May, I moved back to Lafayette, with my wife and our children.
During the next few years my father had a few things improved: the upstairs bedroom windows were replaced with double-paned vinyl windows, as were the kitchen south-facing window, the bathroom window, and the living room windows.
We also added attic insulation on the east side of the upstairs bedrooms, and my Dad installed attic vents in both of the attic sections.
We also had a wood stove installed in the parlor.
Tamara and I also converted the bathtub into a tub/shower. And, more importantly, we built a wall and door between the master bedroom and the single bathroom. Yes, for all those years, the bathroom could only be accessed by entering the master bedroom. During the time I lived there with my parents, my Dad added a curtain...and this continued during the time of the Heimlich's, and when my grandparents lived there, and it was the Logan family gathering place. Yes, quite inconvenient to go into the master bedroom to use the facility. Building that wall and door greatly improved our home life, having five of us living there.
Our family continues to enjoy living in this historic and comfortable home.
June 1st, 2002
October 31, 2004 Update
In July of 2003 our family purchased our own home and moved away.
However, I continued to rent The Gates House from my parents as an office for my work.
In June of this year, after remodeling our new home, I moved my office there.
In July my parents rented the Gates House to another family.
They remodeled the upstairs bedrooms with knotty-pine wood panelling.
In September they cut down and pulled out all of the old rose bushes along the front of the house that had been planted by the Millsaps.
They also cut down the old dead cherry tree in the back yard--"The Crow's Nest".
It was only the stump and two large branch extensions each about 8 feet high, but it was part of the yard.
To quote David Bowie, "Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!"
June 10,2006 Update
In 2005, I was contacted by a descendant of Peter Paul Gates, who then returned to visit, bringing her aged aunt, who had memories of the Gates House
This relative said that the accidental death of Peter Gates had been questioned, and there was a mystery around it, and there may have been foul play, due to his elected duties.
In January of 2006, the house became vacant, and my parents returned to live there for several weeks of remodeling, including completely new plumbing and heaters in the upstairs bedrooms.
The house was listed with a real estate agent for $189,500. It generated some interest, and was featured in an Oregonian newspaper article on extreme home listings in Oregon (being the oldest listed house).
In February, my parents had a family gathering in the old house. My grandmother, Margie came (My grandfather was ill, not able to attend), and some aunts/uncles and cousins came. Since my grandparents had lived there twelve years, the house was considered to be the family house during those years...and held many memories for them.
During this time my parents became friends with a local couple who were interested in living in a historic home, they took it off the market.
During March-April-May, I resumed care-taking duties, of mowing the lawn. In May, I dug up some of the new Brooks plum seedlings, and transplanted them in my family's land.
I have found that the Brooks plum was begun in Lafayette in the 1940's...and the old plum tree at The Gates House must have been planted around that time...as a child, I would eat it's delicious fruit...and when I returned as an adult to live there, the fruit tasted the SAME as I had remembered (and the rose's smelled the same, too) During the 2nd time I lived there, I moved the seedlings from the original tree to start a hedgerow along the back/north fence line, and now there are nine bearing plum trees there.
In the News-Register paper today, The Old Gates House was once again a news item, as part of an article on the oldest homes in the area. This was 40 years after it's first appearing in the paper.
And so, on July 1, of 2006, there will be new residents of The Old Gates House...continuing the history of this home, that goes back to the 1850's.
Saturday night, June 10, 2006
