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This double row of poplar trees is all that remains to mark the site of Simeon G. Reed's cattle ranch. Reed was a prominent early Oregon figure in finance, real estate, farming and breeding livestock. The town of Reedville (the neighborhood surrounding this property is still known by this name) and Reed College in Portland are both his namesakes.
These trees originally lined the drive leading to the large, two story, wood-frame Greek Revival style home he had built on the site sometime between 1853 and 1859. According to the Historic American Buildings Survey, the house contained three bedrooms, a parlor and a dining room downstairs and three more bedrooms on the second floor. For many years, this was the residence of Reed's general manager, William Henderson McEldowney.
The building was built entirely of fir, whipsawn on site by pioneer carpenters. The framing joists and rafters were fir poles faced on two sides and all of the house's finish work was done by hand. Originally, shaved shingles covered the roof.
According to the Salem Public Library's Oregon Historic Photograph Collections, the Reed house was burned to the ground as a fire department practice exercise on April 2, 1966.
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