The Joachim DeBrum House, known simply as the DeBrum House and also spelled Debrum House or De Brum House, located on Likiep Island, of

Likiep Atoll Likiep Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only , but that en ...

, in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, is a

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...

that was built in 1888 by Joachim DeBrum. It was listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976, making it the first NRHP site in Micronesia. Because the climate of Palau quickly deteriorates wooden structures, the Debrum House is significant as the only tropical plantation home surviving in the Marshall Islands or in all of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It is associated with the "history of German and Japanese occupations, colonization,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the early Post War Periods."

History

Joachim DeBrum was a Marshallese merchant, engineer, and scientist. He was the son of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

merchant José Anton DeBrum. Together with Adolph Capelle, DeBrum purchased Likiep Atoll from his Marshallese wife's chief, Iroij Elap Jortaka, during the 1870s. Joachim finished the house by 1888. During the German colonization period, it was one of the largest houses on Likiep Atoll. He furnished the house with imports from the United States, Germany, and across Asia. It was lived in by the deBrum family until 1947, at which point it became vacant and cared for by local caretakers. The DeBrum House was destroyed a few years ago, and all that is left is a few remnants of the foundation.

Architecture

The Debrum House was finished in 1888 as a small, single-story frame building on concrete piers, with a high-pitched thatch roof. DeBrum designed the building in a mixture of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and traditional Marshallese architectural styles. It originally contained only one 19-by-19-foot central parlor and two 13-foot-by-19-foot bedrooms off this main chamber. Although it originally sat about 18 inches off the ground, at some point it was raised to a height of six feet. The original floors, external walls, and only the interior walls of the parlor were made of

California redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

. The entire structure was surrounded by a covered

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

. In 1929, the original thatch roof was replaced with metal sheeting. By the 1970s, the house was quickly deteriorating and underwent major renovations in 1977 and 1984. A new metal roof and supports were installed, and the redwood floors and walls were replaced. Nearby are a storage building, a detached dining room-kitchen, several

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s, the family graveyard, and the remains of several structures that have since collapsed. Most of the furniture in the house was well preserved. Most furnishings were made of

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

that had been imported from China. These pieces were intricately decorated and carved, sometimes including marble or ivory inlays. The house also contained over 1,000 books from DeBrum's personal library and research, and sound recordings believed to be some of the earliest taken in Micronesia.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in the Marshall Islands Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in the Marshall Islands Houses completed in 1888 Likiep Atoll