The Francis Ermatinger House is located in

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Built in 1843, it is the third oldest house in

and the oldest house in

Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...

. It was built for Francis Ermatinger, Chief Trader of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...

, and later Treasurer of the

Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

. The house, initially built on the waterfront near

Willamette Falls The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall in the Northwestern United States, northwestern United States, located on the Willamette River between Oregon City, Oregon, Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon. The largest waterfall in the Northwest ...

, has been moved twice in its history, first in 1910 to the corner of 11th and Center streets, and again in 1986 to its current location at the corner of 6th and John Adams streets, adjacent to the Stevens Crawford House museum. It was placed on the

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 1977, and has since been operated as a museum.

History

Built in the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style, the house was originally located near the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, in the downtown area near

. Francis Ermatinger, an employee of the

, remained in Oregon City after the company abandoned its operations there in 1845. The house was moved in 1910 to the corner of 11th and Center streets, and again in 1986 to its current location at the corner of 6th and John Adams streets, adjacent to the Stevens Crawford House museum. Damage from being moved twice had left the house unstable, resulting in the windows being removed. In 2011, it was closed to the public. After repairs, the house was re-opened on July 7, 2018 by the City of Oregon City Parks and Recreation Department. The house is open for both guided and self-guided tours of Fridays and Saturdays, with various events held at different times.

Portland naming site

It is believed to have been the Ermatinger House's left parlor that the famous

coin toss A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a ...

between

Francis Pettygrove Francis William Pettygrove ( – October 5, 1887) was an American pioneer and merchant who was one of the founders of the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Port Townsend, Washington. Born in Maine, he re-located to the Oregon Country in 1843 to est ...

and Asa Lovejoy occurred, reputedly during a dinner party held in the house in 1845. The two were arguing about whether the town they envisioned on their

land claim A land claim is "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include Aboriginal title, aboriginal land cla ...

, then called ''The Clearing'', should be incorporated as

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

—Lovejoy's hometown in Massachusetts—or

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

—Pettygrove's hometown in Maine. Pettygrove won two out of three tosses, resulting in the city of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

References

External links

Ermatinger House
from City of Oregon City Parks and Recreation Department
619 6th Street - Francis Ermatinger House
from City of Oregon City Planning Department {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermatinger, Francis, House 1845 establishments in Oregon Country Buildings and structures in Oregon City, Oregon Greek Revival houses in Oregon Historic house museums in Oregon Houses in Clackamas County, Oregon Museums in Clackamas County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Clackamas County, Oregon Oregon's Most Endangered Places

History

Portland naming site

See also

References

External links