History of 207 East Main Street, Walla Walla, WA – (comprising numbers 207 through 229)

Legal Description

Cain’s Addition to the City of Walla Walla, Lots 7, 8 and 9, Block 2

Washington Territory was created in 1853.  In 1854, the new territorial legislature created Walla Walla County, which stretched from the crest of the Cascade Mountains to the crest of the Rocky Mountains in the present states of Washington, Idaho and Montana.  In 1855, Isaac Stevens, governor of Washington Territory, held a council on the banks of Mill Creek at the present site of Walla Walla with representatives of regional Indian tribes to purchase land from them.  The Yakamas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas were dissatisfied with the treaties and the intrusion by whites into their lands before the treaties’ ratification, and war followed.  Missionaries, former French-Canadian employees of the Hudson Bay Company trading post at Wallula, and soldiers at the military Fort Walla Walla were the primary European occupants of the area prior to 1859, when the treaties were finally ratified and the land was opened for settlement.  The transfer of ownership occurred by virtue of a treaty signed on June 9, 1855 in Walla Walla and ratified on March 8, 1859 by President James Buchanan, in which all of the land in the Walla Walla area was acquired from the Cayuse and Walla Walla Indian tribes.

The town of Walla Walla was originally laid out by County Surveyor Hamet Hubbard Case in 1859, prior to its formal incorporation as a city in 1862, as a one-quarter mile square with its eastern side centered on the point where Main Street crossed Mill Creek (at roughly the point where it does now).  Case’s plan was filed and recorded July 5, 1867 in Book A of Plats, Page 1. The City of Walla Walla received a Trustee Town site from the U. S. Government that consisted of 80 acres, issued on July 20, 1869 by the Vancouver, W. T. District Land Office.

On September 10, 1861, Andrew J. Cain and Cornelius Kelly filed a claim through the Olympia, W.T. Land Office for 160 acres under the Scrip Warrant Act of 1855 that included this property. A. J. Cain was an early financier of the Walla Walla Statesman newspaper; in 1868 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as prosecuting attorney of Walla Walla County. Although defeated in 1870, District Court Judge James Kennedy ruled that Cain could complete his full two-year term, thus denying the winner, N. J. Caton, his right to occupy the office until 1871. Cain later moved to Dayton and in September 1874 began publication of the Dayton News, a weekly Democratic newspaper. He became known as the “Father of Columbia County” as a result of his leading role in the formation of that county.

Title and Occupant History

7/15/1862, Deed, A. J. Cain and wife, grantors; Samuel Green, et al, grantees, Lots 1-10, Block 2, Lots 1-3, 9 and 10, Block 3 and Lots 1 and 2, Block C, $787.

7/15/1862, Quit Claim Deed, A. J. and Emma Cain, grantors; Samuel H. Green, Richard W. Heath and Henry H. Allen, grantees, Lots 1-10, Block 2, Lots 1-3, 9, 10, Block 3 and Lots 1 and 2, Block C, $787.

5/5/1868, Warranty Deed, Richard W. Heath, Samuel H. Green and H. H. Allen, by their attorney in fact Andrew Cronley, grantors; H. H. Bailey, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $132.

3/1/1869, Warranty Deed, H. H. Bailey, grantor; J. N. Fall, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2 “with all tenements and appurtenances,” $350. J. Fall was listed in the 1880 City Directory as a farmer with “r. s.s. Rose bet. Palouse and Tukanon” (residence on the south side of Rose Street between Palouse and Tukanon Streets).

10/12/1870, Warranty Deed, Richard W. Heath, Samuel H. Green and Henry H. Allen, grantors; Henry M. Chase, grantee, Lots 1-3 and 8-10, Block 2 and lots in Block 3, $500.

3/4/1873, Warranty Deed, Warranty Deed, John N. and S. E. Fall, grantors; William A. Green and John N. Fall, partners in the firm of Green & Fall, grantees, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $300 in gold coin.

3/6/1877, Warranty Deed, John N. and Sarah E. Fall, grantors; William A. Green, grantee, “1/2 of certain lots, pieces or parcels of land…in the County of Walla Walla” including Lots 6 and 7, Block 2 and other parcels, $1.

10/11/1879, Deed, Henry M. Chase, grantor, Mary H. Coffin, unmarried, grantee, Lots 2, 3 and 8 through 10, Block 2. She leased the property to the Oregon & Washington Territory Railway that on November 12, 1890 signed a lease with Gilbert H. Hunt, president of the railroad and owner of the Gilbert Hunt Company on West Main Street, for depots he had constructed in and around Walla Walla adjacent to railroad right-of-ways. $1.

2/2/1884, Warranty Deed, James A. and Mary J. Jacobs, grantors; Sam’l. Jacobs, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $2,600. James Jacobs resided at 8 Spokane Street. Samuel Jacobs was the Walla Walla City Assessor, and roomed at 315 East Main Street. The significant increase in the sale price over the preceding deed of 3/6/1877 would indicate the property by then would include a building(s). The 1883 city directory includes a listing for M. C. Seeke, clerk, “r. 209 E. Main” and Corson & Stockwell, house and sign painters and dealers in oils, glass, wallpapers, etc., located at 223 East Main.

10/6/1887, Warranty Deed, Samuel and Elizabeth Jacobs, by Fred Stine, their attorney in fact, grantors; Rosella Boyd, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, $1,600.

5/15/1889, Warranty Deed, Rosella and Jacob M. Boyd, grantors; Charles Henry, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $7,000.

5/16, 1889, Warranty Deed, Charles and Lydia Henry, grantors, G. W. Hunt, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $5,600.

The 1889 city directory lists the following on the north side of East Main between Palouse and Spokane Streets: Frank Leroux, blacksmith and horseshoer, “E. Main nr OR&NRR crossing”; Mrs. S. J. Barnhard, cigars and tobacco, 213½ E. Main; and Walla Walla Creamery and Cold Storage Co., E. Main nr. r.r.crossing, D. W. Small, president.

11/1/1890, Warranty Deed, George W. and Lenora Hunt, grantors; Levi Ankeny, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, $5,000. Levi Ankeny was president of First National Bank and served as a United States Senator from 1903 to 1909.

12/3/1892, Quit Claim Deed, Mary H. Coffin (unmarried), grantor; Charles B. Wright, grantee, Lots 3, 8, 9 and 10, Block 2, $50. Charles B. Wright was a resident of Philadelphia. This QCD was related to a suit in Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Oregon between The Farmers Loan & Trust Company, plaintiff and The Oregon and Washington Territory Railroad Company, defendant, that had defaulted on an 1887 mortgage for which Charles Wright held a Masters Deed.

12/3/1892, Quit Claim Deed, Mary H. Coffin (unmarried), grantor; Charles B. Wright, grantee, Lots 3, 8, 9 and 10, Block 2.

12/10/1892, Deed, Charles B. Wright, widower, grantor; Washington and Columbia River Railway Company, a corporation, grantee, related to a sale instituted in court, and mentioned in the above QCD, against the O&WTRR Company for foreclosure of a mortgage for property consisting of “r.r. and telegraph lines…and other structures, including depots and station houses, engine houses, car houses, freight houses…with all rails, ties, fastenings, switches, side tracks..” Wright then signed a deed to the Washington and Columbia River Railway Company, successor to Dr. Dorsey Baker’s Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad, for $7,175.

8/11/1894, Warranty Deed Against Grantor, Charles B. Wright, a widower, grantor; The Washington and Columbia River Railway Company, a corporation, involving land in Cain’s Addition in the City of Walla Walla in the area of Baker and Pearl, $39, 104.17. This Warranty Deed is 26 pages in length and includes numerous properties from Walla Walla to Waitsburg to Dayton. The applicable portion pertaining to Cain’s Lots 7, 8 and 9, Block 2 is as follows: “Also the following: All that triangular shaped piece or parcel of land situate lying and being in the Northwest quarter of the Southeast quarter and the Southwest quarter of the Northeast quarter of Section twenty (20) in the township seven (7) North range thirty six (36) east of the Willamette Meridian in Cains Addition to the City of Walla Walla…containing 3.3 acres more or less…”

9/6/1894, Warranty Deed, George W. and Lenora Hunt, grantors; Levi Ankeny, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2 plus land in Roberts Addition, $500.

10/5/1900, Indenture, Levi and Jennie Ankeny, grantors; The Washington and Columbia River Railway Company, grantee, Lots 6 and 7, Block 2, “except a small building occupied by George McKinney as a photograph gallery and one occupied by D. J. Hughes as a grocery store, which buildings said owners are to remove…in a reasonable time…” $5,000. The W&CR Railway was incorporated as a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific on August 4, 1892, capitalized at $3 million, although it was operated by its organizers, Ankeny, Frank Paine, Charles Barstow Wright, Sr. of Tacoma, and Howard Elliott.

6/21/1907, Deed, Washington & Columbia River Railway Company, a corporation, grantor; Northern Pacific Railway Company, a corporation under the laws of the State of Wisconsin, grantee, in which the stockholders of the W&CRRC “agree to sell, grant and convey all property and rights of property…to the party of the second part,” $1. The W&CR Railway was fully absorbed by the Northern Pacific June 30, 1907.

6/6/1917, Lease, Northern Pacific Railway Company, lessor; Harold Dahlen, lessee. This lease was for Lots 6 and 7 where the Dahlen brothers built their new dealership (see Construction of Building below) that, remodeled, forms the two-story portion of the current building.

5/17/1928, Bill of Sale, Harold Dahlen, grantor; Harold Dahlen (of Seattle), “assigns..his right, title and interest in…brick and concrete building and Northern Pacific Railway Company lease no. 31561 dated June 6, 1917…located at 215 East Main Street…now leased to A. C. Thomas, Inc. under the date of Sept. 1, 1925…party of the second part agrees to pay Mary B. Dahlen…$700 in monthly installments of $100 or more…according to a written agreement…between Harold Dahlen and Mary B. Dahlen…dated June 25, 1926,” $5,000.

10/1/1945, Lease (not filed until 10/23/1959), Northern Pacific Railway Company, grantor; Maughan Motor Company, Inc., a 25-year lease ending 9/1/1990. This lease dealt solely with the one-story extension east of the Dahlens’ building.

5/24/1963, Lease, Northern Pacific Railway Company, grantor; Garden City Furniture, Inc., a 5-year lease for 215 East Main Street at $450/month for the first year and $600/month for the remainder of the lease, beginning 4/1/1968 and ending 3/31/1973.

9/1/1988, Memorandum of Lease, Glacier Park Company of Delaware, lessor; Garden City Carpet Center, Inc., lessee, a 10-year, 6-month lease beginning 9/1/1988 and ending 2/28/1999, “for purpose of maintaining and operating a building owned by lessee, for a term of ten (10) years, six (6) months, commencing September 1, 1988, and ending February 28, 1999.”

12/12/1988, Quit Claim Deed, Burlington Northern Railway Company (successor to the Burlington, Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railway companies), grantor; Glacier Park Company of Delaware, grantee, involving a railroad easement in Block 2 of Cain’s Addition…”excepting therefrom…Beginning at the intersection of the Northerly line of Spokane Street and the Westerly line of Main Street; thence Northwesterly along said Northerly line of Spokane Street a distance of 59.7 feet; thence Northeasterly parallel with said Westerly line of Main Street a distance of 81.42 feet; thence Southeasterly parallel with said Northerly line of Spokane Street a distance of 597 feet; thence Southwesterly along said Westerly line of Main Street a distance of 81.42 feet to the Point of Beginning.”

6/3/1991, Quit Claim Deed, Glacier Park Company, 1011 Western Avenue, Seattle, grantor; Marlin and Nancy M. Cornelius, grantees dba Marlin’s Auto Sales, $10 and other valuable considerations. (This QCD pertains solely to lots along Rose Street between Palouse and Spokane Streets where Mr. Cornelius operated his auto business.)

5/7/1993, Quit Claim Deed, Garden City Carpet Center, Inc., grantor; Marlin and Nancy Cornelius, grantees, $10 and other valuable conditions for “portions of Lots 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Block 2, Cain’s Addition…”

12/4/2006, Warranty Deed, Nancy M. Cornelius, grantor; Betsy Ross Apartments, grantee. Cain’s Lot 7, 8 and 9, Block 2

1/9/2015, Statutory Warranty Deed, Betsy Ross Apartments, LLC, grantor; David W. Thompson et al, grantee. Cain’s less Tax 1, Block 2.

9/11/2019, Statutory Warranty Deed, David W. Thompson et al, grantor; David W. Thompson, grantee, Cain’s Lots 7, 8 and 9, Block 2.

Construction of Building

The current building with the official address of 207 East Main Street is the most recent of a number of previous structures on the site. Preserved city building permits only go back to September 1907. A search through some city directories reveals the following structures located on one of the three lots that define this property.

1883-84: M. C. Seeke, a clerk, was the only occupant, with a house at 209 East Main.

1889: By this year the property included several occupants. Frank Leroux, a blacksmith and “horseshoer” (farrier), had a shop at “E/ Main nr OR&NRR crossing.” Mrs. S.J. Barrett operated a cigar and tobacco store at 2131/2 East Main. Walla Walla Creamery and Cold Storage Company was on “E Main nr railroad crossing, D. W Small, president.” The Oregon Improvement Company was located in the “old Depot OR&N Co.”

1898: The directory for this year includes the first listing for the Washington & Columbia River Railway, “Main and Palouse.” It also included George McKinney, photographer, on the “ne cor Spokane and e Main,” somewhat west of the current building.

1908: This year included the first listing for the “NP Depot Building, E Main cor Palouse.”

In 1884, there were a few businesses including a carriage painting operation in the middle of the block and a dwelling near the corner of Main and Spokane Streets. By 1889, there were no dwellings on the block and in 1894 even more businesses could be seen. In the first 1905 version of the Sanborn Fire Map Washington & Columbia River Railroad passenger depot and a freight depot may be seen for the first time.

The two-story building that defines the major (west) portion and currently houses the Sears store, Cartridge World and Trove, a design and interior furnishings boutique, was constructed for Dahlen Bros. Ford dealership on the site of the old Northern Pacific depot. Building permit 2380 was issued to Dahlen Auto Company on 3/21/1917 to construct a garage estimated to cost $20,073, for which a permit fee of $16 was assessed. Harold and Herbert Dahlen had operated at other locations in Walla Walla, most recently at 221 East Alder Street. By that year they had sold over 3,500 Fords to Walla Wallans and presumably felt they needed a building that would allow space for expansion. The architect for the new building is not recorded.

Maughan Motor Company took over the old Dahlen Ford dealership and moved into the older or west two-story building in May 1933. Harry Maughan died in October 1943, and Maughan Motors purchased the building in 1946 with Fred Becker as manager, although the 1946 city directory lists the business as Fred Becker Motor Company, selling Dodge and Plymouth cars, Dodge trucks, tires and complete service.

In the 1930s, city directories began including a reverse directory by street address. This allowed for a scan of what occupied the building over various years.

1936-41: Maughan Motor Company.

1946-58: Fred Becker.

1959-60: Moore Buick Company.

1960-61: Garden City Furniture Company.

1989: the last listing for Garden City Carpet Company. In 1990 they were listed at 609 Clay Street.

On November 3, 1945, Maughan Motor Company was issued Permit 881 to construct a building at 215 East Main Street, estimated to cost $33,000 with a fee assessment of $10. A. Ritchie & Co. was listed as contractor. This permit was to construct the long, low round-ended east extension to the old two-story building. Although not mentioned in the book of building permits, it also certainly included an extensive remodel of the older building, to which a slightly protruding rounded corner with vertically fluted fascia was fashioned to the front southeast corner. Along with its new addition incorporating expansive glass frontage, this building is one of very few, and possibly the finest, example in Walla Walla of Streamline Moderne architecture.

Resources

• Previous WW2020 architecture report, (covering a portion of this property), Mary Meeker, June 1, 2006
• Pioneer/Columbia Title
• Whitman Archives
• Sanborn Fire Maps: August 1884; May 1888; April 1894; 1905 original map; 1905 map with additions; photos of maps courtesy of Brenden Koch
• Walla Walla County Auditor
• City Directories, various years
• Bennett, Robert A., Walla Walla: a Town Built to be a City, 1900-1919, Pioneer PressBooks, 1982
• United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management: Oregon/Washington
• Joe Drazan blog “Bygone Walla Walla”
• Up-To-The-Times, various, 1907-1910
• Standard Atlas of Walla Walla County Washington Including a Plat Book of the Villages Cities and Townships of the County, Geo. A. Ogle & Co., Chicago, 190
• Curtiss, No More Bells, Nor Whistles, v. 1 and 2, Washington State Railroad Historical Society, 2014.