History of 327 Coppei Avenue – Waitsburg, WA

Abbreviated Legal Description

PTN SE ¼ OF SW ¼ S11 T9N R37 EWM
Parcel Number 37-09-11-34-0026

Full Legal Description

Commencing at a point 10 feet West and 55 feet South of the Southeast corner of a piece of parcel of land sold by Dennis Willard and wife to William Vawter to the City of Waitsburg, Washington, and running thence South 70 feet; thence west 207 feet, more or less, to the East side of Coppei Avenue; thence North 70 feet; thence East 207 feet to the Point of Beginning.

Title and Occupant History

Sylvester M. Wait established the Township of Waitsburg in 1865 around a small gristmill he had built.  The original name of the small village that grew up around the mill was Delta; it was decided by popular vote in 1868 to adopt the name Waitsburgh with a posterior “h” affixed.  Although one source states that no attempt was made to plat the township until 1869 when Perry Bruce undertook this task, the Waitsburg City Administrator, Clerk and Treasurer confirmed the date as 1868.  The parcel on which 327 Coppei Avenue is located remains part of the Original Plat of the Township of Waitsburg, between White’s and Small’s Additions.

The Territorial Legislature issued a regular Charter to the City of Waitsburg November 25, 1881.   William Preston, mill owner, was mayor, and Martin V. Weller was one of five councilmen.  Under the charter, the city was incorporated with the usual powers for the creation of a police force, fire department and water works, and the enforcement of regulations for the safety, health and order of the city.  Waitsburg remains to date the only city in Washington to operate under a Territorial Charter, as revised in 1886.

6/26/1869, Warranty Deed, Dennis and Sarah A. Willard, grantors; Charles Hanaford, grantee, comprising a lot sold by the Willards to William Vawter, “commencing at the southeast corner of a lot or parcel of land sold by Dennis Willard and wife to William Vawter, and running thence south two hundred feet, thence west three chains and three rods, thence north two hundred feet, thence east to the place of beginning three chains and three rods,” $130.  The Willards were farmers residing on the “n s [north side] Mill;” Charles Hanaford was “prop Hanaford House [lodging] w s [west side] Main” as listed in the 1880 Walla Walla City Directory.  The Vawter family had moved to Waitsburg shortly after December 1861.  Vawter opened the first carpenter shop in town and served as postmaster of Walla Walla, 1877 to 1881.

5/21/1878, Warranty Deed, Charles R. and Susan P. Hanaford, grantors; Henry A. Vansyckle, grantee, same parcel as described above, $1,000.  Henry Vansyckle was born in Ohio in 1824, moving with his parents to Walla Walla when he was 12.  W. D. Lyman, in his 1918 History of Old Walla Walla County, Vol. 1, notes that Vansyckle was a Joint Councilman for Walla Walla County in 1868, and in 1876 was a County Representative to the Territorial Legislature  Vansyckle was listed in the 1880 city directory as “clerk res e s [east side] Coppei.”  He died in 1880.

5/5/1880, Warranty Deed, Henry A. Vansyckle, grantor; Henry H. Griffin, grantee, same parcel, $1,700.  Griffin was a farmer “res w s Main st.”

5/29/1880, Warranty Deed, Henry H. and Jane E. Griffin, grantors; J. B. Jones, grantee, same parcel, $1,600.  J. B. Jones was a “lawyer, bds [boards] at Hanaford House.”  This was apparently a mortgage.

9/29/1880, Warranty Deed, Harrison H. and Jane E. Griffin, grantors, Martin Weller, grantee, same parcel, $1,700.

10/26/1880, Warranty Deed, J. B. and Martha J. Jones, grantors; Jane E. Griffin, grantee, same parcel, $1,600.  This was apparently a reconveyance upon satisfaction of a mortgage.

11/27/1885, Warranty Deed, Martin and Mary E. Weller, grantors; John F. Boyer, grantee, same parcel, also Lots 1, 2 and 3, Block A, Bruce’s Second Addition to Waitsburg; also Lots 2, 7, 8 and 10, Block 15 in the Township of Waitsburg; also Lot 5, Block 4, $2,000.  This was a mortgage.

1/16/1889, Warranty Deed Against Grantors, Eugene H. and John E. Boyer, Executors of the Estate of John F. Boyer, deceased, grantors; Mary E. Weller, same parcel as described in Warranty Deed of 6/26/1869, $1.  A reconveyance upon satisfaction of a mortgage.

5/16/1902, Affidavit, Martin Weller et al to The Public: on 11/27/1885, owing John F. Boyer a considerable sum of money, Martin and Mary Weller conveyed by Warranty Deed to Boyer the lots as described above, comprising Lots 2 and 8, Block 10 and Lots 7 and 8, Block 15, that on or about 12/28/1898 the Wellers paid Eugene H. Boyer settlement in full, and Eugene H. Boyer conveyed a Quit Claim Deed on 12/30/1989, and the Wellers claimed that Eugene H. Boyer has “no further right or claim or interest in premises.”

5/16/1902, Warranty Deed, Martin and Mary E. Weller, grantors; W. H. Webber, grantee, Lots 7 through 10, Block 15; Lots 2 and 8, Block 10 excepting 15 feet off west end of Lot 8 deeded to City of Waitsburg for street purposes; also original parcel “sold by Dennis Willard and wife to William Vawter,” 200 by 217.8 feet, $6,500.  This was apparently a mortgage.

10/24/1902, Warranty Deed, W. H. and Lillian E. Webber, grantors; Henry Bateman, grantee, same parcel as described in Warranty Deed of 6/26/1869, $1,550.  A reconveyance upon satisfaction of a mortgage.

11/13/1902, Warranty Deed, Henry and Minerva E. Bateman, grantors; Thomas C. Kinder, grantee, same parcel, described as “207 by 70 feet, east side of Coppei Avenue,” $1,400.  An assignment of a mortgage.

11/17/1902, Warranty Deed, Thomas C. and Aleatha A. Kinder, grantors; Martin Weller, grantee, same parcel, as described in above Warranty Deed, $1,200.  Satisfaction of a mortgage.

12/3/1902, Warranty Deed, Henry and Minerva E. Bateman, grantors; A. M. McCoy, grantee, same parcel, but described as “207 by 75 feet,” $400.  A. M. McCoy’s employment was described in the 1902 city directory as “lumber and feed mill.”  Relating to a mortgage.

4/12/1907, Right of Way Deed, M. and Mary E. Weller, grantors; City of Waitsburg, grantee, for laying of a sewer line pipe 10 feet in width.

8/12/1918, Indenture/Quit Claim Deed, Charles Johns Weller, grantor; Fanny E., Walter R., Martin W., and Lawrence L. Weller, grantees, $1.  The grantees were the four children of Martin and Mary Weller.

12/3/1926, Quit Claim Deed, Mary E. Weller, grantor; Fanny E. Weller, grantee, “one-half interest in a certain other parcel of land known as the Preston Place,” [described as the 200 by 247 foot parcel].

10/30/1931, Statutory Warranty Deed, Fanny E. Weller, Walter R. Weller, Lawrence L. Weller, as Executrix and Executors of the Last Will and Testament of Mary E. Johns Weller, deceased, and Fanny E. Weller, the above-described 70 by 207-foot parcel, $1 and other valuable considerations.

10/30/1931, Statutory Warranty Deed, Weller Estate, Inc., a Washington Corporation, by Lawrence L. Weller, President, Fanny E. Weller, Secretary, grantor; Walter R. Weller, grantee, the parcel described as 200 by 247 feet, $1 and other valuable considerations.

3/14/1932, Quit Claim Deed, Rose C. Weller, individually and as Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of Martin W. Weller, deceased, grantor; Weller Estate, Inc., a Washington Corporation, grantee, Lots 2 and 3, Block 13, Amended Plat of Green’s Annex to the City of Walla Walla; Lot 4, Block 1 of W. P. Bruce’s Addition to the Town of Waitsburg; Lots 1, 2, 7 and 8, Block 8, Cannon’s Addition to the City of Waitsburg, $10 and other valuable considerations.

12/14/1942, Deed, Walter R. Weller, grantor; Lena E. Weller, his wife, grantee, the parcel described as 207 by 70 feet, “of love and affection… and investing in her a community interest…”

7/17/1948, Quit Claim Deed, Walter R. and Lena E. Weller, grantors; Francis L. and Myrle Vennum, grantees, the parcel described as 207 by 70 feet, $1.

9/26/1988, Quit Claim Deed, Francis L. and Myrle Vennum, grantors; Walter R. and Michael L. Vennum, “for and in consideration of love and affection.”

4/26/1996, Statutory Warranty Deed, Walter R. and Michael L Vennum, grantors; Louis J. and Helen M. Smith, grantees, $10 and other valuable considerations [actual sale price was $50,000].

5/9/2001, Statutory Warranty Deed, Louis J. and Helen M. Smith, grantors; Dennis C. Wright, a single person, and Elizabeth G. Banie, a single person, $10 and other valuable considerations [actual sale price was $83,000].

7/3/2018, Statutory Warranty Deed, Dennis C. Wright, a single person, and Elizabeth G. Banie, a single person, grantors; Thomas M. Elstrom and Susan Tarver, grantees, $10 and other valuable considerations.

Construction of Building   

Martin Vernon Weller was born in Genesco, Livingston County, New York September 29, 1842.  He married Mary Elizabeth Johns (b. 1851).  Martin and
Mary Weller had six children, though a daughter, Mary, died in infancy.  The oldest, Fanny E., remained single throughout her life and taught high school in Pullman during her adult years.   A son, Walter Rhodes Weller, served on the Waitsburg City Council in 1932, 1933 and again in 1937 following a period of two years as mayor of Waitsburg in 1934-35.  Walter Weller married Lena Vennum (date unknown) and, as noted above, Walter and Lena Weller passed the house on to Francis and Myrle Vennum in 1948, thus keeping it in the family.

It is interesting to observe that in his History of Old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2, Whitman professor W. D. Lyman includes a biographical sketch of a Peter Weller who settled in Colfax, but who was born in 1862 in the same county as Martin Weller in 1862.  They were not siblings, but it is probable they were related, having been born in the same rural county in New York State.

What brought the Wellers to Waitsburg is unknown.  The U. S. Census for 1880 lists Martin V. Weller as living in Waitsburgh, W.T. with an occupation as “merchant.”  A photo of Kinnear & Weller General Merchandise exists, noting that the firm existed between 1881 and 1894.  In 1894 Weller was listed in the city directory as “mngr John F. Boyer, lumber.”  A photo from around that time shows Weller and J. E. Abbott standing in front of their lumber office.  By 1898, the city directory listed him as, “Weller Martin, lumberman,” and under business listings is the following: “Lumber, Shingles and Laths. Weller Martin. Callahan Frank.”  In the 1903 U. S. Census, Martin Weller was listed as living at the State Hotel in Waitsburg., but the 1905 Walla Walla city directory notes he was a farmer, residing at 327 Coppei Avenue.  The 1908 directory lists no occupation or address, merely noting his net worth as $5,111.  In 1910, the city directory listed him as a “farmer 221 Main” with “h [house] n s [north side] W 4^th ft [foot of] Orchard.”  The house, extant, but significantly altered, had been the home of W. G. Preston.  Vance Orchard’s book (see Resources below) states that Martin and Fanny Weller lived there.  Martin Weller died in 1917, and Mary, his wife, in 1930.  Both are buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Waitsburg.

Shortly before his death, Martin Weller was granted a patent on October 28, 1916 for a Rotary Brush.  From the illustration and description of this device, it was a floor cleaner.  The water intake caused a water wheel to rotate with a water opening in the brush.  He was granted patent 128,238, as recorded in the Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Vol. CCXL, July 1917.

In 1922, Mary E. Weller purchased the former Bruce mansion of 1883, at 5th and Main Streets.  Her eldest daughter, Fanny Weller, began operating a library in the former home in 1931, where it remained until 1947.  The Bruce mansion was to become the home of the Waitsburg Historical Society in 1971, and the Weller Library is now located in a historic brick building on Main Street.  Fanny died in December 1966 and is buried, along with several siblings, in the Waitsburg City Cemetery.

The Waitsburg section of the Walla Walla City Directory for 1881 contains the first listing for Martin V. Weller with occupation as “Kinnear & W.”  Residence was listed as “e s [east side] Coppei Avenue.”  The 1880 city directory for Walla Walla shows only one Waitsburg resident, Henry Vansyckle, residing on the east side of Coppei Avenue.  There are no city directories exclusively for Waitsburg, nor are their Sanborn fire maps for the city.  Additionally, Waitsburg building permits only go back to the late 1970s.  The Walla Walla County Assessor lists a build date for the house as 1886.  Assessor build dates are often “guesstimates,” and that would have to include 327 Coppei.  It is obvious that from its exterior appearance this house was substantially updated, most probably around 1925 to 1935, in which all Victorian ornament was removed, endowing it with a Tudor cottage image.

Based on the fact that the property was originally sold in 1869 for $130, then again in 1878 for $1000, and again in 1880 for $1700, that Martin Weller, who paid $1700 for it in 1880, is listed in the directory as living on the east side of Coppei Avenue in 1881, and that Henry Vansyckle bought it for $1000 in 1878 and was listed as living on the east side of Coppei in 1880 at the time he sold it for $1700, it appears that the house was built by Henry A. Vansyckle circa 1879, and that it was later remodeled by the Weller family which had an interest in the property from 1880 to 1996 through a family relationship with the Vennums.

In an 1884 birdseye drawing of the town of Waitsburg,  four houses may be seen on the east side of Coppei Avenue, and Weller Avenue may be seen clearly one block east.

Resources

• Whitman Archives
• Waitsburg section, Walla Walla City Directories, various years
• Walla Walla County Assessor
• Pioneer/Columbia Title Company
• National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Waitsburg Historic District, 10/4/1977
• Waitsburg Historical Society/Bruce House (photo of Mary Weller)
• City of Waitsburg, Randy Hinchliffe, City Administrator, Clerk and Treasurer
• Weller Library, Waitsburg
• Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, July 1917
• Shifley Plat Map of Waitsburg, E. B. Shifley, Civil Engineer, August 1912
• Lyman, W. D., History of Old Walla Walla County, Vols. 1 & 2, Chicago, 1918
• Gilbert, F. T. Historic Sketches, Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, W. T. and
• Umatilla County, Oregon, Chicago, 1882
• Susan Monahan, Walla Walla historian, Kirkman House board member
• Orchard, Vance, Waitsburg: One of a Kind, Waitsburg Historical Society, 1976
• Torres, Sandra, The Waitsburg Family 1858-1900: the Beginning, Author House, LLC, 2014
• United States Census records, various years