History of 330 South Palouse Street, Walla Walla, WA
Legal Description
Beginning at the point of intersection of the Southerly line of Birch Street with the
Easterly line of Catherine Street in the City of Walla Walla, Washington, and running thence Southerly on the Easterly line of Catherine Street, a distance of 343 feet and 4 inches, thence Easterly at right angles with said Easterly line of Catherine Street, a distance of 200 feet to the True Point of Beginning for this description; from said True Point of Beginning run Northwesterly, parallel with said Easterly line of Catherine Street, a distance of 93 feet; thence at right angles Easterly 200 feet to a point in the Westerly line of Palouse Street, a distance of 93 feet to the Northeasterly corner of the land conveyed by Levi Ankeny to Alexander McDonald by deed recorded in Book 89 of Deeds at page 148 of the records of Walla Walla County, Washington, thence at right angles Westerly along the Northerly line of said land sold to McDonald a distance of 200 feet to the said True Point of Beginning.
Excepting there from the following:
Beginning at a point on the Westerly line of Palouse Street as now established in Roberts’ Addition to the City of Walla Walla, Washington, according to the official plat thereof of record in the office of the Auditor of Walla Walla County, Washington, in Book “A” of Plats at Page 21, which point is 250.33 feet Southerly, measured along said Westerly line of Palouse Street from the point of intersection thereof with the Southerly line of Birch Street; thence continue Southerly along said Westerly line of Palouse Street 1.00 feet thence S 60 degrees 10′ 00″ W, parallel to said Southerly line of Birch Street a distance of 195.63 feet; thence N 29 degrees 00′ 00″ W, 1.00 feet, thence N 60 degrees 10′ 00″ E, parallel to said Southerly line of Birch Street 195.62 feet to the Point of Beginning.
Title History:
Walla Walla was originally laid out by surveyor H.H. Chase in 1859, even before its formal incorporation as a city in 1862, as a one quarter mile square oriented N-S, E-W with its eastern side centered on the point where Main Street crossed Mill Creek (at roughly the point where it does now). To this original area additional parcels were annexed from time to time, usually with the name of the land owner of record at the time the additions were made. 330 S. Palouse is located on Lot 9 of Block 27 in Roberts Addition, named for A.B. Roberts who came to Walla Walla from Portland in 1859 and claimed a large section of land south of Main St. where among things, he raised fruit trees, having brought grafted fruit trees with him from Portland. The first recorded transaction for the land on which 330 S. Palouse was built was a warranty deed from A.B. Roberts and his wife Martha E. Roberts to Susan Simmons for a parcel bordered by Catherine St. on the west side and Palouse St. on the east side, and Birch St. on the north side. The deed uses “chains and links” as the property measures which makes this parcel approximately 2.12 acres. The date of the deed is January 21, 1870. On July 21, 1871, A.B. and Martha Roberts sold Lot 8 in Block 27 to Susan and A.H. Simmons for consideration $1.00. This would be the location of what was St. Paul’s Boarding School for Girls, which is no longer there, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Catherine St., the property directly back of 330 S. Palouse. It would seem that lot 8 should have been part of the 1870 transaction which was the larger parcel including lot 8.
On December 10, 1873 B.W. Griffin, Walla Walla’s sheriff, conducted a sale on the steps of the County Courthouse of several parcels of Roberts Addition, including block 27. A. B. Roberts had declared bankruptcy due to a suit brought against him by John Bryant, a street contractor, and his wife Viritta Bryant. The Bryants purchased the property at this Sheriff’s Sale for consideration $275. Interestingly, this case was judged to be invalid on September 8, 1931 because of an erroneous description: the designation of this parcel being an “addition to the city” had been omitted! This was discovered during a title search for a Whitman St. property.
On April 13, 1875, John and Viritta Bryant sold lot #1 in block 27 to E.S. Crockert. The records for 330 S. Palouse for this early period were confusing because the lot numbering system was unclear. This researcher could only assume that lot #1 originally included lot 9 on which 330 S. Palouse stands. If this is the case, then the chain of owners then goes on from E.S. Crockert to H.M. Chase on March 23, 1878 for consideration of $500. Henri M. Chase is listed in the 1881 City Directory as the secretary and treasurer of the WW and CRR Co., a railroad company, and his residence is 43 Catherine St. Next would be a Warranty Deed from Henri M. Chase and Marianna F. Chase to B.L. Sharpstein and Sarah J. Sharpstein on October 18, 1879 for $10,000 for Lots 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19 in Block 27. Obviously Block 27 was divided into the lots that exist today Sharpstein was a prominent early lawyer, who took an interest in the building of educational facilties in Walla Walla and for whom Sharpstein School is named. They resided at 63 Catherine St. The Sharpsteins sold this large parcel on December 29, 1879 for the same price of $10,000 to Mary Hale Coffin, who is listed as a single woman. On February 2, 1882, Mary Hale Coffin agreed to a plan of periodic payments for three years for this same parcel from Henri M. Chase. On February 13, 1889 Henri M. Chase sold Lot 8 in Block 27 which extended from Catherine St. to Palouse St. and included Lot 9 to Levi Ankeny, a banker and prominent citizen, residing on the Southeast corner of Birch and Park and for whom Ankeny Field on the Whitman Campus is named.
On December 15, 1904, Levi Ankeny and Jenny Ankeny sold Lot 9 to Anastasia (also listed as Anna S.) Martin (widow of Patrick Martin in City Directories) for $2200. A building permit was issued on September 1, 1908 to Anastasia Martin for a two story frame cottage estimated to cost $4600. (The use of the term “cottage” seems inappropriate for this home!) The builder was T. Meckelson. The first residential listing for 330 South Palouse is for Anastasia Martin in the1909-1910 City Directory. The 1910-1911 City Directory lists Anastasia’s sisters-in-law Anna T. and Nellie Martin. 330 S. Palouse would be home to the Martin women until 1973 when Nellie died. In all records Anastasia Martin is listed as the homeowner with Anna T. and Nellie as residing at 330 S. Palouse. A building permit was issued to Thomas Martin, Anastasia’s son, on November 16, 1916 for a garage, estimated to cost $175.
Of the three Martin women, Anastasia died first probably in 1919. Her name does not appear in City Directories after that date. Her son, Thomas Martin, served as executor of her estate as well as those of his aunts. Anna T. and Nellie’s brother, Joseph F. Martin, listed as a widower, was originally designated as the executor of their estates but he seems to have died three months after his sister Anna T. in 1967. On August 31, 1967 a Quit Claim deed was filed by Thomas J. Martin and his heirs for one-half of the property with love and affection to Nellie C. Martin, a single woman, who must have died in early 1973. Nellie was the only member of the family who was ever listed as employed in City Directories and that was just for two years, 1910-1912, as a clerk at A.M. Jensen Co. Dry Goods. In the 1909-1910 City Directory both Nellie and Anna T. were listed as students at the Fischer School of Music. The 1914 City Directory lists Anastasia Martin’s personal property value as $4105, in 1915 the City Directory lists her value as $9735, and in the 1916-17 City Directory the value is $3150, in 1918 her value is given as $9.060.
On May 24, 1973 the Martin heirs sold the house to Richard V. and Susan K. Wright for $21,000. In the 1973 City Directory, Richard Wright is listed as a teacher at Touchet High School; in the 1976 City Directory, he is listed as the owner of Empire Builder Antiques, located on Walla Walla Ave. in a restored train car in the Eastgate area. On March 29, 1974, the Wrights sold the house to Whitney Ellis and Sandra J. Ellis for $25,000. The Wrights had purchased 124 Stone, one of Walla Walla’s large historical homes. Whitney Ellis was the Assistant Dean of Students at Whitman and Sandra Ellis was listed as an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department for the city of Walla Walla. She later taught English at DeSales High School. On October 9, 1981 a Quit Claim Deed for a property settlement for dissolution of the Ellis marriage was filed, deeding the house to Sandra J. Ellis. On May 3, 1982 Jerry Bokoles and Yvonne M. Bokoles bought the house for $75,000. Jerry Bokoles is listed in the 1982 City Directory as an employee of the Walla Walla College Counseling Dept. In 1983 he is listed as the Director of the Counseling Dept. Yvonne Bokoles is listed as an employee of Walla Walla General Hospital. On September 1, 1987 the house was bought by Harbert B. Drake and Susan E. Bauer-Drake for $77,000.
On May 10, 1999, the Drakes sold the house to Kevin E. French and Kim E. French for $175,000.
Kevin French is listed as a contractor for his own construction firm and remodeled the kitchen among other projects. On January 21, 2000, an easement agreement suit was filed by grantees Charles A. Potts and Ann Weatherill regarding the building of a fence on “disputed land” (the boundary between 330 S. Palouse and the apartments at 318 S. Palouse, owned by the defendants.) In accordance with a previous agreement, Potts and Weatherill were allowed to use a 2′ strip of the grantors’ property for a fence that French had installed too close to the apartment complex, although within the legal boundaries of 330 S. Palouse.
On June 7, 2000 Alison E. Kirby, a pediatrician at the Walla Walla Clinic, and her husband Daniel Calzaretta, an educator, bought 330 S. Palouse for $220,000. They have added a gazebo in the back, installed fences and sidewalks, established new gardens and now are remodeling the interior.
Construction of this house:
According to the County Assessor’s Office, this house was built in 1910. This researcher found that to be incorrect. A building permit was issued to Anastasia Martin on September 1, 1908 which makes 1908 the correct year for construction because Anastasia Martin is first listed as living at 330 South Palouse in the 1909-1910 City Directory. Beginning in the 1910-1911 City Directory, Anna T. Martin and Nellie Martin (Anastasia’s sisters-in-law) are always listed as residing at 330 S. Palouse but Anastasia is listed as the homeowner. Martin women lived in this house from 1908 until probably 1973. The current owners have made several very nice additions to the exterior and are now working on the interior. The renovation of this home makes it a very attractive property.
Resources used:
Pioneer Title Company documents for this property
Sanborn Fire Maps available at Whitman College Archives and the Walla Walla Public Library
Walla Walla County Assessor’s Office files
Walla Walla City Directories beginning in 1880 (although not available for all years) available in the Whitman College Archives and the Walla Walla Public Library
Whitman College Archives, Larry Dodd, archivist, for building permit files, old maps of Walla Walla, newspaper files, etc.
Katherine Weingart Walla Walla 2020 Research Service P.O. Box 1222 Walla Walla, WA 99362 April, 2003
