History of 933 Alvarado Terrace, Walla Walla, WA
Property Description:
Lot 9 in Block 9 of Green’s Park Addition to the City of Walla Walla, according to the official plat recorded in Volume C of plats at page 28, records of Walla Walla County;
EXCEPTING therefrom the following described tract to wit:
Beginning at a point in the Easterly line of Lot 9 in Block 9 of Green’s Park Addition to the City of Walla Walla, according to the official plat recorded in Volume C of plats at page 28, records of Walla Walla County, which point is 56.44 feet Southerly, measured along said Easterly line, from the Northeast corner of said Lot, and running thence Northerly, along said Easterly line, 56.44 feet to the Northeast corner of said lot; thence Westerly, along the Northerly line of said Lot, a distance of 76.5 feet to the Northwest corner of said Lot, thence , along the westerly line of said Lot, a distance of 56 feet; thence Easterly tin a straight line 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 and 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 named after the land owner of record at the time the additions were made.
All of the land in this area was acquired from the Cayuse and Walla Walla Indian tribes by the U.S. Government in a treaty signed on June 9, 1855 in Walla Walla, and ratified on March 8, 1859 by President James Buchanan. This property was acquired by William H. and Elizabeth Ann Patton prior to May 23, 1863. There is no patent listed for them in the government land office records so they must have purchased from a non-government source in that early day. They sold 19.55 acres to John Haley for $100 on May 23, 1863. John Haley subsequently acquired a large tract of bare land adjacent (north and east) of this property from the United States Government during the term of President Andrew Johnson by Patent dated July 15, 1865. Haley sold the same lands, together with another parcel, less 26.81 acres of the original parcel, to William O. Green on October 7, 1867 for the sum of $1500. William Orville Green and his wife Mary Francis crossed the plains and homesteaded in Walla Walla in 1862. He was an associate of Dr. Dorsey S. Baker in the stock business and acquired considerable land in Walla Walla and Franklin Counties. Green died in 1878. On December 30, 1895. Green’s surviving children and their spouses, Clarinda J. and Hugh Roland Smith (builders of Green Gables Bed and Breakfast house in 1909), Anne B. and W. H. Barnett, Philinda Green and Mary O. Green (daughter Fannie had died) quit claim deeded this land to their mother, Mary Frances Green for the stated consideration of $1.
On July 23, 1903, Mary Frances Green recorded the original plat of Green’s Park Addition to the City of Walla Walla. Mrs. Green boarded at 22 East Birch and 310 Park Street prior to 1908, when she moved to 925 Isaacs with her daughter Philinda and son-in-law John W. Langdon, one of Walla Walla’s “founding fathers.” In 1908 Mary F. Green transferred all her property to the Green Investment Company, of which she was president until 1912. The Green Investment Company amended the Green’s Park Addition plat on June 1, 1915 to include Green Lane on the north side of Green Park School.
On April 5, 1910 the Green Investment Company sold this property to Samuel D. Johnson for $800, including a covenant that a house worth at least $2500 had to be built before any other structures could be built. Six days later Johnson sold this property to Mattie C. Cookerly. The following January 1911 she sold it to George Edward Roberts for $1200. On April 11, 1912 Roberts sold lot 9 block 9 to David W. and Ida Ray Miller for a stated amount of $10. At that time Samuel Johnson signed a quit claim deed to the Millers. On April 20, 1912 D. W. Miller took out a building permit for a $5500 house to be built on this lot. Miller ran the Miller Wood Yard and lived at 503 East Sumach prior to building this home. After the house construction he was listed as a farmer until 1931 when he became the Commissioner of Streets and Public Improvements for the City of Walla Walla. In 1933 he was again a farmer. He died on February 24, 1936. In 1953 his widow deeded a portion of the lot (approximately 68’ x 76’) to Ward and Mary Ellen Miller. They signed a quit claim deed to Ida Ray Miller in 1960 for a 10’ x 68’ portion of the lot.
Following the death of her husband in 1936 Ida rented this house and she lived at 524 E. Main, 809 Valencia and 18 Park #16 through 1961. Renters included James R. Little, William E. and Pearl Bowe (farmer), Floyd V. and Ardella Pannett(salesman). The house was listed in the city directory as vacant in 1956 but on February 1, 1956 William Ray and Betty Luella Treadwell signed a deed and real estate contract to purchase this property. He was a plumber with Bill Treadwell Plumbing and Heating. On September 26, 1960 Ida Ray Miller gave the Treadwells a correction deed. They promptly sold to Frank G. and Chastine C. Drischel for “$10.” Dr. Drischel was a radiologist at the VA Hospital. On July 13, 1971 the Drischels sold to the Upper Columbia Benevolent and Missionary Society (subsequently the Walla Walla General Hospital) for $27,500. During their ownership the house was occupied by WWGH administrators Ron James and Ron and Eunice Sackett. Dr. Lawrence Hawkins and his wife Gwendolyn lived there in 1975. He was an anesthesiologist at the WWGH. On June 24, 1976 the Walla Walla General Hospital sold this house to Robert J. and Sue Walker for $37,600. He was an assistant administrator at the WWGH. On December 8, 1977 the Walkers sold to Joseph M. and Carolyn N. Corvino for $81,000. On December 17, 1999 the property was transferred to the Corvino Living Trust.
Construction of the House:
On May 20, 1912 D. W. Miller, as owner and builder, took out a building permit for the construction of a $5500 residence to be located at 933 Alvarado Terrace. The 1912-13 City Directory lists the Millers as living at this address. The Walla Walla County Tax Assessor’s files say the house was built in 1915 but all research confirms the 1912 building date.
References:
Andres, Penny, Walla Walla Her Historic Homes, 1991.
Bennett, Robert A., Walla Walla Portrait of a Western Town 1804-1899, Pioneer Press, Walla Walla, 1980.
Bennett, Robert A., Walla Walla A Town Built to be a City 1900-1919, Pioneer Press, Walla Walla, 1982.
Building Permits: Whitman College Penrose Library Archives
Lyman, Professor W.D., An Illustrated History of Walla Walla County 1901.
Sanborn Fire Maps: 1884-1905 (with updates until 1950).
Walla Walla City Directories: 1880-present (various publishers–not all years).
Mary E. Meeker Walla Walla 2020 Research Service PO Box 1222, Walla Walla WA 99362 January, 2004
