John Phillips House

John Phillips House is a historic 1853 vernacular Greek Revival[3] house in the Spring Valley area of Polk County, Oregon, United States. It was built for pioneer John Phillips,[3] who came to Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1845.[4] He finished his journey to Oregon on the Meek Cutoff as part of Stephen Meek's "lost wagon train".[4][5]

John Phillips House
John Phillips House is located in Oregon
John Phillips House
John Phillips House is located in the United States
John Phillips House
Location6565 Spring Valley Rd. NW
Salem, Oregon
Nearest citySalem, Oregon
Built1853
Architectural styleClassical Revival[1]/Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.76001588[2]
Added to NRHPMarch 15, 1976

John Phillips, born in 1814, was a native of Wiltshire England who came to the U.S. in 1834 and settled in Florida.[5][6] After living in New Orleans—where he met and married Elizabeth Hibbard in 1839—and St. Louis, he came to Oregon and bought the Turner donation land claim in Polk County for $100.[5][6] The locale was once known as Spring Valley Ranch.[5] John Phillips hired carpenter Samuel Coad to build a house for him there.[7]

Three-quarter view of house showing the Eola Hills rising behind it

Samuel Coad served during the Cayuse War in 1855, and helped construct buildings at Fort Hoskins, including one commissioned by then-Lieutenant Philip Sheridan, which was moved near the community of Pedee.[7][8][9] Also known as the Condron House, the Philip Sheridan House has been returned to the Fort Hoskins site and is being restored.[8] Samuel Coad married the daughter of General Cornelius Gilliam, Henrietta, in 1853.[7] Coad also constructed the woolen mill at Ellendale.[7]

As of 1980, the John Phillips House was the oldest residence in Polk County and was still in the Phillips family.[5] The 1+1⁄2-story house has horizontal wood siding.[10]

The house has a Salem mailing address, but the closest settlement is the unincorporated community of Zena about a mile to the southwest.[5] John Phillips is buried in the Zena Cemetery at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church.[5]

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places: Oregon—Polk County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com (mirror site of official NRHP NRIS database: www.nr.nps.gov). Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  2. "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. January 5, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  3. "ArchitectDB structure record: Phillips, John, House, Salem, OR". University of Washington Digital Library. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  4. "Emigrants to Oregon In 1845". oregonpioneers.com. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  5. Wirfs, Charlotte L. (1980). "Tour No. 1: Early Settlements of N.E. Polk County". Historically Speaking. Polk County Historical Society. IV: 2.
  6. "John Phillips". The History of the Willamette Valley, Being A Description of the Valley and its Resources, with an account of its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and its Subsequent History; Together with Personal Reminiscences of its Early Pioneers. Chapman Publishing Company. 1903. p. 644. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  7. "Samuel Coad". The History of the Willamette Valley, Being A Description of the Valley and its Resources, with an account of its Discovery and Settlement by White Men, and its Subsequent History; Together with Personal Reminiscences of its Early Pioneers. Chapman Publishing Company. 1903. p. 520. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  8. Maxwell, Ben (May 1, 1959). "Group Seeks Hoskins House". Capital Journal. forthoskins.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  9. Hines, H. K. (1893). An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. p. 677. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  10. "John Phillips House listing in the Oregon Historic Sites Database". Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved April 2, 2009.

45.027686°N 123.125925°W / 45.027686; -123.125925

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