McLoughlin House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2017. McLoughlin House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 975540. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Pacific West Regional Office, San Francisco, California / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The McLoughlin House Unit is located on 0.63-acres of land in Oregon City, Oregon, overlooking the Willamette River. The landscape was part of Dr. John McLoughlin’s original land claim that he donated to Oregon City in 1851. At the time, McLoughlin specified that the parcel, known as “Block 40,” be used as a “public square.” Improvements were made to the site to support the relocation of the McLoughlin House in 1909. Additional improvements were made to the site under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in association with development of the McLoughlin Promenade between 1936 and 1939. Also notable was the relocation of the Barclay House to the site in 1937. Under management of the McLoughlin Memorial Association (MMA), the site was preserved, restored, and maintained until 2003 when the historic site was designated a unit of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Today, the historic site includes the McLoughlin House, the Barclay House and the associated grounds and landscape features. Today, the McLoughlin House Unit is locally significant under Criterion A for its association with events significant to broad patterns of our history as a reflection of early preservation activities in Oregon City during the early to mid-twentieth century. The period of significance begins in 1909 when the McLoughlin House was saved from demolition and relocated to the site. The period extends to 1941 when the McLoughlin House National Historic Site was designated under the Historic Sites Act of 1935. This period reflects the efforts of the McLoughlin Memorial Association as well as other early advocates such as Eva Emery Dye to protect and preserve the McLoughlin House and later the Barclay House from demolition. These buildings served as tangible reminders of the role that McLoughlin and Barclay played in the early history of Oregon City as well as the larger region due to their association with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Recognition of the historical significance of the buildings was achieved, in part, through their successful relocation to an existing publicly-owned site known as “Block 40” that had been donated to Oregon City by John McLoughlin in 1851. Collectively, the cultural landscape’s contributing features are in fair condition, exemplifying the site’s association with early preservation activities in Oregon City during the early to mid-twentieth century.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2017-08-22
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- FOVA , PWR
- Keywords
- Barclay House, conservation, Eva Emery Dye, Hudson's Bay Company, McLoughlin Memorial Association, McLoughlin Promenade, museum, Oregon City, plaza, preservation activity, preservation organization, relocation, rustic style, Singer Hill Steps, Works Progress Administration, WPA
- Subjects
- NPS.gov Subject Site: Cultural Landscapes , CRIS-CL: 975540: McLoughlin House