These pictures were taken when we were first looking at the house to buy it - before we made it our own.
We moved here on August 5, 2014 to this two story Vernacular Victorian Gothic Farmhouse. Since then I have learned that "Vernacular" is an architectural term that means designed with local climate, culture and materials as the main considerations. This place was known to its original pioneer builders as "The Home Place" and was their chosen home to live out their lives even though they had many other properties and were considered wealthy pillars of their community.
It was the builder, Thomas Croxton, who was the original postmaster of Josephine County (this place was then a two room cabin and the post office).
Croxton named "Grants Pass". The story goes that when the US Postal Service asked him what he wanted to name the post office, he requested "Grant's Post Office". That was already taken, so he requested the name, "Grants Pass" which is the name of our city. Croxton gave the cabin to his daughter, Hanna Dimmick who married Thomas Judson. They remodeled the place, adding a second floor. The bricks are actually a veneer, which were added in 1906 due to the fires that had repeatedly leveled much of the town. The brick buildings in historic downtown (G Street) are of the same brick that covers much of the house and was made locally.
This house is on the Registry of Historic Houses under the name: The "Dimmick-Judson House" and is listed in many architectural guides due to the fact that is has not been altered since 1865. Many of the windows and doors, locks and knobs are original. The pine-plank flooring is unaltered with the marks left by logger's boots still apparent from the time it was a cabin/post office. Pretty cool!
I love that this place, without a foundation and sporting the original aluminum roof is solid. The pride of the craftsmen who designed and built it is apparent in every aspect from the moldings to the layout to the orientation. This house, displays what we used to be proud of in this country, made by local people in the community who took pride in their work.
The cabin was actually built in 1855, before Oregon was even a state. The wood was logged here, milled here. Nothing is from China. It was before the railroad. Anything that was brought from far away was carried by horseback, mule or wagon.
Thomas Judson started the Masonic Order in Grants Pass. His wife, started the chapter of The Eastern Star. They donated land for the cemetery and first school (7th and School Street, just around the corner) Hannah was instrumental in starting the first library.
It was the builder, Thomas Croxton, who was the original postmaster of Josephine County (this place was then a two room cabin and the post office).
Croxton named "Grants Pass". The story goes that when the US Postal Service asked him what he wanted to name the post office, he requested "Grant's Post Office". That was already taken, so he requested the name, "Grants Pass" which is the name of our city. Croxton gave the cabin to his daughter, Hanna Dimmick who married Thomas Judson. They remodeled the place, adding a second floor. The bricks are actually a veneer, which were added in 1906 due to the fires that had repeatedly leveled much of the town. The brick buildings in historic downtown (G Street) are of the same brick that covers much of the house and was made locally.
This house is on the Registry of Historic Houses under the name: The "Dimmick-Judson House" and is listed in many architectural guides due to the fact that is has not been altered since 1865. Many of the windows and doors, locks and knobs are original. The pine-plank flooring is unaltered with the marks left by logger's boots still apparent from the time it was a cabin/post office. Pretty cool!
I love that this place, without a foundation and sporting the original aluminum roof is solid. The pride of the craftsmen who designed and built it is apparent in every aspect from the moldings to the layout to the orientation. This house, displays what we used to be proud of in this country, made by local people in the community who took pride in their work.
The cabin was actually built in 1855, before Oregon was even a state. The wood was logged here, milled here. Nothing is from China. It was before the railroad. Anything that was brought from far away was carried by horseback, mule or wagon.
Thomas Judson started the Masonic Order in Grants Pass. His wife, started the chapter of The Eastern Star. They donated land for the cemetery and first school (7th and School Street, just around the corner) Hannah was instrumental in starting the first library.