Francis Ermatinger House

The Francis Ermatinger House is located in Oregon City, Oregon, United States. Built by Francis Ermatinger in 1845, it is the oldest house in Clackamas County. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977,[1] and has been operated as a museum.[2]

Francis Ermatinger House
Location619 6th St.
Oregon City, Oregon
Coordinates45°21′20″N 122°36′20″W
Built1845
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Federal Style
NRHP reference No.77001099[1]
Added to NRHP1977[1]

Built in the Greek Revival style, the house was originally located near the Willamette River, in the downtown area near Willamette Falls. Francis Ermatinger, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, remained in Oregon City after the company abandoned its operations there in 1845.[3]

The house has been moved twice in its history, first in 1910 to the corner of 11th and Center streets, and again in 1986 to its current location at the corner of 6th and John Adams streets, adjacent to the Stevens Crawford House museum.[2]

It was in the Ermatinger House's left parlor that the famous coin toss between Francis Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy occurred, reputedly during a dinner party held in the house in 1845.[3] The two were arguing about whether the town they envisioned on their land claim, then called The Clearing, should be incorporated as Boston—Lovejoy's hometown in Massachusetts—or Portland—Pettygrove's hometown in Maine. Pettygrove won two out of three tosses, resulting in the city of Portland, Oregon.[4]

Damage from being moved twice has left the house unstable, resulting in the windows being removed. In 2011, it was closed to the public. With the future of the house in flux, it is one of ten entries on the Historic Preservation League of Oregon's Most Endangered Places in Oregon 2011 list.[5]

The house was re-opened on July 7, 2018 by the City of Oregon City Parks and Recreation Department. Guided tours are available Fridays and Saturdays. [6]

See also

References
  1. "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. January 5, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  2. "Francis Ermatinger House". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  3. Hawkins, William John; William F. Willingham (1999). Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon: 1850-1950 (First ed.). Timber Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-88192-433-4.
  4. "Portland History—The Town that was Almost Boston". Travel Portland. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  5. "Most Endangered Places 2011 - Ermatinger House". Historic Preservation League of Oregon. 2011. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  6. Ogle, Wesleigh. KATU News https://katu.com/news/local/ermatinger-house-where-coin-toss-determined-portlands-name-to-reopen. Retrieved 7 July 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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