What a neat home! Looks new and it looks like they are finishing up the fence.

Any idea where the home was located? Doesn't look like it was at river level. Maybe part way up the bluff near a stream so they had water?

l.e. on 3rd December 2014 @ 7:26am

I think there were quite a few homes up there on Ruthton, above where the highway cut is. I know that Sim Absten had a house up there above where the highway is. It was a wonderful view as I recall as a child.

Sad that all these lovely old houses are gone. Guess we can be thankful for those that remain.

Charlott on 3rd December 2014 @ 7:41am

What a home. Time for the paint? Notice the gentleman to the left with the hand saw and hammer! A few more boards to cut, by hand of course. Imagine no power tools, period!

James Holloway on 3rd December 2014 @ 8:41am

At least they had access to milled lumber here. I suspect this house was on the access road to the mill, just slightly uphill. We saw the mill here: http://historichoodriver.com/index.php?showimage=877

Arthur on 3rd December 2014 @ 10:34am

GREAT picture, love the decorative detail folk added to their homes...at the peak and on the roof. This picture sure shows a whole lot of history all in one shot....I wonder how much photo staging took place. Wagon, buggy, horses, kids, adults, workers, etc.....but no dog.
This holiday season I am reminded to appreciate you fellow posters and most of all the museum and Arthur and crew. My thanks to all!

Arlen Sheldrake on 3rd December 2014 @ 10:46am

A lot of homes from this era had only a fairly small amount of hand sawing done on them. A master carpenter would have specified the number and length of each size of board needed and they would have been cut to spec at a local millworks. Even rafters and stair stringers were supplied this way. This would have allowed a home to have a lot more finished appearance than it would have if all the boards were sawn by hand. Way way faster to erect the building as well. Can't say that this home was built using this method or not, but the neat appearance of it and many other homes in the area built around the same time suggest that this may have been the norm for the area.

Longshot on 3rd December 2014 @ 10:54am

Is that possibly a rock bluff to the right on the skyline? If so that might help pinpoint the location.

nels on 3rd December 2014 @ 2:07pm

The boy next to the horse, Frank and Helen's son Emory, is my grandfather. He was born in 1880, and appears to be 11 or 12 in the picture, so a date of 1891 or 2 is probably correct. Daughter Marie, born 1896, says in her bio of Frank that they lived in this house for 15 years. That would put their departure in about 1907 or 08, which fits in with the various moves they made following the selling of the mills to Stanley-Smith and going to Bull Run. There were 14 people living in this house at one point - Frank and Helen, Frank's mother Clarissa, and 11 living children. I've been hoping for a picture of this house, and am excited that this one exists. Now if I can just pinpoint exactly where it was located in Ruthton. Perhaps one of your blog followers will know - I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge that they exhibit in their comments!
If any of you blog readers know anything about Frank and Helen and the location in Ruthton, I'd really appreciate hearing from you. I'm writing a book about him and his life, and have a ton of info already, but am somewhat stymied about its exact location. I've visited Ruthton Point and met the Gay family, but most of it is orchard now. My email is larsen@jerryjan.com - please let me hear from you! Once the book is printed, I'll be donating a copy to the museum there in Hood River.

Jerry Larsen on 4th December 2014 @ 8:03am

I applaud your book efforts Jerry. Please let us know on this blog when it is released.

Arlen Sheldrake on 4th December 2014 @ 9:18am

Great pic- A few observations to ponder .....
Perhaps this shot is the side of the home- as the front of the home may face the road-
Who is that person dressed in the white on the steps ? a painter ? or is that a period of dress ?
I see what appears to be paint cans in the hands of one person or is that a jug of beer or HRD - ? :)
What is the guy up top resting on the railing post. ? Can we see a paint brush ?
The finish detail around the lower porch is neat to see- enclosed.
It's interesting to see how high the home sits on the steep hillside. Must have quite a post and beam and or a rock foundation.
Note how the upper porch area appear accessible from the rear side of the home- a ladder is also present. Perhaps the upper room was separate from the lower portion of the home.
The lower boards at the bottom of the picket fence must be in place to keep something small in or out of the yard.
Is someone sitting in the carriage ?
It appears the camera may be resting atop another horse cart or flat bed- as I see a detail in the lower right corner that looks carriage like- a seat maybe ?
The hillside sure looks steep to the left in the picture.
Note that they saved the oak tree next to the steps- as it's growing very near the home.
Is it just me- or does the tree to the left look oversized for the smaller size of the visible tree trunk ? I see some fuzzy areas- perhaps a slight breeze was up at the time of the picture.
Most everyone seems to be wearing a hat.
Please add more of what you observe .... : )

Steve r on 4th December 2014 @ 10:02pm

Arthur.....can you focus in closer and tell if that is a small waterfall to the right of the house, in the trees? It might just be a white streak of something, but it looks like a creek could go under the curve in the road.
Also, there are power lines. I wonder if an old map would show the source of electric power in the Ruthton area.

There is a person (woman?) sitting in the carriage. I suspect the gentleman in the white suit is visitor who arrived in the carriage. Notice the chock rock under the back wheel?

It would be interesting to know who took the photo. It must have taken time to get everything staged and yet it looks so perfect as a moment in time of a working day.

I suspect the fenced area at the back of the house is a garden and you could walk out to it from the kitchen.

l.e. on 5th December 2014 @ 6:19am

If I would have read Arthur's comment, I would know that the Neff Bros. took the photo.
Quite a few of HHR photos were taken by them. At this photo, Arthur and Charlott tell a little bit about William and Michael Neff.
http://historichoodriver.com/index.php?showimage=341

l.e. on 5th December 2014 @ 6:49am

A few quick answers: There are three distinct tree trunks contributing to all that foliage in the yard. There is no waterfall, just a scratch on the print. jnels may be correct about a rock outcrop to the right, but this is an extremely faded print which I have greatly increased in contrast, so it's possible it's just an artifact of that process. And finally, I'm pretty sure all the workmen are showing off their paint cans and tools, not a jug of alcohol. I'm pretty sure Mr. Davenport and other early lumbermen of the area were LDS and would not have taken kindly to photographing his beautiful new house with alcohol jugs in sight.

Arthur on 5th December 2014 @ 8:25am

Arthur, you are correct - Frank Davenport was born in 1853 in Salt Lake City, and his parents trekked across the country following Brigham Young. Frank's wife Helen had a cousin, Rodney Badger, who was actually with the advance party in 1847. Her parents, the Remingtons, preceded the Davenports to Utah. They were a staunch LDS family, and liquor would have been anathema to them. Regarding this view of the house, I believe that this is possibly a side view, with the front of the house facing the street to the left. I have a picture of the whole Davenport clan sitting on a set of steps, taken in 1899 or 1900 based on the ages of the children, and there is no tree visible in that view like the one showing here at the top of the steps next to the man in the white clothes. It's equally possible, however, that the tree got too big during the intervening years and had to be cut down.

Jerry Larsen on 6th December 2014 @ 7:07am

HR Glacier April 14, 1899 page 3
"The residence of Frank Davenport, two miles west of town, burned to the ground early Friday morning. The fire was discovered on the roof, and in 30 minutes from the time it was discovered the house was burned to the ground. The house was owned by Portland parties and we did not learn if it was insured or not.....Elders J.W. Workman and W.P. Clayton who were rooming in the upper story, lost $50 worth of clothing. Mr. Davenport's family moved into their former residence at the planer. The house burned was one of the oldest in the valley and was the home of Hon. E.L. Smith and family for several years after they came to HR. "

I have no idea if it is the same house, but the dates correspond. I think the home at the planer was up on Belmont.

L.E. on 1st April 2016 @ 11:07pm

L.E., I suspect this article refers to a house at Frankton. E.L. Smith lived at Frankton before moving downtown, but we have no record of him living at Ruthton point.

Arthur on 2nd April 2016 @ 9:59am