| East Benton County
Historical Society |
Kennewick, WA
historic homes
Most historic homes built in Kennewick before 1930 tend to be
variations on the Craftsman theme with exposed roof eaves, flared
porch columns, and triangular based supports (coincidentally,
this was also the most popular style in the rest of the country
during this time). Also very popular were National folk forms (pyramidal,
gable-front and wing, hall and parlor, I-house, massed plan side-gabled).
These were the types of homes built by people with more modest
means.
Many "high-style" forms commonly built after the
turn of the century are represented including Colonial Revival (Dutch
variants predominate), Tudor, and Spanish Eclectic. Notable
missing exceptions are Neoclassical (which can be found in the
Moore Mansion in Pasco), Chateauesque, Beaux Arts, French
Eclectic, Italian Renaissance, and Richardson Romanesque forms.
Typically, these are only found in larger urban areas as they
were more expensive to build and popular with the well-to-do.
Although many people commonly refer to any high-pitched roofed
house built around the turn-of-the century as "Victorian",
there are very few, if any, true Victorian houses in the Tri-Cities
area (the only type of Victorian represented is the Queen Anne
style). Typically, these homes are simple National folk styles.
The reason for this is because most permanent structures began to
be built in the area around the turn of the century, decades
after Victorian styles faded from the scene.
Many historic homes in Kennewick have been carefully restored
by their owners, insuring their legacy will be experienced by
future generations.
-Article written by Jeremy Wells
Click on the thumbnail images
for a full-sized picture.
Key: 
Building is
still standing. 
Building has been torn down.
| Harry Beach
Homestead (c1890) |
|
 |
This
house was located near the old Northern Pacific railroad
bridge. |
| CJ Beach House (1892) |
National/folk
I-house | 215 E. 1st Ave. |
 |
CJ Beach
was a railroad millwright who laid out an early plat of
Kennewick (which did not agree with the later plat by the
Northern Pacific Railroad). He originally homesteaded in
Kennewick in 1883, then moved to Ellensburg for nine
years. When he returned in 1892, he built this home next
to the railroad. This
is probably the oldest standing house in Kennewick today.
|
| Sercombe House (1902)1 |
Probably
East 3rd Ave. and Beech. |
 |
Mr.
Sercomb was responsible for bringing the first irrigation
water to town.1 1Information taken from
original photograph.
|
| Collins House (1905)1 |
Dutch
Colonial Revival | 219 S. Washington St. |
 |
1Information taken from
original photograph. |
| W.G. King House (c1905) |
Craftsman/Colonial
Revival | 601 W Albany
Charles and Eleanor Morbeck, owners |
House c. 1910
Sketch
House today
Inside, c. 1910
|
W.G. and
Mary King bought the property in 1905 to build this fine
house. Mr. King established the King and Son General
merchandise Store on the corner of what is now Kennewick
Avenue and Benton Street and Mrs. King was active in the
Kennewick Women's Club. The house features exquisite
windows, original cupboards and woodwork, and a claw foot
tub in the bath. Old Maple trees stand in the front yard.
Currently owned by Charles and Eleanor Morbeck, the
character of the house is enhanced by the taste of Sylvia
Bakan who makes her home there. She has furnished her
home with antique furniture including Austrian china
closets. All of the bears who share her home are her own
handmade creations. The
style of this house is somewhat difficult to classify. It
seems to incorporate a blend of Craftsman and Colonial
Revival styles together. For example, the porch is
Craftsman is style, while the roof is more typical for
Colonial Revival homes.
|
| LE Johnson House (1906) |
Craftsman
| 504 W. Kennewick Ave. |
House in 1906
House today
|
L.E.
Johnson worked with the Amons in the banking business and
started an insurance company. Johnson was also a Mayor of
Kennewick. Later on, the Johnsons moved to the Brogunier
House (see below). From
the way the house appears today, it is difficult to see
its Craftsman-style roots. However, the original photo
clearly shows the unenclosed roof eaves and porch design
typical for Craftsman homes.
|
| Dr. Crosby House (1906) |
Dutch
Colonial Revival | 108 E. First Ave. |
 |
This was
Dr. Crosby's first home in the area (the later one is at
503 W. Kennewick Ave.). |
| Church House (1906) |
Italian
Renaissance/Mission inspired | 510 W. Kennewick Ave. |
Original house
House today
|
M.H.
Church owner of Church Grape Juice Company had this house
built. This is one of the more unusual architectural
styles in the area. It noteworthy for its lack of
adornment (for the period) and simplicity--in some ways,
foreshadowing future styles. The arches and stuccoed
walls seem to speak of an Italian or Spanish influence. The house, as it stands today, has
been heavily modified and no longer has the unique porch.
|
| AH Richards House (1906)1 |
Queen
Anne (Victorian) | 905 W. Grande Ronde |
Original house
House today
|
This is
perhaps one of the few late Victorian style homes built
in this area. Most of the exterior detailing survives
with the exception of the roof balustrade on top of the
porch. 1According
to the Kennewick Courier, June 8, 1906.
|
| J. Crowell House (c1907) |
Craftsmanesque
| 523 W. Kennewick Avenue |
 |
James
Crowell was an associate of C.A. Lundy (see the Lundy
House which this
house is next to). Mr. Crowell's wife was also Mr.
Lundy's daughter. This house is unusual in that it has
craftsman-like detailing (note the flared base of the
porch), but the roof is very uncraftsmanlike (enclosed
eaves) and seems to echo the basic roof design of it
Dutch Colonial neighbor, the Lundy House. |
| Judge G. F. Richardson House (c1907) |
Dutch
Colonial Revival | 216 South Auburn Street
Robert Ilten, owner |
Original house
House today
House, approx 30 or 40
years ago.
|
George
Frederick Richardson was perhaps Kennewick's only citizen
who served in the U.S. Congress. While living in
Michigan, Richardson served in Congress from 1893-1895.
He moved to Kennewick in 1904 with his family and while
here owned the Kennewick Transfer Co., had this fine home
built, served as police judge, chairman of the school
board, and two terms as Mayor of Kennewick (1914-1916).
In 1916, he traded all of his Kennewick holdings to
George R. Bradshaw, in exchange for a ranch near
Ellensburg.
Bradshaw moved from Ellensburg to Kennewick, ran the
Transfer Company, and lived in this house from 1916-1924.
They sold the home to Frank and Carlotta Lincoln, natives
of Massachusetts, who had been farming at the south end
of Washington Street since 1909. Lincoln was a
bookkeeper, a fine musician, grew beautiful flowers
around the house, and was postmaster of Kennewick from
1934-1946.
Following Mrs. Lincoln's death in November 1942, the
house was sold to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church and
served as a teacherage for the church school until
purchased by Robert Ilten in 1977, who continues to own
the home. Ross and Amy Courtney have resided in the home
with their daughter since 1998.
The house retains some of its fine detailing, befitting
the home of a congressman or mayor. Notice the small
Palladian windows in the attic space and the fine double
doors leading into the home. Martha Lincoln Carlson
remembers some of the cabinetry work in the 1920s and
1930s done by the noted local carpenter, A.V. Lewis,
including the enclosure of the claw foot tub (still-existing)
in the downstairs bathroom. In the late 1930s, after all
of the Lincoln children were gone, a kitchen and bath
were added to one of the upstairs bedrooms and Kennewick
schoolteachers resided here, providing additional income
for the Lincolns. From the outside of the house, you can
see how the house has changed since its 1907 design. Note
the different foundations, siding, porches, reflecting
the changes in the house over the passage of ninety years. |
| Sheppard House (1908) |
Craftsman
with Pairie influence | 515 W. Kennewick Ave. |
 |
Edward
Sheppard was a druggist and Mayor for the City of
Kennewick. Later, Captain BB Smith, commander of the
Pasco Naval Air Station, who was also Mayor of Kennewick,
lived here. |
| John Dower Lumber
Co. House (1908)1 |
National,
pyramidal folk style | 15 S. Fruitland St. |
 |
This building was moved in the 1950's
to this location by the John Dower Lumber Company and is
currently a house. Original location was Benton St. and
Railroad Ave.1 1Walk Historic
Kennewick guide by Tom Moak (c. 1992).
|
| S. Henderson House
(c1908) |
Craftsman
| 422 First Ave. |
 |
This house was designed by
architect F.A. Swingle for Scott Henderson, editor of The
Kennewick Reporter (Kennewick's former weekly newspaper).
This home has recently been purchased for use by a
religious facility. |
| A.V. McReynolds
House (c1908) |
Queen
Anne (Victorian) | W. Kennewick Avenue, next to the A.V.
McReynolds Tenant House where the flower shop stands
today. |
 |
A.V.
McReynolds was known for being an excellent builder. He
also built the A.V. McReynolds home which still stands
today, next door. This was a nursing home before finally
being torn down. |
| The C. A. Lundy House (1908) |
Dutch
Colonial Revival | 529 W. Kennewick Avenue
Gary and Johnean Hansen, owners |
The coyote club
|
C(yrus)
A. Lundy was a real estate developer, riverboat owner,
and Kennewick promoter, arriving in the community in 1902.
In 1908, he built this $4,000 Dutch Colonial Revival
concrete block house on the “best site in the city.”
Unfortunately, Lundy died in 1910 of a heart attack
during a climbing accident. His widow, Dora, lost the
property and the house eventually passed into the hands
of J(abez) B. Thomas, agent for the Union Pacific
Railroad, and his wife Emma, who owned the house until
the 1940s.
The house was rented to various parties--from 1913 to
1914 it was the home of the Coyote Club, a group of
prominent Kennewick bachelors who “knew how to howl”.
Joseph Siegfried, who ran the local Pacific Power &
Light company, and his family lived here from 1919 to
1923, when their new home on First Avenue was finished.
Later owned by nurseryman Glen Nagley (1948-1965), who
remodeled it in the 1940's, and school administrator
James Eierdam (1972-1984), the house was purchased by
Gary and Johnean Hansen in 1985, who have continuously
improved the home while living here.
Gary Hansen, an architect, craftsman, and visionary,
designed the “look” and “feel” of the
various rooms. Among the highlights of the house is the
Victorian-style Polynesian-themed parlor, with deep blue
high sky and beveled leaded glass windows. The blue and
white colored kitchen, Johnean’s sewing area, and
dining room pay tribute to the Dutch style of
architecture. (When the Hansens moved in, the kitchen was
out on the original back porch.) Upstairs, the hallway
displays a portion of Gary’s unique collection of
historic doorknobs. One bedroom is decorated in the
nautical theme, in recognition of the importance of the
river to C. A. Lundy, two bedrooms echo a more formal
Victorian era, while the fourth showcases a Roman-styled
spa. |
| A. V. McReynolds Tenant House (1909) |
Craftsman | 610 W. Kennewick Avenue
Paul and Joyce Scharold, owners |
House c. 1930 (?)
House today
|
Built in
1909 as a tenant house by Kennewick contractor, A(rthur)
V. McReynolds, who lived in a fine house next door where
the flower shop now stands, this Craftsman-style home is
in the process of restoration by owners/residents Paul
and Joyce Scharold. After McReynolds died in April 1934,
his widow, Sarah Voss McReynolds, moved into this house
where she resided until her death in July 1948. Numerous
owners followed and the house slowly deteriorated. When
purchased by the Scharolds for $20,000 in 1986, only
vagrants and mongrel cats frequented the house. Since
then, the house has received a new foundation, roof,
plumbing, and electrical systems as well as careful
repair of the lath and plaster walls. The interior
woodwork has been stripped and refinished.
Among the noteworthy features of the house are the
working 1940s refrigerator, 1930s stove and family
heirlooms from Iowa and North Dakota (including an 1850s
bed). Many of the walls and ceilings have been rag
painted, sponge painted, or stenciled by Joyce and almost
all of the electrical, plumbing, and carpentry work has
been done by Paul. Joyce has also refinished much of the
antique furniture throughout their home, which they share
with their five children.
The house has fine red fir woodwork, a leaded glass
window in the living room, downstairs lighting fixtures,
naturally lit upstairs walk-in closets, and the original
clawfoot bathtub. The house also holds the Scharolds'
interesting collections of birdhouses, musical
instruments, and picnic baskets. |
| Dr. Crosby House (second
residence - 1910) |
503 W.
Kennewick Ave. |
 |
This was
Dr. Crosby's second home in the area (the first one is at
108 E. Kennewick Ave.). When originally built, it had a
distinctive tower. This home has been very heavily
modified from the original. |
| WR Amon House (c1910) |
Craftsman/Colonial
Revival
SW corner of Kennewick Ave. and Fruitland |
 |
This
house is an interesting mix of Craftsman and Colonial
Revival. The supports on the wide, overhanging roof are
unique in the area and are associated with more of a
"high style" Craftsman. The porch columns are
very Colonial Revival in style. A Craftsman porch would
have square columns that would extend either directly, or
through the assistance of a lower enclosure, directly to
the ground. |
| WC Muldrow House (1910) |
Dutch
Colonial Revival | 505 W. Kennewick Ave.
Ted and Camille Rivard, owners |
 |
W.C.
Muldrow was the Manager of the Kennewick Irrigation
District. During WWII this house was converted to a
duplex. In 1989, the house was restored to its former
layout. |
| Slaugenhaupt House (1910) |
Craftsman | 715 W Albany
The Southams, owners |
|
When
this house was built in 1910, Albany Street was still
known as Kennewick Avenue. George and Phoebe Sherk
purchased this home from the Slaugenhaupt's. Mr. Sherk
operated a dry goods store in town and served as Mayor of
Kennewick from 1916 to 1918. This little jewel features beautiful
woodwork throughout with a nice plate rail in the dining
room. The original claw foot tub still occupies the
bathroom. The kitchen stove is made from a mold dating
from the Civil War era.
|
| Capt. H. Vibber
House (1915) |
Prairiesque/National
pyramidal folk | 410 W. Kennewick Ave. |
 |
Captain
H. Vibber operated a drugstore down the street from this
home. Although
predominantly pyramidal folk (National) in style, some
design elements lend a Prairesque feel to the structure.
|
| Guy Haydon House (c1915) |
Craftsman
| 421 W. Kennewick Ave. |
 |
This
home was designed by architect F.A. Swingle. Later, this
was the home of A.T. Belair, the bakery store owner. |
| Brogunier House (c1920) |
Colonial
Revival | 509 Kennewick Ave. |
 |
This is
only one of the few homes built in the area with Granger
tiles (another is the Siegfried House). Thomas Brogunier
was a local dentist. |
| Bethlehem Lutheran Church Parsonage (1920) |
Craftsman
| 220 South Benton Street
Patrick and Bonnie Puntney, owners |
|
Out of
cement block that was made on the premises, this sturdy
house was built to serve as a parsonage for Rev. R. C.
Messerli, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church across the
street. With the Reese family of Reese's Concrete as
members of the church, cement block seemed an obvious
choice for the parsonage. Reverend Messerli and his
family moved in August 1920 and for the next 60 years
Pastors Messerli, Kauth, Schroeder, Reiss, Gross, and
Thoelke and their families lived here. Rev. Martin Kauth
remained in residence and shepherded his flock the
longest, from 1924 -1952.
In the early 1950s, the upstairs rooms were added on the
south side of the house as Rev. Schroeder had a larger
family than would fit comfortably in the bungalow. The
Schroeders also kept chickens in the coop behind the
house. In 1978, the church chose to sell the parsonage,
establishing a fund from which its called workers might
receive interest-free loans and purchase their own homes.
Patrick and Bonnie Puntney have owned and lived in the
home since purchasing it from the church in 1980.
Over the past year, utilizing 1920s photographs and a
clear vision of the past, the Puntneys are taking the
house back to its bungalow origins. Craftsman-style
wooden columns and bookshelves have been built between
the living room and dining room in the style of the
originals that are long gone. A 1918 built-in china
cabinet overlooks the Stickley table and appears as if it
were always there. A new (1998) Craftsman-style kitchen
was installed that provides the comforts of a modern era
with the feel of an era gone by. View Bonnie's beautiful
quiltwork and love of the quilting tradition throughout
the house. Outside, there are the Puntneys' award winning
gardens which were planted in 1994. The patio in the back
yard utilizes brick from a fruit warehouse in Wenatchee
and the fine wrought iron gate comes from an old Elks
Lodge. |
| Dr. C. D. Hopper House (c1923) |
Craftsman
w/ Tudoresque roof ("Germanic Cottage" variant)
522 First Avenue
Craig and Robyn Davis, owners |
 |
Dr. C(laire)
D. Hopper was a well-liked physician in the little town
of Richland, WA before the First World War. After the
War, he chose to settle in Kennewick and about 1923,with
his wife, Margaret, had a small one-story bungalow built
on this large, prominent lot he bought from W. R. Amon.
In 1928, Dr. Hopper chose to enter the Indian Health
Service in Arizona and sold the house to his fellow
physician, Dr. L. G. Spaulding. Dr. Hopper died in 1978
at age 102.
Dr. Spaulding, a widower with one son, Gene, had married
Elizabeth McGahey in 1924, a nurse with two children,
Bill and Marjorie. For Dr. and Mrs. Spaulding, Oden
“Dutch” Staley added on to the small residence,
to the east with a larger living room with fireplace and
built-in bookshelves and porch and an entire second story
with three bedrooms, bathroom, and sleeping porch. Dr.
Spaulding died in June 1940 and Gene and his wife
Gertrude sold the house in October 1941 to Merrill “Bob”
Simmelink and his wife Ruth, who came with their
children, Tommy, Cork, and Leona from farming on the
Horse Heavens. After Bob Simmelink died in 1952, Ruth
moved out in 1958, and the Brunner family owned the home
for over thirty years. Craig and Robyn Davis bought the
house in June 1998 and have been living in it with their
two young sons and restoring it to its 1920s beauty.
A new spacious kitchen was installed in 1999,
incorporating the original kitchen and sun porch and the
traditional look of the 1920s. As the Davis’s
proceed, they have returned the house's original
character, uncovering the red fir floors, adding
appropriate doors and windows, making it feel fit for the
most prominent citizens of Kennewick of the 1920s or for
a young family of the 21st century. A collection of
antique trunks and furnishings add to the charm of this
home. |
| C. Powell House (c1930) |
Colonial
Revival | 503 First Ave. |
 |
This house was built for Charles
Powell, a prominent attorney and later a Federal District
Judge. |
Research, photography (except
for Mcreynolds Tenant & Hopper houses) and architectural
analysis by Jeremy Wells. Source material from the EBCHS archives.
Thanks to Tom Moak for his in-depth knowledge of local buildings.
Do you have anything to add or correct? Please e-mail the EBCHS at
ebchs@gte.net
