413 George Washington Way
| East Benton County Historical Society |
Most of Richland's pre-1943 structures no longer stand. When the government took possession of Richland, it razed most of the structures because they could not be integrated into the new infrastructure. Reasons included inadequate construction techniques and lack of plumbing. The historic homes on this page represent the few survivors.
Most of the surviving homes are Craftsman or Craftsman-inspired. Craftsman homes can be identified by lower pitched roofs, and overhanging eaves with exposed rafters and brackets. One of the most readily identifiable attributes are porches supported by square columns that go to from the roof to the ground. Not very many porches survive today, and those that do are usually screened in or enclosed thereby hiding the original columns. While the Nelson house's porch is screened in, you can still see the columns today.
The Craftsman style was inspired by two brothers--Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. Influences include oriental wooden architecture, the arts and crafts movement and hand craftsmanship (even though quite modern technology for the time was used). The Craftsman style home was the most popular smaller house in the country during the first decades of the 1900's due mostly to wide dissemination of pattern books, pre-cut houses and exposure in trade magazines.
Click on the thumbnail images for a full-sized picture.
| J. Cloninger house (1907) | Craftsman
w/ Queen Anne influence 413 George Washington Way |
|
Built in 1907, the Cloningers moved this house to this location in 1930. This was a fine farm on the road to Kennewick and adjoined the lumber yards, which were directly to the west. In recent years, the size of the house has been nearly doubled, but keeping with the basic style. The original portion of the home has the gables facing the front towards the street. The addition overhangs to the right. |
| J.E. Mowery house (1910) | National
(gable front-and-wing form) 1518 Van Giesen |
 |
The Mowery family came to Richland in 1909, with this house being built the following year. They had ten children, one being born in Richland. Several of the daughters were married in this house. Mowery had fine orchards and grew asparagus. He was very active in the Marketing Union. Several of the Mowerys' children still live locally and have been helpful in gaining recognition for historic Richland homes. |
| F.A. Friermood house (c1912) | 2030 Harris |
| The story of this house
reads like a fairytale. Edith Nelson was a nurse caring
for a rich invalid in Chicago and, out of generosity, he
bought this 40-acre tract of land in 1910-1911 for her
parents, Mr. And Mrs. Neil Nelson. The house, several
miles north of town, was built with the best materials,
much of it shipped from the East. Nowhere in the district
was there a house of this quality. Edith came out to
live, too, and they boarded teachers there, one of which
was Frank Friermood. In Christmas of 1912 they were
married. The farm had the finest crops, from apples, to
peas to asparagus. Frank won many trophies and medals for
his crops. Suddenly, in 1927, Frank died and the farm was sold. By the late 1930's, John and Clara George had bought the spread; Clara lives now at Hawthorne Court in Kennewick. They were forced off their land in 1943. Because it was the nicest home in Richland, it became for a time the home of Col. Matthias, who superintended the building of Richland and the Hanford Works. Later, it was the home of W. E. Johnson, manager of General Electric, who operated the Hanford plant. |
| G. McGhan house (c 1919) |
Craftsman 1336 Hunt |
|
Glen McGhan bought this
14-acre tract in 1919 for $5,250. The land was planted in
alfalfa and had fruit trees. In 1931, the John Citron
family moved onto this place. Glenn McGhan's son,
Everett, has been a Richland resident for about 80 years,
and has been active in establishing recognition for
historic Richland homes. The original porch is no longer in place. Most likely, it had craftsman inspired porch columns. |
| F.J. O'Brien house (c1920) | Craftsman 505 Davenport |
 |
A concrete block house, this served as the home for FJ O'Brien, manager of the Horn Rapids Irrigation Company, one of the many developers of the agricultural land of Richland. He lived here from 1920 to 1926, selling his 17 acres here to seek his fortune on the coast. His farm had potatoes, alfalfa, and sweet potatoes. Ray Rose bought the farm in 1927 and stayed until the farm was taken away by the Federal Government in 1943. He operated a trucking company besides running the farm. His daughter, Irene Rose Peddicord, has been active in Richland since they came and has been a participant in the recognition of historic Richland homes. |
| V. Nelson house (c1925) | Craftsman 1007 Gillespie |
 |
Victor Nelson was a partner in the Nelson and Dam store; his wife Blanche Ferris Nelson was a fifth grade teacher. For a time, Vic's brother Al lived here, too. He was cashier of the bank for many years until 1930, when the bank closed and Al Nelson went to prison for doctoring the books of the bank. Nelson never personally profited by this embezzlement. The house stands just north of the old elementary school site. |
| C.J. Barnett house (1928) | 2340 George Washington Way |
 |
Originally just a
basement, Barnett built this home of concrete blocks that
he made himself in 1928. Active in the grange, he had 20
acres and grew apricots, hay, and corn and raised
chickens and turkeys. When the government came in, he was
able to continue living in the home, renting it back from
the government. Once homes were able to be purchased
again in Richland (the later 1950's) Barnett bought back
two acres for a considerably higher price than he had
been paid for the whole twenty acres. The old stone well
is still used to irrigate. This house has been heavily modified from its original form. Because of this, it is difficult to tell what its original architectural style was. The upper part of the structure appears to quite recent, and all of the original windows have been replaced. If original, the roof line is unusual for pre-1940 homes. |
| E. Johnson house (1928) | Craftsman 2212 Tinkle |
|
Johnson came to Richland
in 1920 and purchased a 9 1/2 acre tract here. He lived
in a small house on the property while working on the
basement of this house which was completed in early 1927.
By the fall of that year he had started construction of
this bungalow. The house had a furnace, which was very
novel for the time. On the farm were grown strawberries,
alfalfa, and grapes. There was a fine orchard. The original craftsman-style porch columns have been replaced by concrete block. |
| C.F. Fletcher house (1934) | Craftsmanesque/National
transitional 640 Spengler |
 |
The Fletchers came to Richland in 1920 and lived in the basement of this house until 1934 when the "living quarters" were finally added. C.F. Fletcher was prominent in the affairs of the town, serving on the school board, the irrigation district board, and with the Grange. He was the last manager of the Richland Irrigation District/ He had about 30 acres here (20 on the hill and 10 below) with cows, hay, alfalfa, corn strawberries, and asparagus. |
Source material from the EBCHS archives. Photographs and architectural analysis by Jeremy Wells.
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