If these walls could talk!

Look at what Swanky found in the attic earlier this year... hidden above the attic bedroom ceiling! They are 1940 romance novels and anatomy books. The titles are self explanatory. I wonder who had these stashed up in the attic! I can't imagine what it would have been like to be living in the closet in the 1940s. I wonder if this person is still alive and living a more free life?

House History

Well, swanky and i may both be ROASTING like thanksgiving turkey's down here in Arizona right now, but that doesn't stop us from working on the house remotely... how?

Internet research on our house history!

The Oregonian has Historical Archives available through the Multnomah County library online and I spent some time looking things up the other night. Yes, I'm a nerd.

But I found some great articles about our house, Evelene and her two girls... and later owners, the Sinnott's.

This might be my favorite new lead in my quest to learn more about her!

Irvington History

In my spare time (or lack there of) I still try to research the history of our home and the neighborhood... Here's a little history to our Irvington Neighborhood.


"Few city neighborhoods in the West have the variety and quality of early 20th Century residential architecture to equal Portland's historic Irvington Neighborhood. Portland's population boomed in the years after 1900, spurred by the 1905 Lewis Clark Exposition. With the west side of the Willamette River fully built up, the city expanded to the east side trolley car suburbs like Irvington in the years from 1900 through 1920.

Upper middle class Portlanders built substantial Irvington houses in the styles common to the period -- Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Prairie Style, Bungalow -- many with an inventiveness and creative touch freed from East Coast architectural proprieties. Despite some losses to urban development, Irvington retains its historic charm, with thousands of well maintained or recently restored homes."

and more...

"The trolley car made Irvington. Before automobiles provided nearly universal mobility, the 5 cent streetcar fare offered ordinary citizens the opportunity to live more than walking distance from their work, and opened up the "suburban" areas of Portland east of the Willamette River to settlement. From its late 19th century beginnings, Irvington was planned as an upper middle-class residential area. Deed covenants set minimum values for new homes and imposed other restrictions. The result was slow but steady growth, and an unusually high quality of design and construction throughout the area."

Fish Cookery

I finally obtained a copy of Evelene's Cookbook, Fish Cookery. I'm curious how she used the house and the original kitchen and was hoping there might be some pictures. 600 recipes, some that I don't think I'll be trying...

Our Home's History Timeline...

From a 1910 Real Estate Map (#39) for NE Portland, Block 18... I learned that "JD Spencer et al" owned the lot where our home sits.

This is how I found him in the 1913 phonebook, listed at 582 E 21st N (our old address) with his wife Evelene and learned that he does real estate. In 1912 they lived at 482 1/2 E Ankeny... they must've lived on Ankeny while the home was being built in 1912 by Oregon Home Builder's, Inc.

Evelene and Joseph D. lived in the house until 1921. According to early census' the Spencer's had (2) children, Adrienne and Evelene (jr.). In 1920, according to the phone book, he changed career paths and is listed as a salesman at Eastern Outfitting Co ("Ladies & Men Apparel") downtown on 10th and Washington. Why he left real estate is still a mystery, but perhaps this led to him selling the house to another family, also in the real estate business. To read more about the Spencer's - I'll post more soon. Evelene was quite the woman in the early 1900s!

(1922-1923 is still ?)

In 1924 William P Sinnott and his wife, Mary I, moved into the home. They moved from a house on NE Broadway (perhaps a Jacobberger) into ours. The Sinnott family has a long history in Portland and is well established. Early Sinnott's were members of Congress as well as Federal Indian Agent's in the 1870s. In the 1950s the house transferred to William P Sinnott Jr and then to Mary herself, listed as the primary resident until 1957.

In 1958 Carl E Smith lived here at phone number ATI-0403. That's all I know about him.

As early as 1960 (possibly 1959) Mrs. B Eileen Welch is listed as the primary homeowner and this is where the Unification Church(es) come into play. The house had many homeowners listed at this address between 1960 - current. I've tracked all to be members of what is now a group called United Faith. For more information about this history - I'll post more soon

All this history I've found through researching old phonebooks... I still have to visit the County Tax Accessor's office to confirm who physically owned the home.

Evelene & Joseph

Evelene and Joseph Spencer were the original homeowners of our home. Originally from Canada, married in Alameda, CA... they ended up in Portland, Oregon. Joseph was in real estate and later in "dry goods" working at Eastern Outfitters in the late 1910s. By 1920 they disappeared out of the phonebook and William P Sinnot, his wife Mary and family moved into our home. William P had a home built by J. Jacobberger and I was hoping this was ours. But in looking at old photographs at the historical society, it was a different home. Why the Sinnott's moved from a Jacobberger into ours, is unknown. The Sinnott Family has deep roots in Oregon including members in Congress and the State Senate.


What else have I learned... The home was built in 1912-1913 by the Oregon Home Builders, Inc. The Architect is still unknown.


There was a famous Mrs. Evelene Spencer in the early 1900s who was attributed to popularizing fish in the US and co-wrote a cookbook, FISH COOKERY, with a professor from the University of Washington. I'm not sure if this was her... but the timing and location align. Stay tuned for more!

We got the House

After early inspections, a wedding and a honeymoon... we learned that we were put in first position for the offer we placed on the house. Here's an exterior photo of what we're taking on. You can't tell but it's in dire need of a major paint job, but that'll wait until next year.

Paperwork is being sorted out and we hope to close in the middle of October.

The Stats:
1913 Craftsman in the heart of Irvington here in Portland, Oregon. The history is still unknown, but we did find out it was last occupied by a religious unification group.

Currently: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, partial basement, partial attic... plumbing for 1 additional full bath in basement and 1/2 bath on main level.

The original Plumbing Permit lists it being built by "Oregon Home Builders" in 1912...

The trimwork has never been painted on the first floor and all the wiring is still knob and tube... yikes!

Did I mention it's missing a KITCHEN? This will be project #1.