Eva Emery Dye House

cgwatson47

Apr 27, 20228 min read

Updated: May 5, 2022

902 Jefferson Street

Oregon City

The Dye House was built in approximately 1893, and sadly has been heavily altered so as to be nearly unrecognizable. It was originally designed in the Queen Anne and Vernacular styles. After Eva sold the house in 1943, it was used as a rental until 1959 when it was purchased by a local architect who removed the original elements and expanded the size of the home. The most intact element of the historic house is the garage that was built circa 1915.

Historic image courtesy of Wikipedia. Contemporary photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022

Eva Lucinda Emery was born in 1855 to Cyrus and Caroline Trafton Emery in Prophetstown, Illinois. Her mother died in 1857 at age 24, when Eva was only two years old. She was raised by her father, who was a prolific storyteller, and as a girl she read much of her mother’s poetry collection. By the time she was nearing the end of her primary education she had become a poet, song writer, and storyteller herself, and her teachers encouraged her to pursue publication. By age 15 Eva was being published in area newspapers under the pseudonym “Jennie Jupiter.” Despite her early writing success, her father did not want her to pursue higher education so Eva began to work as a teacher. From this she was able to save enough money to fund her first year at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Eva circa 1855. Photo courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library, photographs collection, Org. Lot 1414, Box 239, 0239S001

While at Oberlin, Eva continued to teach on and off to support her studies. Despite this, she was still able to serve as the literary editor of the Oberlin Review, won honors in oratorical contests, and graduated Valedictorian with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Also while at Oberlin, Eva met Charles Henry Dye who was born August 23, 1856 in Fort Madison, Iowa. One week after her graduation she and Charles were married on July 13, 1882 .

After their marriage and graduation both of the Dyes taught school in Sidney, Iowa while continuing to study for their Masters degrees. Eva received her Masters in 1887 and Charles received his in 1888. They then moved to Franklin, Nebraska where Charles took a post as the headmaster of the Franklin Academy. Charles continued to study and received his law degree from the University of Iowa Law School in 1889. At this time, Charles opened his first law practice in Madison, South Dakota while Eva took a position teaching at the local Normal School.

Eva Emery Dye, date unknown. Courtesy of http://centuryofaction.org/index.php/main_site/Collections/eva_emery_dye_papers

Charles Dye advertisement in the Oregon City Courier Herald on May 12, 1899.

By 1890 the Dyes had decided to move to Oregon City, Oregon presumably because as a Real Estate Attorney, business there would be booming. It was, and he quickly became successful at his Real Estate and Contract Law practice. Later he was appointed Deputy District Attorney for Oregon City, and won a seat in the Oregon State House of Representatives in 1907 where he served District 16 (Oregon City, Clackamas) as a Republican. He also achieved success as a real estate investor, and very quickly the Dyes were prominent and wealthy citizens of their new hometown. Eva Dye initially took a teaching position in Oregon City, taught Sunday school, and wrote plays for her classes.

The cast of Ye Old Colonial Times, a play Dye wrote for her students. Photo from "Images of America: Oregon City" by Jim Tompkins

Eva quickly fell in love with the history of the region she was now living in, stating “I began writing as soon as I reached this old and romantic historical city. I saw beautiful historical material lying around like nuggets.” [1] She soon began to research Doctor John McGloughlin, known as the Father of Oregon, which included extensive interviews with early pioneers who had known him personally. While her writing was fictionalized, she wrote the first in-depth history of McGloughlin and in 1900 finally published her book “McGloughlin and Old Oregon” which was the story of his life and early history of the territory. The book was a success, which enabled her to begin writing her next book, a history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition which was nearing its Centennial anniversary.

In 1902-03 she and others were instrumental in the discovery of several of William Clark’s expedition notebooks, letters written between Clark, Meriwether Lewis, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as 50 of Clark’s original maps. Using these documents as well as other research, Eva wrote her next book “The Conquest”, a biography of William Clark and his brother George Rogers Clark. It was the first time the public had heard much about Sacagawea, who was for the first time portrayed as a major participant and guide for the expedition. While this was again a heavily fictionalized work, it sparked a new interest in Sacagawea and brought enormous popularity to this previously barely known historical player.

Due to the timing of the book, with the upcoming Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (in 1905) and the budding Women’s Suffrage Movement, the book became enormously popular and Sacagawea became a symbol of the women’s rights cause. A Sacagawea Statue Association was formed in Portland with Eva Dye serving as its President. This group was founded by Eva in conjunction with the Portland Women’s Group with which she was also involved. The Statue Association appealed to women’s groups across the country and fundraised $7,000 (~$229,000 in 2022) for a statue by selling Sacagawea merchandise such as spoons and buttons adorned with her likeness. In 1905, just in time for the Lewis and Clark Exposition, the group unveiled the bronze statue “Sacagawea and Jean-Baptiste” in Portland. The statue was created by Alice Cooper of Denver, and was presented to the Exposition at an unveiling ceremony prior to the start of the show.

Susan B. Anthony was present at the unveiling, and made the opening remarks at the convention where she addressed the statue:

This is the first time in history that a statue has been erected in memory of a woman who accomplished patriotic deeds…This recognition of the assistance rendered by a woman in the discover of this great section of the country is but the beginning of what is due…[2]

The statue was seen by nearly 3 million visitors to the Exposition, and is still on display to this day at Washington Park in Portland.

Historic photo of the Sacagawea statue; public domain courtesy of www.nps.gov. Contemporary photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022. Statue is located in Washington Park, Portland.

Plaque on the statue of Sacagawea; photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022

In addition to her suffrage work and writing, which included numerous articles and two more published romantic fiction books in 1906 and 1934, Eva was in demand as a public speaker, was a mother to four children, and was heavily engaged in the cultural and civic happenings in Oregon City. She and Charles actively supported the First Congregational Church of Oregon CIty, and were members of the Republican Party. In the early 1890s they helped to organize the Willamette Valley Chautauqua Organization. This group was an educational society responsible for bringing speakers, entertainers, and public figures to an annual summer event that happened every summer in Gladstone for 30 years. The Gladstone Chautauqua was the 3rd largest in the United States and the largest West of the Rockies. Speakers included evangelist Billy Sunday, band master John Philip Sousa, politician William Jennings Bryan, and presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt, who called the Chautauqua movement “the most American thing in America.” [3]

First Congregational Church. It was originally located on 11th St. in 1850. The church burned to the ground in 1923 and was replaced by the current building. Photo courtesy of "Images in America: Oregon City".

First Congregational Church of Oregon City today. Photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022

Eva was also involved in the effort to preserve the Dr. John McGloughlin house through the McGloughlin Memorial Association. In April 1903, several women in the community formed what was initially known as the Women’s Lewis and Clark Club to support the women who were involved in the planning of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. This group eventually became the Oregon City Women’s Club, and by November of 1903 the club members began efforts to take ownership of what at that time was known as the Phoenix Hotel. The Phoenix Hotel was the latest iteration of the former home of John McGloughlin.

Dr. John McGloughlin house at its current location. Photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022

Plaque outside the Dr. John McGloughlin House. Photo by Courtney Watson, April 27, 2022

The McGloughlin house had been built in 1845 at what is now the east side of Main Street between 2nd and 3rd streets near the woolen mills. After Dr. McGloughln’s wife’s death, the house changed ownership many times and had fallen into disrepair. Rumor has it that it had been both a Chinese laundry and possibly a bordello during those years. By 1909 it was called the Phoenix Hotel, and was pending demolition after the land it was on was purchased by the Hawley Pulp and Paper Co. They offered the house to the city, but the city was unwilling to pay for either the repairs or relocation of the home.

The women of the Oregon City Women’s Club, spearheaded by Eva, formed a new group to save the house. This was the start of the McGloughlin Memorial Association, which still operates to this day. The group first met on May 8, 1909 in the Bank of Oregon City on Main Street to form a plan. While the group was not able to raise enough money to move the house in pieces, which is how buildings were typically moved at the time, they were approached by a man who had an alternative. His suggestion was to move the entire house using only one horse and a capstan winch. Via this method, the house was successfully moved very slowly up Singer Hill to its current location. Once there, the MMA set about repairing the home and acquiring enough period appropriate furniture to open the house as a museum in 1910.

The McGloughlin house being moved up Singer Hill

Photo of the McGloughlin House being moved up Singer Hill in 1909. Notice the one horse. Photo courtesy of mcgloughlinhouse.org/the-mcgloughlin-house.html.

In addition to its work preserving the McGloughlin House, the women’s group involved itself in many other fundraising efforts–from raising money for the formation of the Oregon City Library, to fundraising for the Red Cross in its fight against tuberculosis, to raising money to help the victims of the Great San Francisco earthquake. Women such as Eva Emery Cross were foundational to the development of society in Oregon City.

Image of Eva Emery Dye, date unknown; courtesy of Wikipedia

Eva’s husband, Charles, sadly passed away on July 22, 1929 at the age of 73. The cause of death on his death certificate is listed as “apoplexy”, which in today’s terms means a stroke. Eva continued to live in their house at 902 Jefferson street until 1943 when it was sold. On her 80th birthday it was declared “Eva Emery Dye Day” in Oregon City to recognize her and the remarkable impact she had on the city. Eva passed away February 25, 1947 which would have made her about 92 years old. They are buried together at Mountain View Cemetery located in Oregon City.