554 Warner Parrott Road (now 18598 Aladdin Way)
Oregon City
Photo from Oregon Registry of Historic Places
Morton McCarver House in 1934, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
McCarver House today. Photo by Courtney Watson, May 4, 2022.
The McCarver house was built in 1850 on the 640 acre donation land claim of General Morton Matthew McCarver, using materials that had been cut in Maine, patterned in Boston, and shipped around Cape Horn. It was what is called a prefabricated “Aladdin House.”
McCarver was born January 14, 1807 to Joseph and Betsy Morton McCarver in Lexington, Kentucky. His father died when he was young, and so he went out on his own in the world at the early age of 14. He headed south to Texas and Louisiana for a few years until 1829 when he moved to Illinois. There he married Mary Ann Jennings on May 6, 1830 in the town of Monmouth. Together they had two children before her death in 1846.
Morton Matthew McCarver. Date unknown, photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
In 1832, McCarver joined the militia to fight in the Black Hawk War. This was a conflict between the United States and the Native Americans of the region, named after the Sauk leader Black Hawk. It began in April 1832 when a group of Sauks crossed the Mississippi River entering into what is now Illinois. The tribes were possibly hoping to reclaim lands sold to the United States in the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis. A local militia was formed by the United States which opened fire on a Native American delegation on May 14. Several battles ensued, with the war concluding by August of that year. As a result, more tribes were pressured to sell their lands and retreat further west. During this war, McCarver served as Commissary-General for Iowa, which is where he adopted the moniker “General”.
Black Hawk. Image courtesy of Wikipedia. Original located at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Shortly after the resolution of the war, McCarver and three others set about to establish a ferry crossing the Mississippi River, at the base of which they staked claims and founded the town of Burlington, Iowa in 1833-34. By 1838 the town was named the Territorial Capital of the Iowa Territory. It was a prosperous merchant community, located near where John Jacob Astor had established a port in 1829. Steamboats traveled up and down the river moving between Iowa and Illinois.
By 1843 McCarver had set his sights on emigration to Oregon. Upon arrival he and fellow emigrant Peter Burnett (the first Governor of California) worked together to found the town of Linnton, Oregon just outside of Portland on the Columbia River. On June 18, 1844 McCarver was selected as the Speaker of the Legislative Committee of Oregon. This was the forerunner of the State House of Representatives. Later, in 1845, he was elected to the Provisional Legislature of Oregon representing the Tuality district.
The following year, 1846, he relocated to Oregon City. This was the same year that his first wife Marry died, and it’s unknown if she passed before or after this move. Regardless, by 1848 he had established a 640 acre donation land claim south of Oregon City on which he erected a log cabin and planted an orchard with his second wife Julia Anne Buckalew. With Julia, he had an additional 5 children, making his family now consist of his offspring Thomas J., Jennie, Mary A., Naomi, Julia, Elizabeth, and Dollie.
Before too long, gold fever had struck and everyone was talking about the California Gold Rush. In 1848 McCarver left his family behind on the land claim while he traveled south in search of riches. The California Gold Rush began when the Sutter family discovered gold at the mill of John Sutter Sr. Soon after, trade began to develop around a wharf Sutter Sr. had developed at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers. Once in California, McCarver helped to plate the town of Sacramento for the Sutters. John Sutter Sr. had placed his son John Augustus Sutter Jr. in charge of organizing and growing the new city. While there McCarver built homes to rent to the incoming population, and served as a delegate to the California Constitutional Convention in Monterrey in 1849. Also in 1849, McCarver and a few others purchased three passenger ships. One of which was The Ocean Bird, which serviced between San Francisco Bay and Milwaukie, Oregon. Unfortunately, the area around Sacramento was prone to periodic flooding, and fires would sweep the city. Due to these factors, McCarver decided to return home. He took The Ocean Bird, which had been loaded with materials to be used in building a house, and traveled by sea back up to Oregon City.
John Sutter, ca. 1850. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
The house he built from these materials is what was called an “Aladdin House”, which was a prefabricated home made from boards cut in Maine and patterned in Boston. These building materials had arrived on the west coast via a ship that traveled around Cape Horn. Once The Ocean Bird arrived back in Oregon with these materials, McCarver began constructing what was then one of the finer homes in the area. He hired a foreman, Andrew Hood, who was paid $16 dollars a day for his labor (about $220 in today’s money). His helpers were paid $14 per day. The house was completed in 1850, and replaced the log cabin which had been erected when the claim was established.
By 1852, McCarver had added to the original six room house, upgrading it to include a kitchen, dining room, sitting room, and a veranda. At some point he also built an “apple house” which had six inch thick walls. It was in this building that he stored the apples from his orchard to keep them fresh. The upper story of the apple house is where one of the first schools in the vicinity was held.
Tensions were rising during this time along the Rogue River valley in southern Oregon. There was a call to action from the Governor to quash these tensions. An “anti-Indian” meeting had been held in Jacksonville on October 7, 1855 and by the next day 155 volunteers attacked local natives in an attempt to exterminate any who were found outside the boundaries of a reservation. Natives, attempting to flee, killed some miners in a camp that was blocking their way. McCarver made his way down to the Rogue valley to join the fight. Making his base camp in Roseburg, Oregon he once again served as a Commissary-General, returning home to Oregon City after June 1856 when most of the native survivors had been relocated to the Grand Ronde Reservation.
Image courtesy of Oregon Encyclopedia.
By 1859 McCarver had decided to move on from this property and relocate to Portland. The decision was made to sell the home and land to the Warner family who resided in the home from 1859 to 1947. After selling the house and land, McCarver continued to pursue new adventures. In 1862 he participated in another Gold Rush, this time in Idaho, where he was part of establishing a company in Idaho City. In 1868 he moved on and set his sights on establishing a town to act as a potential terminus for the Northern Pacific Railroad. He believed he had found the perfect spot upon arrival at Commencement Bay, in what was then called Eureka. He proceeded to purchase 163 ¾ acres from Job Carr for $600 cash and 100 acres in Oregon. He decided to name the townsite Tacoma, which was the original name for Mt. Rainier. A town was platted, and McCarver remained there establishing the new city until his death in 1875.
Arthur Warner, date unknown. Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com.
The Warner family, who took over residence of the property, themselves became prominent residents of Oregon City after their arrival. Arthur Warner was a farmer by trade who had been born in Surrey, England on April 17, 1828. He had come to Oregon via wagon train in April 1843 where shortly after his arrival Arthur made the acquaintance of his future wife Elizabeth Kiser. Elizabeth had been born in Troy, NY on November 22, 1830. At a young age she moved with her family to Pennsylvania, where they resided until 1843 when the family relocated to Illinois. In 1852 they crossed the plains to Oregon via ox team. 1852 was a notoriously difficult year to take the trail. It was a year of illness and death for both humans and animals alike, with Cholera as the largest killer. Estimates are that 10,000 people departed for Oregon that year, with another 50,000 traveling to California. There was difficulty finding water in 1852, which meant smaller trains and more disease.
Despite these challenges, Elizabeth’s family arrived and settled in Clackamas County, likely near Canby. Her father Jacob was a farmer and blacksmith, and Elizabeth found work teaching school in Clackamas, Marion, and Polk counties. She and Arthur were married on November 22, 1854. Arthur worked as a farmer and merchant, and together then began their family. They had nine children, many of whom died young: Alfred, Surrey, Imogene Ernest, Annie, George and Ellen (twins), and Arthur C.
The Warner family. Elizabeth Kiser Warner is seated on the left. Nell Warner, Helen Riggs, and an unknown person are also in the photo. The portrait of Arthur Warner is located on the wall behind them. Date unknown. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.
In 1859 the family moved to the McCarver Farm, and renamed it Locust Farm in honor of the Locust trees that lined the driveway leading up to the home. The family was active in the community, attended the Congregational Church of Oregon City, and in 1865, Arthur was elected as a member of the Lower House of the Legislature from Clackamas County. He also served one term as the Sheriff, founded the Warner Grange at New Era, and was involved with the development of the Oregon City Woolen Mill. The following is an accounting of Arthur’s early involvement in the founding of the woolen mill:
With such a resource [the Willamette River] at their command, it is not surprising that certain prominent citizens of the pioneer metropolis should gather for the purpose of discussing the feasibility of locating a woolen mill in their city. The benefit which accrues to a community by the acquisition of industry is a foregone conclusion. Accordingly, on the afternoon of Thursday, December 18, 1862, a meeting was called at the courthouse to effect a preliminary organization under the chairmanship of Dr. Alden H. Steele. On motion of D.P. Thompson, a committee of five, composed of William C. Dement (chairman), L.D.C. Latourette, D.P. Thompson, J.L. Barlow, and A. Warner, was appointed for the purpose of investigating the practicality of various available sites, their respective costs, the probable total cost of the enterprise and the value per share of the stock to be issued. [1]
Construction of the woolen mill was completed in 1865.
Oregon City Woolen mill ca. 1874.
Until his death in 1880, Elizabeth’s father Jacob lived with the family at Locust Farm. His wife Elizabeth had passed away July 7, 1874 and was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery located in Canby, Oregon. Arthur lived until August 13, 1889 when he was buried in the Masonic section of Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City. Elizabeth survived until February 10, 1913, when she passed away at Locust Farm. She too is buried at the Mountain View Cemetery. The farm remained in the Warner family until it was sold in 1947.
Sources:
[1] “Oregon City Woolen Mill”, by Alfred L. Lomax. Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 32, No. 3 (Sep. 1931) pp. 240-261.
Oregon Inventory of Historic Properties Historic Resource Inventory Form for 554 Warner Parrot Road
https://www.historylink.org/File/5019 - “Promoter Morton Matthew McCarver arrives at Eureka, Later Tacoma, on April 1, 1868” by David Wilma, November 29, 2002.
Wikipedia - Morton M. McCarver
History of the Willamette Valley, by Herbert Lang, p. 823
www.oregonpioneers.com/1852-AI.htm - “Emigrants to Oregon in 1852 Surnames A - I” compiled by Stephenie Flora 2019
Library of Congress www.loc.gov
Wikipedia - Black Hawk War
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/rogue_river_war_of_1855-1856/ - “Rogue River Wars of 1855-1856” by E.A. Schwartz
Wikipedia - Burlington, Iowa
Wikipedia - History of Sacramento, California
Wikipedia - John Sutter
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