709 11th Street

THOMAS AND JANE BLANCHARD RENTAL -- Statement of Significance: Thomas and Jane Blanchard lived at 1102 11th Street and probably built this house as a rental. Blanchard was born in England in 1846, and his wife in England in 1844. They emigrated to the United States in 1876 and by 1880 were living in Canemah, where Thomas worked his own farm. By 1910 the couple moved to Oregon City with their five children, including Thomas, born in England in 1866; George W. born in 1872 in Connecticut; James H. born in 1876 in Oregon; and Clara born in 1878 in Oregon. One of the Blanchard's tenants in 1914-16 was Jay W. Rogers, a millwright for Hawley Pulp and Paper Company, his wife Ella, a weaver for the Oregon City Manufacturing Company and daughters Edna and Eva. This house stayed in the family until 1946, when Clara Blanchard Holmes sold the property to Bjorme and Cora Ugstad. Bjorme was employed as a mechanics helper and maintenance man while living in the house. In 1962 the house was again used as a rental property by the Ugstad's, with tenants including a laborer, gas station attendant, and a truck driver. The Ugstad's owned the property until the mid-1970s.

This house sits under a side gable roof, with a shed extension of the gable covering the front porch on the southeast corner of the house. The eave is supported by a pair of turned wood columns at the porch, and a railing encircles the porch with turned balusters. A large rectangular bay projects out from the south side of the house west of the porch, covered by a gable. A small shed dormer is centered above the porch. The house is clad with asbestos ceramic shingles throughout, with the exception of the upper portions of the gable ends, which feature sawtooth imbrications. The eaves are boxed, and a frieze and rake board surround the house. The frieze boards transition into a belt course above the second-floor windows, providing the break between the wood shingles and asbestos siding. The windows are predominantly 1/1 double-hung wood sash with narrow decorative trim moldings, but a bank of fixed wood sashes is present in the south side of the bay. A central chimney penetrates the main gable near the center of the ridge.

This property is a locally designated historic site located within the McLoughlin Conservation District. Contact ocplanning@orcity.org for more information.