The Palmer House (also Joel Palmer House and Krake Residence) is the historic residence of Oregon pioneer

Joel Palmer General Joel Palmer (October 4, 1810 – June 9, 1881) was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before serving ...

(1810–81), who co-founded

Dayton, Oregon Dayton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 census. History The city was founded in 1850 by Andrew Smith and Joel Palmer. Palmer, who also served as superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The house, located at 600 Ferry Street in Dayton, is one of Oregon's finest historic homes. It has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

since March 16, 1987, and is on the Oregon Historic Register. It was the first of 48 Dayton properties to be listed and is the town's oldest standing structure.

History

Shortly after arriving in the Oregon Country in 1845, Palmer filed a

donation land claim The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Preem ...

for himself in the Corvallis area, and one for his brother-in-law in the Dayton area. Palmer returned to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for his family and came to Oregon again in 1847, to find that his land claim had been jumped. His brother-in-law decided not to return to Oregon, so Palmer settled that claim instead, located about south of Dayton. Palmer was called away around December 15, 1847, to be Commissary General of the Military Forces of Oregon Territory to handle the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...

at the

Whitman Mission Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of Walla Walla, Washington, at the site of the former Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu. On November 29, 1847, Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa ...

, and afterward left for the California Gold Rush. During his absence, his daughter Sarah married Andrew Smith and settled on Smith's land claim at the mouth of the Yam Hill River. When Palmer returned in February 1850, he purchased part of Smith's land and merged it with his brother-in-law's, Palmer's son's and daughter-in-law's to form a tract which he platted to be Dayton. The first building and Palmer's home was a hotel in the center of the newly platted area. He kept it for a few years, but then built Palmer House near the town's outskirts in 1852 or 1857. The house has survived several floods and at least one major fire. The house is located near the mouth of the Yamhill River at the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

, and near Palmer Creek (previously known as Smith Creek), which was of early interest for powering machinery. Palmer operated a sawmill, a hotel, and several other enterprises. Since 1996, the house has functioned as an upscale restaurant featuring creative local cuisine.

References

External links

Joel Palmer House restaurant website
{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1857 Buildings and structures in Dayton, Oregon Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Yamhill County, Oregon Houses in Yamhill County, Oregon 1857 establishments in Oregon Territory