The Slocum House is a Victorian style house located in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, in the United States, which today stands at the southwest corner of

Esther Short Park Esther Short Park is a public park and town square located in downtown Vancouver, Washington. Established in 1853, it is the oldest public park in the state of Washington. and one of the oldest public parks in the West. It is located in the city's ...

. It is the only surviving structure in its former residential neighborhood of the Vancouver historic core.

Architecture and construction

The style also has been called Carpenter Victorian to emphasize both the vertical,

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

features and the skill of craftsmanship, believed to be the work of Edward Slocum, brother of the owner. Ornamental medallions inside the house were signed and included patent dates from 1842 and 1846, although the house is believed by some to have been constructed in 1867. The 1867 date is not supported by local newspaper reports as there was no dwelling on the land at this time, and Charles W. Slocum was still busy in other areas of the Pacific Northwest. However many websites and reference books do mention the 1867 date, perhaps using a common source. After returning to Washington Territory in 1869, Slocum became interested in building a mansion in the vicinity of downtown Vancouver. The foundation was laid in May 1877, further progress despite "its large dimensions, and the substantial character of the materials and work" was reported in late June 1877, and work was completed by the beginning of 1878. When completed and unveiled to society on New Year's Day in 1878, the ''Vancouver Independent'' reported:

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Slocum received their friends at their elegant new home on New Year's day. They have now finished and nearly furnished one of the handsomest residences in Washington Territory. For completeness, neatness, convenience, and architectural beauty, it discounts any house we know of in the country. Their friends are glad to see them so agreeably situated.

Charles W. Slocum had been trained as a carpenter in Rhode Island, and in 1857 he arrived in Vancouver and worked as a carpenter at the

Vancouver Barracks Established in 1849, the Vancouver Barracks was the first U.S. Army base located in the Pacific Northwest. Built on a rise 20 feet (6 m) above the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading station Fort Vancouver. Its buildings were formed in a line adjac ...

. Later, he became superintendent of the barracks. In 1860, Slocum opened several general stores in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. He is credited with platting the town of Boise, Idaho, in 1863.

History and ownership

The land for the original site was sold by Esther Short in 1849 to W. L. Stabler for $225, and the Slocums later purchased it for $700 for their family home in what was the "premier residential area" of old Vancouver. In 1929, the house was sold to the family of Frederick Leadbetter, and it was used as an office for the Columbia River Paper Company until the 1960s.

Restoration

The house had been abandoned in 1965, and had been scheduled to be demolished, with one city councilman calling it "the worst eyesore I've even seen". Robert Hidden of the Fort Vancouver Historical Society and Hermine Decker of the Old Slocum House Theatre Company spearheaded the drive to restore the historic structure as a community theatre. It was moved one block from its original location in 1966, and listed 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 v ...

in 1973. The Slocum House is the only surviving structure in its former residential neighborhood of the Vancouver historic core. After seven years and an estimated 500,000 hours of volunteer work, the house finally satisfied city fire and safety codes in August 1974, and had already hosted 11 plays in the 60-seat theatre. Modern plays, however, were not among the offerings; as Decker told ''

The Columbian ''The Columbian'' is a daily newspaper serving the Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County, Washington area. The paper was published for its first decade (1890–1900) as a four-page daily that was meant as a counterweight to the local Republic ...

'' in 1983, "We feel all our plays should be 19th century, to complement the historic house." Community theatre productions were ongoing as of 2011. In August 2019, the website for the Slocum House, which had previously advertised the site's availability for weddings, parties, and other gatherings, announced that it was "not accepting new events".

References

{{Portal bar, Architecture, National Register of Historic Places, United States 1878 establishments in Washington Territory Buildings and structures in Vancouver, Washington Houses in Clark County, Washington Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Clark County, Washington Victorian architecture in Washington (state)