The Stearns Hardware Building is a historic commercial building in

Oakland, Oregon Oakland is a city in Douglas County, Oregon, United States, located from Interstate 5. The population was 927 at the 2010 census. History Oakland was the first city to be placed on the state's historic register, in May 1968. The city's two-bloc ...

, United States. The building is one of the oldest structures in Oakland, Oregon and houses a hardware store that has been family owned and operated by the Stearns family since 1887. The brick masonry structure, built in 1891, was added to 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 1979 as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

of the Oakland Historic District. It is located at 204 Locust Street, Oakland Railroad Addition, Block 20, westerly 75.33 1 of Lots 5 and 6 in Oakland, Oregon.

History

This building houses the Stearns Hardware business that has been in continuous ownership by the Stearns family since 1887. George Stearns was the original owner of the building and had it built in 1891 by G.N. Fraser out of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

.“Stearns Hardware - Oakland Historic District - Oakland, Oregon - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.Com.” n.d. Waymarking.Com. Accessed June 3, 2021. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMG59J_Stearns_Hardware_Oakland_Historic_District_Oakland_Oregon. An addition was completed in 1905 to the east side of the original building that replaced a large wagon shed. That addition was jointly built by R.E. Dimmick and George Stearns originally as an ice house,

butcher shop A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

and

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

factory, with an upper level that was used as a doctor's office. It housed R.E. Dimmick's business operations and part of the Stearns Hardware Store. This addition is no longer part of the Stearns Hardware Store. At one time, that addition was used as a gallery, plant shop, and upstairs residence.

Architecture and layout

The building itself is two stories in a square layout. It's built with

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

. The entirety of the structure is the combination of two structures that were built 14 years apart. The original part is on the west end. It was originally with a single story. This original structure had three bays on the north (front) elevation. The center bay has recessed and angled display windows combined with double doors. Adjacent on either side of that bay are tall segmented windows. Each of these bays are separated by a decorative cast iron pier with the inscriptions "G.N. FRASER, 1891, EUGENE." The building has a single pitch roof with a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

that is highest on the front elevation. Older photos suggest that the parapet was lower in 1979 when it was listed than when it was originally built. The additional building on the east end continues the wood frame in front. The south (rear) wall and two adjoining common walls are made of brick. There are five bays in this additional portion including two single door entrances with adjacent tall segmented windows. The second story on the front (north) has three bays. The front siding of this portion is embossed with simulated brick sheet metal. Additionally there is a box cornice with

dentils A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

and

modillions A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

which also extend east to the building next-door. This addition also has a single pitch roof.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Oregon 1887 establishments in the United States 1891 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Oregon Commercial buildings completed in 1891 Companies established in 1887 National Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Oregon