If a House Could Talk

by Donna Swagerty Shreve

1860 became the beginning of me. Jane and John McCully had taken the long wagon train across the country in 1851 and wanted to build their dream home.Being a well educated woman, Jane wanted to become a school teacher in this then rowdy mining town. No children were available at first so she started baking pies, bread, and cakes. John was busy as a part owner of a saloon and also a dairy. By now the McCullys had three children and John built this grand house to have room for their growing family and show off their growing wealth. I can now brag that I am the oldest house operating as an inn in Oregon. I was full of wonderful smells of baking and, most importantly, happy noise. By 1862 John had incurred quite a debt and had no way to pay. The story is he got on a stage out of town never to return.

Jane was now left with three children, mounting debt, and no husband. Jane hated the thought of losing me also. By returning to baking and starting up a school, she was able to save the family from bankruptcy. Life for this family continued to prosper over the years and Jane was able to leave them in good status. In 1899 Jane died and was buried in the Jacksonville cemetery. The family then rented me out after the three children had grown and the mother had died.

A new family moved it and they were a rowdy bunch. One young lady and two teenage boys , two smaller girls and the parents. It seems another was on the way. I woke up to the sound of a new life in 1902, a boy they named John. A birth is a sign of new beginnings and more activity. Soon this birth was followed two years later by another. This time girl named Helen joined this energetic family. By 1910, the family was full of noise and energy with many family children from age 20 to age 5 but there was a restless stir. Tension was growing. 

The parents were not pleased with one of their daughter’s choice for a future husband. After many discussions, the parents agreed it was time for drastic measures. After working in the lumber business and now grain farming, it seems this was the time for the family to move back south to California. What was ironic is that move did not solve that boyfriend problem. The boyfriend followed the family to California and married their daughter after all of the fuss.

Fourteen of the extended family gather in front of me before they said good bye. They are dressed up and looking their best, except the boyfriend. I guess he did not get the dress memo. I decide to sleep for awhile. I enjoyed the boisterous family but the empty spaces take me back into a slumber. Hark! a new family arrives and spends a lot of time and money to rebuild me. The father is a doctor and the house is again filled with the noise of a big busy family. I am renewed but I am still so curious about what happened to that Swagerty family.

In 1980 there is commotion outside in front. There stands that little girl that was born within my walls in 1904. Helen is now 76 and has lived most of her life away from me but I certainly appreciate the visit. I have missed you Helen. Is that all I get for closure? No, in 2017 I receive another visitor. This time it is Nancy, the granddaughter of Helen. My memory has lived on to the next two generations. Thank you for the visit, dear ones. You are part of my life as I am with yours.

644 words

3/3/2025 

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