Using the print-ready
map and the descriptions below,
the Brownsville visitor is invited to
Take a Walk in Time.
1. The Brownsville Railway was originally a narrow gauge line
completed in December 1880. A few years later through citizen
effort, it was widened to standard gauge and subsequently purchased
by the Southern Pacific RR. The Depot was constructed around
1895 and served the town into the late 1950's, when passenger
service was discontinued. It was then sold for one dollar, dismantled
and reconstructed on this site. Linn County purchased the building
in 1979 to be the core of the present day Linn County Historical
Museum.
2. The Big Fire of July 12, 1919 destroyed Cecil Howe's wood
frame Ford Agency which stood on this site. When he rebuilt,
he used cast stone, a process offered by Montgomery Ward's catalog.
It was the latest thing in fire proof building materials. Ten
other businesses and numerous homes were destroyed on that warm
Saturday afternoon.
3. The Pioneer Picture Gallery holds a rich collection of
Linn County historical photos. It is open to the public.
4. The City Hall occupies a building that was originally a
church.
5. The Moyer House, an Italianate residence built in 1881,
is visible from Park Ave.. It is furnished in turn-of-the-century
style and is open for guided tours. The Moyer House is on the
National Register of Historic Places.
6. North Brownsville School was on this site. The gymnasium,
built in the 1930's, is now the Central Linn Recreation Center.
7. Monument to the Pioneers
8. Brownsville Pioneer Park is the site of Oregon oldest annual
celebration (originating in 1887). The park is open for picnics
all year and for a small fee is available for camping.
9. Native Oregon Filberts grown beneath taller walnut trees.
The English Walnut came to Oregon with the settlers. One tree
planted by Riley Kirk produced unusual low-acid walnuts with
shells so thin they could easily be cracked by hand. Many of
the trees in this grove are descendants of the original Kirk
walnut.
10. Five homes of similar design were constructed between
1908 and 1910.
11. The old fashioned garden surrounding this 1930s house
combines annuals and perennial flowers in a delightfully random
profusion.
12. The lots on these two blocks of Oak Street were platted
in 1882. The coming of the railroad spurred rapid growth on
the north side of town. Older houses were dragged in from the
country as well as new ones beign built. The result is an interesting
collection of homes with styles dating from the 1850's through
the 1920's.
608 Oak - It is said this house was moved in from the country
so that the owner's wife could be near the doctor for the birth
of a child. The home was built in the Greek Revival style in
the 1850's, moved to this site in 1884, and slightly remodeled
in about 1910.
611 Oak - The basic form of this house indicates it was built
around 1875. It was remodeled in 1982 with new windows.
619 Oak - This was the 1900 residence of the pioneer Swank family.
There were some slight changes made in 1981.
620 Oak - This house was built ca. 1870. The Italianate Victorian
style porch and bay windows were added in 1888.
627 Oak - Very typical 1860's home. This house is of "box"
construction: rough-cut planks extending from foundation to
roof are clad on the exterior with lap siding; muslin and wallpaper
on the interior to keep out the breezes. There is no other framing.
704 Oak - The left portion may date from about 1875, the south
wing is a later style. The dormer window and front porch were
added in 1915. The south porch was added in the 1980's.
713 Oak - This four square Italianate Cottage was built in 1887.
It has unusual decorative details around the windows and doors.
The etched glass front door and large window to its left may
have been changes made by F.M. Brown, local newspaper publisher,
who purchased the house in 1903.
13. This lovely Queen Anne Victorian home was built for Kate
Cavender, youngest daughter of O.P. Coshow, on land her father
deeded to her in 1898. A huge black walnut with graceful, curving
branches marks the corner of the property. These trees, noted
for their beautiful and valuable wood, were planted by the earliest
settlers for future furniture making material. We now enjoy
them as shade trees.
14. The south portion of this house is Greek Revival style,
build around 1885. The north wing was added around 1910.
15. 711 Main St. is notable for its intricate geometric "dentils"
along the roof edges. Dentils are a series of small closely
spaced rectangular blocks beneath a cornice. This is a simplified
Italianate style circa 1890.
17. This was Dr. Kelley's home. The central portion of the
house was built about 1867, the circular porch added about 1910.
A small hospital clinic was located on the same lot.
18. The Brownsville Baptist Church, built in 1906 is one of
the best preserved examples of a "pattern" church
in Oregon. Its design is an adaptation of plans from a mail-order
book of church plans. The congregation did much of the work
under a professional architect/builder's guidance. They utilized
the frame of their previous church building (ca. 1865) as the
sanctuary structure in this one. The total cost, including seats,
furnace and carpets, was $4400. The Baptist Church building
is on the National register.
19. Typical home of 1910, built by Dr. Starr.
20. Brownsville's first brick building was constructed of
locally made brick in 1903 by Woodsmen of the World Lodge brothers
and White & Knapp Hardware. The lower floor has always housed
a hardware store, the upper floor was the Masonic Lodge for
many decades. The wooden porch and decorative elements were
added in the 1960's to protect the deteriorating brick and give
a more "Victorian" look to the building.
21. This small house is almost exactly like it was when built
by Guy Ross in 1867. It was occupied by H.J.C. Averill, Linn
County's first elected surveyor and Brownsville's Justice of
the Peace and City Recorder. It is on the National Register.
The house was restored including use of the original color scheme.
22. The Corner Cafe is located in the old Starr & Blakely
Drugstore building, the town's oldest existing wooden commercial
building. It was built by C.T. Williams about 1874 and was used
as a drugstore until 1920. It is listed on the National Register.
23. Around 1935, a woman who had poisoned her husband set
fire to the local drugstore in an effort to destroy records
of her purchases of poison. The resulting fire destroyed half
a block. This section of brick, block and plaster buildings
replaced the wooden ones that burned.
24. This small brick building was the Bank of Brownsville
built in 1903.
25. The Howe Building was constructed in 1908 and is on the
National Register. It is credited with stopping the westward
spread of the 1919 disastrous fire that wiped out the buildings
from here to the river.
26. The Odd Fellows Building was made of local brick in 1908.
Damage caused by a 1947 earthquake required the rebuilding of
the roof and plastering the brick surface.
27. The Times Building, constructed in 1912, was originally a
drugstore, then housed The Times newspaper for decades.
The interior ceiling is of decorative pressed tin.
28. This block of building replaced those destroyed in the
1919 fire.
29. An 1860 Greek Revival style house.
30. The millrace originates at a wooden dam three miles up
the river. Hand dug in 1858, it provided water power for industrial
development. It powered a grist mill, the Brownsville Woolen
Mill, Moyer's sash and door factory, and a tannery. This reliable
power source was a key factor in the rapid growth of the North
Brownsville area in the 1860's and 1870's. In 1903, the millrace
provided electricty in the downtown area.
31. Monument to the soldiers of the Civil War. Erected in
1903.
