Historie
Houses
Reflect
Owner's
Personalities
Remember the good old days when
people built their own homes? You
could often tell what kind of person
lived in the dwelling because their per­
sonality was reflected in the construc­
tion.
Today most potential homeowners
have neither the time nor. the skill to
build a dream home from the visions
in their minds. But in the late 1800’s,
settlers like Captain John Ainsworth
and Dr. Forbes Barclay had few
alternatives to getting wet during
Oregon’s interminable winters. Simply
IM.
put, one either built a home oneself or
got rained on.
The alluring, timeless quality of the
Barclay and Ainsworth homes are
magnified when the viewer takes the
time to admire them and to learn
about the men responsible for their
creation.
The home of John Commingers
Ainsworth has a romantic aura about
it that affects any house lover. Clearly
Southern-Victorian in style, French
windows and four proud, white
columns lead to a second story
balcony. Inside is a ballroom with the ■
orchestra platform still intact.
Ainsworth’s personal qualities areB
reflected in his home. He was in-B
dependent, adventurous and refinedfl
in his tastes. Self-educated, he wasB
orphaned at 13 and, after working asB
a storekeeper and proprietor in lowa,B
he worked on a steamboat on thefl
Mississippi River.
His prowess as a pilot soon madeB
him the captain of the steamboat “LotB
Whitcomb.” But the discovery of golfl
in California lured him away from theB