3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018
Proposed Renaissance town causing a stir with neighbors
Living history
near Cathlamet
By CHLOE SKAAR
The Daily News
CATHLAMET, Wash. —
In the next few years, visi-
tors to a valley of dairies and
ranches just north of here
could be asked to keep their
cellphones out of sight and
ditch their 21st-century clothes
for something a little more
medieval.
California natives J.D. Hon-
ore and Shira Rauh plan to turn
40 acres in the Elochoman Val-
ley into the “Town of Taylor”
— a living history museum,
set in 16th-century Europe.
Though it could be 20 years
before their vision is complete,
the couple already knows its
major elements, including a
two-story inn and a completely
closed ecosystem for farming.
Merchants, farmers and crafts-
people would sell their wares
at a year-round Renaissance
fair.
Honore and Rauh are com-
plying with county ordinances
for such a development, said
Wahkiakum County Commis-
sioner Blair Brady, but some
of their neighbors still aren’t
happy about the possibility of
living next to a living history
town and what it could do to
the quiet, secluded settling.
Vicki and Mike Willette
have lived in the valley for
18 years. Vicki Willette said
Bill Wagner/The Daily News
J.D. Honore, right, and Shira Rauh envision one day build-
ing a Renaissance village on their farm off Elochoman
Valley Road near Cathlamet.
she feels heartbroken — after
growing up in the area, she
said she never planned on liv-
ing next to an attraction like
the Town of Taylor, which
will be about 3 miles north of
Cathlamet.
“None of us want partying
going on for a month long with
people dressed up and having
sword fights and whatever else
they do,” Willette said.
Willette also said her neigh-
bors are concerned about
decreased property value and
extra traffic on the two-lane
country road leading to their
neighborhood. Willette and her
husband have already consid-
ered that they might eventu-
ally sell their home if the Town
of Taylor brings in enough
visitors.
Willette said she and nine
of her neighbors have brought
their concerns to county com-
missioners, but the county
doesn’t have zoning laws,
meaning that Rauh and Hon-
ore can use their property as
they’d like provided they fol-
low county and environmen-
tal codes.
Brady said the couple is
doing just that, and he feels
“quite certain” they will stick
to guidelines, and they’ve
completed an environmen-
tal review to give them a bet-
ter idea of what their farmland
could be used for.
“As long as they’re follow-
ing the rules, I have no prob-
lem with it,” Brady said. “They
have a beautiful farm. They
want to raise stock and cre-
ate an atmosphere of an earlier
time. It sounds rather exciting.”
Brady acknowledged traf-
fic might increase, but he sees
that as solvable by creating
extra parking or using a shut-
tle system. He also said Rauh
and Honore have been work-
ing with the county’s planning
department to property permit
their land for farming, resi-
dences and merchants.
“These folks are looking to
create something which I think
can be a benefit to the commu-
nity,” Brady said. “There are a
lot of ways to work with it. It
does not have to be an incon-
venience to the folks that are
already there.”
‘Total immersion’
Honore and Rauh moved
to Washington state from Cal-
ifornia two years ago, looking
for a place they could afford
enough land to build the Town
of Taylor.
They spend between 15 and
20 weekends each year attend-
ing Renaissance fairs, and they
say they’re inspired to create a
“total immersion” Renaissance
experience in the Elochoman
Valley.
The couple said they’re
aware of neighbors’ concerns
and that natural barriers on
their property could keep a lot
of the “Town of Taylor” from
view. Twenty-three of their 40
acres are covered with tim-
ber that block the west end of
their property from view. The
timber is owned by the former
landowners — Dale and Mar-
garet Strueby — and will be
there for at least 25 more years.
“Ideally, the inside world
doesn’t know the outside
world exists, and vice versa,”
Honore said.
He also said they want
neighbors to know there won’t
be crowds of people or large
fairs starting up for at least a
few years. Honore said, from
his experience, similar fairs
that are “slow to grow, are slow
to die.”
Rauh said their goal is to
give tourists a reason to see the
scenic valley, stimulate local
business and enhance vaca-
tions in southwest Washington.
“There’s not a lot of rea-
son to come out (to Elochoman
Valley), but they need a reason
to stay,” Rauh said.
Their vision is to create a
year-round Renaissance fair
that is completely self-sus-
tained. They said they don’t
want to rely on out-of-town
visitors to keep the Town of
Taylor open. Instead, they
plan to hire 30 workers to
run the farm and will eventu-
ally open the Belladonna Inn,
which could host 15 guests and
a restaurant — the idea being
that the shops and farm will
still be open to serve those who
live there, even when there
aren’t many guests.
The apartments and rooms
in the inn will have an authen-
tic, 16th-century aesthetic, but
TVs, Wi-Fi and other modern
electronics would be allowed
inside the rooms.
Farm workers and mer-
chants would live in apart-
ments above shops and baker-
ies, providing authentic food
and supplies to guests. Honore
said he is optimistic construc-
tion will be well underway
between 2020 and 2022, but
Rauh said she thinks it will be
more like 20 years before the
tiny town is complete.
Dressing the part
Honore and Rauh will
require everyone inside to
dress in clothes from the 16th
century — which guests could
rent or buy — and keep elec-
tronics and other modern gad-
gets out of sight, but they won’t
require anyone to act.
“We want this to be a his-
torical, ‘living history’ town,”
Honore said. “The whole point
is to be fully immersed in the
16th century.”
For insurance purposes,
Rauh and Honore will be
required to have their own
security, meaning the county
wouldn’t have to take depu-
ties off the road to supervise
events. Rauh said there are
guidelines from the Depart-
ment of Health and Sanitation
for the apartments and restau-
rant, and all the buildings will
be permitted by the county.
“We want it to be as histori-
cally accurate as legally possi-
ble,” Honore said, adding that
the couple knows merchants,
such as blacksmiths and musi-
cians, in the area who are eager
to work for something like the
Town of Taylor.
“We don’t want to compro-
mise on our vision.”
Chase: If convicted, Medjo faces up to 24 years
Continued from Page 1A
The car then turned into the
Chevron gas station on Sixth
Street before pulling out and
continuing west on Marine
Drive, reaching 60 mph. It
entered the Roundabout and
continued on West Marine
Drive, reaching 70 mph as it
passed Astoria High School
and before turning onto the
Old Youngs Bay Bridge.
The officer ended the pur-
suit after the car turned onto
Youngs River Road due to
potential danger from the high
speeds, Astoria Police Deputy
Chief Eric Halverson said.
A Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s Office deputy saw the car
on Lewis and Clark Road and
started pursuing before even-
tually stopping. A Warrenton
police officer then spotted it
on U.S. Highway 101 Busi-
ness and gave chase.
Police placed spike strips
at Miles Crossing. After hit-
ting the spikes, the car crashed
into a parked car, causing it
to collide into the side of the
Royal Cab building. The car
was then driven around the
building and struck another
parked car before finally
stopping.
Preston Alexander Medjo,
23, allegedly exited the car
and fled on foot before he
was arrested moments later,
about 50 minutes after the
chase began. His blood alco-
hol content was 0.04 percent,
and officials are investigat-
ing whether drugs were also
involved.
On Monday, he was
charged in Circuit Court with
first-degree attempted assault,
two counts of attempting to
elude, attempted assaulting
a public safety officer, sec-
ond-degree criminal mischief,
driving under the influence of
intoxicants, failure to perform
the duties of a driver, reck-
less driving and four counts of
reckless endangerment.
If convicted of all charges,
Medjo faces up to 24 years in
prison.
Medjo was convicted of
second-degree assault in June
after he struck a man with a
wooden club. He was sen-
tenced to 60 days in jail as
part of a plea deal with the
Clatsop County District Attor-
ney’s Office.
His sentence also included
five years of probation. In
additional to the other counts,
Medjo was charged Monday
with a probation violation.
“It looks like he might have
had some previous charges
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that might have influenced his
decision to run, even though
the officer didn’t know that at
the time,” Halverson said.
Circuit Court Judge Dawn
McIntosh ruled Monday
during Medjo’s first court
appearance that he be held at
the Clatsop County Jail with-
out bail for the probation vio-
lation charge. He is scheduled
for an arraignment in Decem-
ber if he is indicted by a grand
jury.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A vehicle was struck by another vehicle and damaged
during a pursuit near Miles Crossing on Thanksgiving.
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