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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021
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Discovering Capt. Johnson
A homeowner’s quest to understand the man who once lived in his home
By CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER
For The Astorian
C
apt. Eric Johnson wasn’t the origi-
nal resident of the nearly 150-year-
old Astoria home that now bears
his name. But the captain’s local his-
tory made him namesake-worthy, in
owner John Windus’ estimation.
“People like sea captains,” said
Windus, who restored the Victorian
home to serve as his retirement resi-
dence and an Airbnb.
He’s placed portraits of Johnson
and his gargantuan mustache around
the home — from the main staircase
to branded tote bags hanging in the
hall.
Johnson sailed as an early Colum-
bia River bar pilot under Capt. George
Flavel while inhabiting the house on
9th Street and Franklin Avenue until
his death in 1905.
More than 100 years later, the cap-
tain’s former home needed work.
When Windus, a Longview, Wash-
ington, native and 47-year veteran of
regional radio, bought the home from
The Astorian in 2018, there was no
heat upstairs, rats scuttled the base-
ment and generations of pet odor
clung to old carpet.
Chance Solem-Pfeifer/
For The Astorian
ABOVE: According to historical records,
Capt. Eric Johnson never had a major
accident after more than three decades
on the water. BELOW: Retired radio
man John Windus bought and restored
the historic Capt. Eric Johnson house in
Astoria.
“When the house was in escrow, I
went in there to run cords out, and the
place was just garbage,” said contrac-
tor Matt Chappell, who spearheaded
the restoration.
The journey from stinky old house
to guest-ready historic landmark took
the better part of three years. Windus
advises anyone restoring a 100-year-
old home to take their time. Chappell
compares the process to an immense
puzzle.
“There’s nothing square, there’s
nothing plumb, you’re always fi ghting
something with that house,” Chappell
said. “It’s got so much character.”
Today, the home could appear
grand, cozy or esoteric — depending
on the angle. Its wrap-around veranda
owes to a bungalow-style renovation
in the 1920s. The parlor is modern
and inviting, resembling many coastal
Airbnbs furnished largely by Ikea (a
cost-eff ective inside joke to John-
son’s Swedish heritage). The home’s
upstairs anchors around a bizarre,
rounded wall, adding a hint of maze-
like mystery.
Those eclectic aesthetics highlight
one dilemma of restoring a home
See House, Page B5