Historic Hood River
Hood River City Map, 1931
Notes
We’ve been wondering about the exact location of Samuel and Emma Blythe’s “Twin Oaks Fruit Farm” for a while. It was described as being on the State Road just west of town, but of course the edge of town has moved many times since 1895. This 1931 Metzger map helps us zero in on it, as it indicates the Blythe’s land holdings clearly. You can them between Cascade and May Street, east of 30th.
Since it’s hard to get oriented, I decided to make one of those “swipers” that lets you see both the 1931 map and the 2021 map at the same time. Mapping wasn’t quite as precise in 1931 as it is today, so things don’t line up perfectly, but it works pretty well. If you can, view it on a large screen. You should see a circular control at the bottom of the window which lets you move the dividing line between the old and the new maps: Map Swiper.
I shared our image of Twin Oaks Fruit Farm with a friend who lives in the neighborhood where it used to be and she directed me to this house. It is a perfect match, though with a few problems. It is not located on terrain that matches our historic images of the Blythe home, it is not on property he owned, and tax records indicate it was constructed in 1930. Samuel Blythe passed away in 1928,and Emma followed him in 1930. I believe the house was moved from the Twin Oaks Fruit Farm to its current Rocky Road location in 1930. A cursory scan of the 1930 newspapers doesn’t offer proof, but I suspect we’ll find proof eventually. This building matches the historic photographs so perfectly I am confident it is the same structure.
L.E.
Thanks for the slide map. They are so much fun to play with.
Do you think the house sat close to State St. or farther south near May St?
The winding road that goes north from State St. out to the bluff is interesting. I see it still exists.
Kyle
It didn’t travel far, then. I recognize it – I bike past it a lot.
kmb
I would really like to see a map like this, with lots, property lines and owners names shown, except about 30 years earlier. Arthur, if you ever run across such a map in earlier times, I hope you can find a way to get it on this site.
ArthurB
kmb, I believe we have just such a thing. I’m processing a map which appears to be from about 1903, and covers a good chunk of the lower valley. I’m still working to verify the date and location.
L.E.
So, if the Blythes built this house https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=747 in 1878, when and where did they build the one in the above photo?
ArthurB
L.E., I’ve was wondering about that too. My current guess is this Twin Oaks farmhouse was the second one at the site. In their later years the Blythes moved to 601 Oak, at the SW corner of 6th and Oak. One photo says something like "our farmhouse (not Twin Oaks)" but it’s all a bit confusing.