Old Town Historic District Address: Bend, OR. Year Built: 1910-1950 Landmark Status: National Register of Historic Places Map of District The Old Town Historic District is an intact and cohesive neighborhood of early and mid 20th century homes and supporting structures. The neighborhood was developed primarily to house timber workers from the Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Mills. The district has been nomination under criterion "C" for its well executed and high concentration of modest Craftsman styles homes, as well as under criterion "A" for its association to the development and growth of Bend as it relates directly to the timber industry. The period of significance for the district has been determined to be from 1910 to 1950. The district encompasses approximately 32 city blocks and 338 individual parcels. It is located south of the downtown core of Bend and is sandwiched between the downtown and old Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Mill site to the south. Five individual plats make up the district: a majority of Deschutes Addition platted in 1902, the eastern portion of Park Addition platted in 1910, part of Larch Addition platted in 1913, all of Staats Addition platted in 1915, and parts of Hastings Addition platting in 1916. Within the Old Town Historic District you will find a variety of architectural styles spanning from 1910 to 1950. However, the district is dominated by buildings that exhibit details of the Craftsman style, some 76% of the 327 primary resources. The proliferation of the style Craftsman style within the Old Town Historic District coincides with the national trend towards the Craftsman style and the Arts & Crafts movement. Within the district, you will find many subtypes of the style including but not limited to: Simple Side Gable, the Simple Hipped, the Simple Front Gable, and the Double Front-Gable. The second highest concentration of architectural styles is Colonial Revival in which only 22 structures can be found, just 4%. They range in date from the mid 1920s to the late 1940s. One modest Dutch Colonial, the Craig Coyner House can be found within the proposed district.  One of the earliest homes in the district is the Bucholz-Schumitz House. Built in 1910, the home is the only surviving structure in Bend, which exhibits Victorian style detailing and is the oldest existent home in Bend. While only one property with Spanish Colonial detailing can be found within the district. The Alfred Burkland House, built in 1925 is the best example of the Spanish Colonial style in all of Deschutes County. The newest contributing property within the district is the Carl Rasmussen House built in 1949. This modern home was built by the owner, who worked for Deschutes Concrete Products Company, using multi colored concrete blocks. Economic factors such as the construction of the lumber mills, lead many developers and builders to purchase several lots on a speculative bases. One developer and builder, the Bend Construction Company, purchased each lot on both sides of Delaware Avenue, eighty lots total, and began building homes, some of the first in the neighborhood. Per title searches, the homes were often sold directly to one of the two lumber mills. Development of the Old Town Historic District did not occur in large numbers until two lumber milling operations opened in Bend: Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company and Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company. Each company hired about 500 men.  Hearing the official news about the coming of the mills, workers flocked to Bend by the thousands looking for jobs. So many people were moving into the area that in 1916 Bend claimed to have the fastest increase in population of any place in the nation. Between 1910 and 1920 Bend’s population grew 910%. By March of 1916 both mills were fully operational and together they cut over 750,000 board feet of lumber a day. By 1925 the two mills combined shipped over 13,500 carloads of lumber per year and had a total payroll of over three million dollars. Due to the influx of people, Bend had a severe housing shortage by 1923. As a result many families began to take on boarders, renting out rooms and built small dwellings to the rear of their main homes. Typical of the period is the John Aldrich House where you see a secondary dwelling constructed to match the existing home. If there were homes to buy, both mills were heavily encouraging the workers to set permanent roots in Bend. Both companies not only underwrote the cost of a new home encouraged their workers to buy a home through publishing in their newsletters a monthly list of those workers who had purchased a home. Such lists were accompanied by extensive articles which proclaimed the benefits of owning your own home. Most claimed that homeowners were "more industrious, and were substantial citizens taking an interest in the schools system, the laws, libraries and all other maters of public interest". It was during a second construction boom, which coincided with the expansion of both of the lumber mills, that many of homes within the proposed Old Town Historic District were built. One hundred and five homes were built in the district between 1923 and 1926, almost 32% of the total district structures. Many apartment buildings and duplexes were also built during this time to accommodate the demand. Including the Winslow Apartments and the Noonchester Apartments. By 1930, over 82% of the lots within the Old Town Historic District had been developed, and some were even being redeveloped.  During the depression era of the 1930s construction activity began to slow down. By 1932, the number of permits issued in Bend hit an all time low of 23 permits. Within the district only 12 buildings were constructed between 1931 and 1940.  Three of the structures were new homes for the middle and upper management of mill employees. As these individuals moved up the corporate ladder they could afford larger and more modern homes. Typical is Almon Curtis who lived in a modest dwelling on Colorado Avenue for over twenty years. Then in 1940, after being promoted to department foreman for Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company, moved into a new modern Colonial home on Florida Avenue. By the start of the World War II, the manufacturing operations of Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon, spurred on by the war, was at an all-time high. Once the war ended though, the need for lumber in great quantities diminished and cut rates dropped dramatically. After some negotiations Brooks-Scanlon purchased the Shevlin-Hixon plant and all of its holdings. The Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company officially sawed its last log on December 26, 1950. At the controls when the last log went through was John Mahoney, longtime resident of the Old Town district and coincidentally the man at the controls when the first log went though Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Mill in 1916. That date signifies the ending of period of significance for the proposed district. Taken as a whole, the proposed Old Town Historic District is an viable and cohesive working class neighborhood of early 20th century homes and supporting structures. The districts high concentration of Craftsman style homes, its association to the timber industry and subsequent growth of Bend, classify the Old Town Neighborhood as one of the most important areas in the city to recognize and preserve.

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