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Monday, May 30, 2011

Drain, Oregon's Historic Homes #2: "The Drain Castle"

Source:  Wikipedia


Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The "Drain Castle" was built by Charles Douglas "Charley" Drain and his wife Anna Kent Drain.  Construction began in 1893 and the home was completed in 1895, costing $2,600 to build.  The home is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings.  It is a home designed by architect George F. Barber, and the plans for the home were ordered by catalog.   

Charley Drain was the son of Charles Drain and Nancy Gates Ensley Drain.  Charles and Nancy had arrived in Oregon via wagon train in 1852, and Charley was born in Drain in 1861.  The town was named Drain when Charles, Sr. and his older son John, donated 60 acres of land for the railroad to build upon.  After he was grown, Charley became partners in the family mercantile business with his father and brother.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews
For many years, the home has been used as offices for the school district.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I did get a picture of Charley and Anna's headstone when we were at the Drain Cemetery on Memorial Day Weekend, 2011. Charley died young in 1910 due to a hunting accident when he was only 39 or 40.  Anna, however, lived in this house until only a few months prior to her death at the age of 96, in 1959.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I also took these two photos.  The first one is of Charles and Nancy Gates Ensley Drain's headstone:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews


This one is quite grand.  It belongs to John and Lucy Krewson Drain.  They both died in 1891, and left behind six young children.  Charley and Anna took them in to raise as their own.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

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history of Drain, Oregon.



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2 comments:

  1. I love the style of that house.
    That poor wife was a widow for a really long time. There is an interesting story there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Patti, me too. I think that you are right on about the story.

    ReplyDelete

I sincerely appreciate your comments! If you don't see your comment posted immediately, don't worry. I have comment moderation on here to help filter out spam. It will become visible as soon as I read it, and I do that several times daily. It just seems easier than using the word verification option. I am so sorry, but I am not accepting anonymous comments at this time. You can email me at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com and I will happily add your comment to this post. Thank you so much! ~ Kathy M.