Elizabeth Watt House (1568 Chemeketa St NE) Salem, Oregon
National Register of Historic Places Data
The Elizabeth Watt House (1568 Chemeketa St NE) has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Court Street--Chemeketa Street Historic District. The following information has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form . Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- National Register ID
- 87001373
- Date Listed
- August 26, 1987
- Name
- Court Street--Chemeketa Street Historic District
- Address
- An irregularly shaped area of appr. 38.57 acres bounded by the closures of Court Street & Chemeketa St. on the west, Mill Creek on the north & east, and on the south by the rear lot lines of properties on the south side of Court St.
- City/Town
- Salem
- County
- Marion
- State
- Oregon
- Category
- district
- Level of Sig.
- local
- Areas of Sig.
- EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT; POLITICS/GOVERNMENT; ARCHITECTURE
Description
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
Assessor's Map 26BA 7-3W
Tax Lot 86010-170
Owner: JoAnn E. Seibert, 1568 Chemeketa Street, NE, Salem, OR 97301
This Colonial Revival house is a two-story structure was clapboard siding and a brick foundation. Its west half is in the saltbox shape with the roof sloping to a single story at the rear (south). The southeast corner departs from the saltbox plan. The house has a precise appearance resulting from uninterrupted corner boards, emphasizing height; the simplicity of the saltbox roof; and such details as the porch brackets and cornice moldings over each window.
An extra room has been added on the rear east corner, and two bathrooms have been installed. The early Sanborn map shows a projection on the rear of the house which is no longer present. The interior moldings are intact.
The original carriage house stands on the southeast corner of the deep lot. It is the best-preserved and oldest of the larger outbuildings in the district. It measures roughly 18 x 27 feet and is finished with a gable roof and board and batten siding. There are paired windows in the south gable having six fixed lights each. The overhead door in the south end is a replacement.
History
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
The house stands on property deeded by the family to Joseph Watt's daughter, Elizabeth Watt, and the house was built for her in 1904-1905.
In 1921, Elizabeth Watt, then mentally incompetent, leased the house to Bertha Watson.
Watson, with G. H. McElroy, "swindled" the house and other property from Miss Watt in 1923. She died on Oct. 23, 1925, at the age of 76 (buried IOOF Cemetery).
Elizabeth Watt's relatives sued McElroy, Watson, and others. In 1927, the court awarded the property to Elizabeth Watt's heirs.
The house was deeded to Cora Holman, a Watt cousin, in 1928 and to Garland E. Hollowell in 1936. Hollowell, an employee in the Secretary of State's office, lived in the house for 31 years. A member of the Men's Garden Club of Salem, he was known for his beautiful lawn and garden. He erected a greenhouse in the back yard which is still standing.
