Ezra Meeker Mansion

The Meeker mansion originally began construction in 1886, and was completed around 1890. However, due in part to the hop crisis and the panic of 1893, Ezra Meeker would have to put it up for sale by 1903, and would be rented out via a Mrs. Graham, as Ezra Meeker would soon depart on his journey back through the Oregon Trail once the Wagons in his yard were built[3]. Following Eliza Meeker’s death in 1909, Ezra Meeker would leave the mansion in possession of his daughter and son-in-law, to “dispose” of, and was leased in 1912 as a hospital[4]. Later in 1915, the house was used as a home for widows and orphans by the Washington and Alaska Chapter of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for civil war widows[5]. The mansion was extensively remodeled at this time. In 1948, the mansion would once again go through a massive overhaul, when it was sold and converted into a critical care nursing home. Ceilings were painted over and dropped ceilings replaced the old ones, exterior designs were removed and asbestos siding was installed. In 1970, despite the land being originally planned to house a parking lot, the Puyallup Historical Society was formed, and the land was bought back. The organization then began efforts to restore the property, removing exterior additions, dropped ceilings, painted woodwork was restored. Over time, original paintings from the mansion were discovered and copied to redecorate the mansion[6], effectively turning it into what we recognize today, although the building’s restoration is far from over[7].

The house has white clapboard siding and ornate wooden trim around all the window and below the eaves. A large front porch has a balcony on the second floor. A smaller balcony is on the east side of the house on the second floor. A porte-cochere, or carriage entrance, is on the west side with a wooden, circular stair to the sun porch. Porches and balconies are decorated with wooden railings and pillars. The foundation is gray stone and a widow's walk tops the mansion.[2] The pillars of the front porch and the carriage porte-cochere have been replaced with ordinary wooden posts.[2]

The mansion has fifteen rooms, with 12 feet (3.7 m) ceilings. Six fireplaces have hand-carved wooden mantels, ornate tile work, and mirrors. Speaking tubes helped communication in the mansion. Gold-leaf molding, fancy metal doorknobs and hinges, built-in bolt locks on the doors, and inside blinds were part of every room. The ceilings are decorated with frescoes and plaster sculptures. Gaslights were used throughout. The house has interior plumbing with marble fixtures and tin bathtubs. Leaded, stained glass windows are framed with ash and walnut.[2] Wooden partitions made four small rooms for fruit, dairy, and possibly a fuel and storage room. Gas lights were in the basement.[2]

The main floor consisted of the drawing room, parlor, library, a bathroom, dining room, kitchen, pantry, hallway, and sun porch. The drawing room has teakwood flooring. The parlor has cedar paneling and the library has redwood. The hallway had the main entrance, consisting of double doors of walnut with panels of leaded, stained glass. The main stairway had a newel post of hand-carved cherry wood, and the railing and balustrades of the stairway were hand-turned cherry wood. A large stained glass window was on the west side of the hallway and was also part of the sun porch. Double sliding doors opened off the hall into the parlor and the drawing room. A third set of double sliding doors connected the parlor and the library.[2]

The servants' stairway was on the kitchen and went up to the third floor. The second floor had two small rooms, which were used as servants' quarters. The master bedroom was built with a small dressing room adjacent that had a built-in wardrobe closet. The billiard room had a fireplace mantel, window casings, and baseboards of curly maple. A large bathroom, the oak room, and the ash room are on the second floor.[2]

The ballroom was located on the third floor, and there was a stage for actors and musicians. There were four rooms under the eaves to west, and south of the ballroom, which were for guests. The stairway to the widow's walk was on the third floor.[2]

Nat'l Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form, USDI, NPS

The Ezra Meeker Mansion is a Victorian-style mansion. It a good example with the high quality imported fireplaces; leaded, stained glass windows; and unusual woods used in the interior of the home.[2]

The home is a marker of the Oregon Trail.[2]

1. McDonald, Lucille, Where the Washingtonians Lived, Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, c 1969, p. 177
2. Meeker, Ezra, The Busy Life of Eighty- Five Years, Indianapolis: William B. Burford Press, c!9l6
3. Meeker, Ezra, and Howard R. Driggs, Ox- Team Days on the Oregon Trail, World Book Company, c!922
4. Young, Robert W., Ezra Meeker in the Puyallup Valley, Seattle: August, 1949,