Stunning 19th Century home that's rare Oregon Trail survivor abruptly torn down to make way for water treatment facility

A stunning home from the 19th Century that was one of Washington County's rare surviving Oregon Trail homes, has been demolished just days before its future was to be discussed at a city council meeting.

Preservationists had fought to keep the historic structure but developers used the long holiday weekend to tear the house down before any formal decision could be made about saving the home.

The Wilkes House was torn down on Friday in order to make way for a new water treatment plant that is being constructed to support a proposed 30-acre Sunset View at West Banks residential and commercial development.

The historical society and the Friends of the Wilkes House had asked for the water treatment plant be built elsewhere in order for the historic home to be preserved together with the old trees surrounding the property.  

The property owners Lone Oak Land and Investment Company and Wolverine Financial had also offered to give the farmhouse to the Banks Historical Society for it to be relocated. 

'It's heartbreaking how quickly 150 years of Oregon Trail pioneer heritage can be torn down for no immediate need,' said Jennifer Allen Newton, a volunteer with the Banks Historical Society, to Oregon Live.

Newton said she had hoped the one-acre homestead might be saved but instead there was nothing she could do but watch as an excavator razed the 154-year-old, two-story structure to the ground. 

'None of this had to happen today. The city doesn't take possession for months. The water treatment plant isn't scheduled to be built for five to eight years,' she said. 'We got some media attention on July 3; the owners applied for a demolition permit on July 3. And they demolished the house on July 5. That's incredibly fast.

“All we wanted was to put plans on pause until we could get all interested parties together to discuss how the city might use this property when they take possession of it. This could have been stopped if the interested parties wanted it to. Instead of taking responsibility, everyone is deflecting and pointing fingers, and 150-plus years of Oregon Trail pioneer history is now a pile of rubble,' Newton told the Beaverton Valley Times.

The preservation group was not outright opposed to the new development known as the city's westside development project, but had wanted the Wilkes House property to be left untouched.

Last year, the Banks Historical Society paid $900 for an inspection to ensure the Wilkes House was structurally sound.

It was in 1845, the Wilkes family walked west on the Oregon Trail. Peyton and Anna Wilkes are considered the first permanent European American settlers in the Banks area, according to Newton, who wrote the history book, 'Banks: A Town on the Move.'

'The Wilkes family lived harmoniously alongside the Atfalati people,' said Newton, based on oral histories and Native American objects found in the archaeological survey.

Jabez Wilkes, the son of Peyton and Anna, lived in the family's log cabin until the early 1870s, when he built the house with a gabled roof.

Last month, the grassroots Friends of the Wilkes House launched the Save the Wilkes House campaign on GoFundMe, raising $3,000 with the aim of using the money  to preserve the historic site as a city park, cultural community center, and museum.

The property owners have contracted to sell the land to residential developer David Weekley Homes, including the deed the Wilkes House property to the city.

The Banks City Council was even expected to discuss the Wilkes House at a meeting next Tuesday - but that is now moot. 

'The city does not own the property or the Wilkes House and will not own the property until the westside developer satisfies certain conditions in its Development Agreement and conveys the property to the city,' Mayor Stephanie Jones said in a statement last Wednesday. 

'As we understand it, the property owner offered to give the structure to the local historical society for free so long as they move the building to another location. To our knowledge, that has not happened.'

Nicole Possert, executive director of Restore Oregon, a statewide preservation organization, lamented the final destruction of the home.

'What a tragic day of loss for all of Oregon and our collective heritage,' Possert said on Friday to The Oregonian.

'This property represents so many layers of history and heritage, from the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya people to the Pioneer-era settlers that founded the community of Banks. Demolition over the long, Fourth of July, holiday weekend was unnecessary when next Tuesday, the City Council had planned a work session to potentially work together on a long-term solution.'