Surveyed Resources / Landmark Inventory / Washburne District /Historic Sites and Buildings

National Register of Historic Places

The following properties in Springfield are listed in the National Register:

Springfield Buick Motors Dealership - 702 N A Street
Built - 1949
Date Listed - 6/1/2011 (NR# 11000328)
The layout of the Springfield Buick Motors Dealership was based on the guidelines in Buick Building Layout Guide, published by Buick in 1944, and Planning Automobile Dealer Properties, published by General Motors in 1948. The design was an adaptation from Building 100A, from the Buick manual, which fits the site and the necessities of the dealership. The dealership was constructed using an innovative wood bow-string truss construction system, supported by columns of reinforced concrete masonry units, to cover the large truss construction system, supported by columns of reinforced concrete masonry units, to cover the large span and to free the floor space for the showroom and service areas. The organization and ornamentation of the building's exterior reflect the Streamline Modern style in many commercial buildings during the mid-20th century. The style was characterized by a curved corner with large areas of glass along the main facade and a lack of ornamentation. The original neon sign from 1949, still indicating the business's name, is located above the curved glass storefront. The building is in good condition, and most of the original windows have been retained. Today, the dealership remains in the Scherer family, who inherited it from their father, Clarence L. Scherer, and it continues to be a Buick dealership.

Brattain-Hadley House - 1260 Main Street
Built - 1893
Date Listed - 9/14/1995 (NR# 95001099)
The house rests on a donation land claim of 160 acres granted to Paul Brattain on December 29, 1866. Paul Brattain was elected as Lane County's first auditor and to the combined positions of County Clerk and Recorder until July 1, 1859. The first plot of Springfield was signed by Mr. Brattain in 1856. Paul Brattain died in 1883. The first structure on the site was a log cabin built with a lean-to that may have been hand-hewn. Charles Scott sketched the cabin just before the new house was built. The Hadley house was representative example of the Queen Anne style of construction. John B. Innis was the master carpenter. The house burned in 1997. The landscape was once all farmland and is now reduced to the immediate area of the house. Many of the original planting remain. The seed of the black walnut tree in the yard is believed to have come from Iowa with Paul Brattain. He planed the seed in the 1860s. Each of the pioneer children had their own tree named after them. The big fir Millie is also still standing. The yard represents an early garden with mock orange, hawthorne, hickory, old roses, flax, iris, a carpet of violets, and ivy.

Campbell House - 890 Aspen Drive
Built - 1870
Date Listed - 11/1/1979 (NR# 79002088)
The Robert E. Campbell house is significant to Lane County as one of a small number of rural pioneer farm houses remaining in the Eugene/Springfield metro area. The land claim that the house is situated on is one of the earliest settled in the area. In 1852, the Campbell family acquired a donation land claim of 319.46 acres. The family lived in a 7' x 24' log cabin for 20 years before the house was built. The land was mostly prairie which was used to grow grain and raise stock. Today the house is a residence in a suburban, semi-rural area on .44 acres. It is a simple example of the Rural Gothic style popular in Oregon around 1870. Most noteworthy of the house are the fireplaces and the main chimney stack which is a local landmark of inventive detailing.

Pacific Power and Light Building - 590 Main Street
Built - 1911
Date Listed - 2/23/1996 (NR# 96000170)
This property wsa bought from W.M. Sutton in January 1911 for $3,500. This building originally housed the Oregon Power Company distribution substation that supplied electric power to Springfield. The original design also stands in Albany. The electric powe was generated by steam-driven turbines in a power plant across the railroad tracks. The company was taken over by Mountain States Power Company and then Pacific Power and Light. The substation possesses a unique architectural character for the City. The building is constructed of brick which was quite unique in the City at that time. The exterior still exhibits the cornice and window details of careful craftsmanship. The second floor displays remnants of the early transformers. It is believed that the electric power from this substation first served the Booth-Kelly mills. It is now being used as the Springfield Museum.

Southern Pacific Railroad Depot - 101 South A Street
Built - 1891
Date Listed - 2/24/1993 (NR# 82005088)
The depot was built six years after Springfield itself was founded in 1885. The Springfield Depot was constructed in "Southern Pacific Standard Plan #22" and on land that was donated by the Springfield Investment and Power Company. This was a short line from Dundee to Coburg to terminate in Springfield. Springfield had been anxiously awaiting the railroad for 20 years. This style has been referred to as Victorian/stick style, Queen Anne style, and also as Chalet style. It is considered one of the more elaborate Southern Pacific designs of the nineteenth century. While somebody might think the design elaborate, the station represented practical architecture. It was built long and narrow so it would fit between two sets of tracks. The second story also served as the living quarters for the stationmaster and his family. The former railroad station took a long road to get to where it currently stands. Southern Pacific sent its last passenger train to the Springfield station in 1965, then completely closed operations in 1983. During the next five years the building began to fall into disrepair. The city purchased the aging building in 1988 and then moved it from South Seventh Street to its current location in September 1989. The depot is the only commercial structure of its type in Springfield and the oldest depot of its type in Oregon. After a period of restoration, the Chamber of Commerce in 1990 became the first organization to inhabit the building in nearly a decade.

Springfield General Hospital - 846 F Street
Built - 1914
Date Listed - 9/1/1983 (NR# 83002159)
The Pollard House Apartments was originally known as the Springfield General Hospital. The hospital was built in 1914 and served the community well in the 1920's. It served a vital role in the 1918 Spanish Influenza Epidemic when half a million people died nationwide. Though it is unclear when it was closed, taxes were paid through 1928. It remained empty for two decades during the Depression. It was resold in 1944 and converted into apartments. The building design was strongly influenced by the Bungalow style. The main feature of this building is the full width porches. A long corridor stretches down the length of each floor separating its interior into 8 units. Most of original floors and walls remain intact. The Pollard name came from a long time and noted doctor of Springfield, Dr. W.H. Pollard, who practiced prior to, after and during the years that the building was known as the hospital. This building is probably the last wooden structure remaining in Lane County that was used as a hospital in the early 1900's. A small building called the Pest House is located a few doors down. It housed patients that had communicable diseases.

Dorris Ranch - S 2nd and Dorris Ave
Built - 1899
Date Listed - 6/22/1988 (NR# 88000724)
Dorris Ranch, Springfield’s unique living history farm, has succeeded in bringing Oregon history to life. Dorris Ranch is known as the first commercial filbert farm in the United States. Lawyer-turned-farmer George Dorris and his wife, Lulu, purchased the property in 1892 for $4,000. George Dorris experimented with peaches, cherries, grapes, and hops before planting the first 50 filbert trees in 1903. George and his nephew, Ben Dorris, perfected a propagation method that made the Ranch one of the most successful filbert tree nurseries anywhere. Over the next 50 years, the Dorris family planted an additional 9,200 filbert trees and harvested more than 50 tons of nuts each year.

Washburne District (map)
Built - many dates
Date Listed - 2/10/1987 (NR# 870000042)
The Historic District was established in 1985 and is named for C.W. Washburne who was a prominent banker and mill owner in Springfield. He was the owner and operator of Lane County's most successful grist mills. The District is a well preserved example of an early working class neighborhood. The age of the buildings in the neighborhood span from the 1890s up through the 1940s. The District is a geographically bounded area encompassing approximately 33 city blocks and is located north of the City of Springfield's business district. The majority of the District's 128 contributing residences can be classified as either Bungalow, Mill Cottage, Traditional Box, or Homestead style houses.