Thomas G. Reames House

The Thomas G. Reames house at 540 E. California Street grew along with Reames’ family and his prosperity. 

In 1852, a 13-year-old Reames had driven a wagon across the Oregon Trail and then worked as a stevedore for the Hudson Bay Company.  The lure of gold and land brought him to Jacksonville 2 years later.  Over the next few years, Reames served as deputy sheriff, ran a livery stable, and opened a prosperous mercantile business.  He eventually became partners with his neighbor, C.C. Beekman, in the Beekman & Reames Banking House.  Reames also served multiple terms on the Jacksonville City Council, including several stints as mayor; served as Postal Inspector for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska; and was one of the most prominent members of the Oregon Masonic fraternity.

By the time he was 28, Reames had become sufficiently prosperous to court and marry his wife Lucinda and purchase the deed to this property.  The Reames house began around 1864 as a rectangular structure with a porch across its length.  The house was added onto and enlarged at least twice after 1867, with the original home probably becoming the lower floor of the east-facing ell.  By the turn of the century, it had become one of Jacksonville’s more palatial homes, incorporating many of the features of the Queen Anne architectural style popular at the time.