Rothschild House celebrates 150 years

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The 150th year of the historic Rothschild House in uptown Port Townsend was celebrated not only by descendants of the original Rothschild family, but also by members of the Jefferson County Historical Society and the Washington State Parks system.

Shelly Leavens, executive director of the Jefferson County Historical Society, kicked off the festivities Aug. 25 in the garden of the Rothschild House, by recounting the history of the the 418 Taylor St. residence, dating back to its building in 1868 by Horace Tucker, a boatbuilder, in the Greek Revival style.

Prior to its building, the Rothschilds have lived in Port Townsend for 10 years, above the family business, called “the Kentucky Store” before its name changed to “Rothschild and Company Mercantile.”

D.C.H. Rothschild, nicknamed “The Baron,” lived at the house with his wife, Dorette, and their five children, Regina, Henry, Louis, Emelie and Eugene.

Leavens credited Dorette and Emilie with keeping the house in its original condition until Emilie's passing in 1954, after which the house was passed along to the Washington State Parks by Eugene and his family in 1959.

“This house, like all homes, needs continual love and care,” Leavens said. “That's why we're here, to express our love and desire to care for this home into the future.”

Brian Hageman, Olympic View Area Manager for Washington State Parks, elaborated on the house's relative aesthetic constancy, absent of what he identified as the intrusions of “the colors of the 1960s and '70s” or “the black-and-white tiles” of the 1980s.

“Because the family preserved this house so well, we get to peek into what the late 1800s and early 1900s were really like,” Hageman said.

Because Washington State Parks are among “the worst-funded agencies in the state,” Hageman noted just his branch has “a lot of mouths to feed,” with 187 buildings to manage under his purview.

At the same time, Washington State Parks has had to prevent the upstairs ceiling of the Rothschild House from caving in, as well as replace its antique plaster and remove an invasive holly tree.

Hageman noted the state parks have no shortage of similar tasks on its to-do list for the Rothschild House, from making sure the windows remain weather-tight to replacing its antique gutters.

“Believe it or not, you can't get wooden gutters at Henery's,” Hageman said, drawing laughter from the celebration's attendees. “Fortunately, we found a company in Tacoma that's able to do that work.”

With other care items ranging from replacing the cement in the building's foundations to regular weekly lawn care, Hageman not only thanked the Jefferson County Historical Society for its volunteers and docents, but also joined Leavens in thanking the descendants of the Rothschild family, as well as Jefferson County Master Gardener Paula Schmidt “and her team” for their efforts.

Clayton Jones III, a fifth-generation Rothschild who recalls Dorette's children, Eugene and Emilie, as “Uncle Eugene” and “Aunt Emilie,” noted only family had ever lived in the house until Emilie's passing in 1954.

“They had guests who visited, but it was never put out for rent,” Jones said.

So, when Emilie died, and Eugene was unwilling to move back to Port Townsend from Seattle, Jones outlined the family's choice, either to “turn the house loose and let it be sold, knowing all its memories would be gone,” or to make an arrangement with Washington State Parks.

“In the end, a deal was made,” Jones said. “They'd get the house for free, as long as they kept it in good shape.”

Washington State Parks partnered with the Jefferson County Historical Society in maintaining the house, but it was during one of Jones' twice-yearly visits to town to check in on the house he noticed its existing paint job had “completely failed” this spring.

The estimate Hageman received for a new paint job was in the neighborhood of $30,000, and because Jones was conscious of the fact Washington State Parks is “the opposite of flush” in funds, in Hageman's words, the family has agreed to kick in for about half of those expenses.

Jones praised the partnership with the state parks and the Jefferson County Historical Society as having “worked out great over the years,” and concluded his remarks by telling the crowd, “My wish is for everyone to continue to enjoy this house as it was.”