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The third one, as the saying goes, is a charmer.

The Colonel Landes House, located on 1034 Franklin St. in Port Townsend, has just been approved for individual listing by the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. 

Properties that receive individual listing are eligible for tax credits, opportunities to apply for restoration grants from a variety of different organizations, and a host of other benefits to help protect the home. 

But, most importantly, a national individual listing marks a property’s significance in history. 

For Craig Britton, owner of the Colonel Landes House, along with his wife Carleen Bruins, it’s been a long journey up to this point. 

Before he and his wife bought the historic house in 2002, they lived in the San Francisco Bay area, where they were involved with the restoration of two other Victorian homes, one in Santa Cruz, and the other in Los Altos. 

While working to restore historic homes in the Bay area, they began to think about owning one of their own and started looking for places to retire. 

“We wanted to buy a Victorian home within, well, our criteria was within
25 miles of the ocean,” Britton said. 

With that, the pair started searching up the coast, which led them to Port Townsend. 

That was two decades ago. Britton and Bruins found the Landes House, and purchased it from Gary and Mary McDowell. 

But, the couple had not actually retired yet, and the house needed a lot of work. 

For a decade, they spent their time hiring contractors to work on the home and communicating closely with Barbara Marseille, a history expert, to make sure the work being done would restore the house in a historically accurate way. 

During this period they rented out the house while commuting back and forth from the Bay area. The couple finally moved to Port Townsend in 2014. 

The home was originally constructed in 1871. 

In 1881, it was acquired by Colonel Henry Landes, a fur trapper who settled in Port Townsend and founded the city’s first bank. 

The house is interesting in part for its direct association with Landes, who was a moving force in the growth of the city during the 1880s. In 1883, the colonel started a dramatic renovation of the property, including moving the entire original home to a new lot and adding another building. 

The house is also notable for its architecture, because it is one of the best examples of the Queen Anne style that dominates much of Port Townsend’s Victorian homes.

As put forth by Britton, the responsibility of taking care of a home like this, whether or not it’s on the historic register, is not for the faint of heart. 

“The way I describe it is, people say it’s marine-oriented here, with boats and so forth, and they ask me if we have a boat.

“And I say ‘No, we have a hole in land we fill with money, we don’t need a hole in water to fill with money.’”

The projects are plenty indeed; the couple has re-insulated the entire home, remodeled the windows, done extensive wallpaper work, remodeled the kitchen, done brickwork in the basement, replaced two pot-bellied stoves, and much more, all in an effort to maintain and bring the house closer to its original state. 

Previous owners have also done valuable work on the home, including Dr. Randy Jacobs, who owned the house in the 1980s.

“Doctor Jacobs got a photo from the turn of the century, 1900, which showed what the house looked like, so he went in and returned the house to what it looked like,” Britton said.

That renovation included things like strengthening the foundation, and replumbing and rewiring the house.

“There was no landscaping at the time,” he added. “In fact, the rumor was that there were riding lawn mower races around the house, because it was just too bare.”  

Through their work on the Landes House, Britton was glad to save most of the original windows. 

“A lot of them have the old wavy glass in them, so it’s kinda cool. You look outside and it looks like the birds are flying when they’re not.” Britton and Bruins have held back whenever possible on modern appearances and try to conceal them if they can to preserve the history and look of the Landes House. 

Microwaves and dishwashers are hidden in the cabinetry; a TV is concealed as part of the fireplace surround; the refrigerator has been made to look like an old icebox. 

The house has received two Mary Johnson Awards for this type of work, one when Jacobs remodeled the house, then one in 2015 to Britton and Bruins. 

The Mary Johnson Award is given to historic structures that meet a very high standard of restoration.

After all of this hard work, through many owners and many decades, the house has been honorably recognized by its individual listing in the National Historic Register. 

Usually the council that reviews these decisions meets three or four times a year, but amid the pandemic, only met once. 

As the pandemic did with many other things, it majorly slowed down the process for individual listing. 

Luckily, a call by Britton to State Rep. Steve Tharinger’s office was able to get the house’s approval back on track. 

Britton extended his gratitude and appreciation toward those in Tharinger’s office for their assistance.

Currently, tours of the Landes House are unavailable, but the couple is mulling over their options to create a virtual tour later this year. 

To learn more about the history of the Col. Landes House, or to learn more about the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, visit https://dahp.wa.gov.