H.M. Gilbert Homeplace Student/Teacher Resources Introduction Mr. H. M. Gilbert Mrs. Marion Richey Gilbert Living Room Dining Room Library Kitchen Bedroom West Room/Sleeping Porch South (Guest) Bedroom East Bedroom Hallway/Bath The Yard & Garden The Wash House

The Gilbert House
H. M. Gilbert purchased twenty acres of sagebrush land between what is now 20th and 22nd Avenues, Chestnut and Summitview in 1897. The area west of the end of Yakima Avenue at that time was then cleared and prepared for cultivation of the first crops of apples and grapes in 1898 . A part of the property was used to pasture animals brought with the family from Illinois in a Northern Pacific box car.

The first building constructed was the barn in which the family lived until the house was started in 1898 on the hilltop site at the west side of their land. While the family was growing up, the barn was a significant part of the homeplace since the orchards were managed from there, boxes were built, and the fruit packed in the building during harvest. The barn was eventually cut into four sections and moved to a West Valley location, but finally destroyed by wind in 1997.

When the Gilbert family was finally able to move out of their barn and into the house, it must have seemed like heaven to them. Most of all, they loved the wraparound porch and the upstairs porch with turret. The house, built from mail order plans, adapted to their property by architect William DeVeaux, and executed by local building craft talent, was very modest. It consisted of a small living room (parlor); a small dining area, including the stairway to the second floor; a downstairs master bedroom; a kitchen with pantry and buttery; two upstairs bedrooms, and ample closet space throughout.

Outside, the porches and turret identified the house as a modified Victorian style. A windmill and water tank stood in the rear near the original barn. At first, the front porch wrapped around the north side of the living room. The two large elms at the south side of the house were grown from slips the Gilberts brought from illinois in 1897, and the shady yard was important to the home as large gatherings were held outside as an extension to the screened porches on the east and south sides of the home. Recently steel braces have been attached to keep the trees from splitting apart as they age. The gardens were always carefully tended, and Horace recalled that a row of roses grew near the front porch, and each plant was named for one of the children. To promote activities for this large family, a lawn tennis court was built on the east side of the yard. A vine-covered gazebo stood northeast of the main house, and it was sometimes used for sleeping in summer or storage of outdoor equipment in winter. A short walk from the back door led to the customary rural outhouse. A central heating system fueled by coal or coke necessitated hot water radiators in the various rooms with the furnace in the basement as well as a large area reserved for a coal bin. After Mrs. Gilbert's death in 1951, when the home was vacant for a year, some pipes froze as well as the toilet on the second floor which caused considerable damage to the floors and walls. The old pipes have now been removed, the house being heated by a gas furnace since 1982.

The thirteen room home was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Donelson after Mrs. Gilbert's death, and they spent the next 30 years repairing the structure, furnishing it with antique furniture, and restoring the grounds. After Mr. Donelson's death, the house became the property of the Yakima Valley Museum. The house is managed and open for tours by the Friends of Gilbert Homeplace. A tour of the house will reveal the many changes and additions that were made as the family grew and their lifestyle became more complex.