H.M. Gilbert Homeplace
Step into the past at the restored orchard home of Horace M. Gilbert and family. This farmhouse has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and exemplifies homelife in the early 20th century, when families like the Gilberts were planting orchards and Yakima was growing.

The H.M. Gilbert homeplace has been part of Yakima history for nearly 100 years. Mr. Horace M. Gilbert purchased 20 acres of sagebrush land in 1897 where the house was constructed in 1898. The land was divided between orchard and pasture for farm animals brought on the train with the family from Illinois. 

Mr. Gilbert devoted much of his time to the development of land in the lower Yakima Valley, after which he purchased orchard land west of the city.

The Gilberts owned the home until 1951 when Mrs. Gilbert died at age 89. Mr. Gilbert had preceded her in death in 1934. The L.M. Donelsons then lived in the home until 1981 during which time they began restoration of the home and gardens to their original beauty, and they furnished the house with Victorian antiques. In 1982 the Gilbert family purchased the house and donated it to the Yakima Valley Museum.

For more details and teacher's resources about Gilbert House, click here.