Sergeant Clark House

The Sergeant Clark House built in 1892 is vernacular farmhouse located in the Historic Restoration Overlay zone of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island, Washington. The Queen Anne Style architecture represents an early period of community growth and application of structural detail and ornamentation. The house is situated on a 40,000 square foot land parcel in and a part of the Thomas Coupe Donation Claim. Through continuous restoration, it has retained its integrity of design, materials, and workmanship and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Thomas N. Richards was born in Devonshire England in 1847 and came to Washington in 1869. He was likely a crewman for Captain Thomas Coupe and later settled in the area as a farmer and dairyman. According to Snohomish County records, he married Ruby Burce (born in ME) in Seattle December 18, 1880. Ruby was the daughter of John Burce, a Civil War veteran who died during the war, and Ada a resident of Whatcom County. Thomas and Ruby had sixteen kids. Thomas Richards built The Sergeant Clark House in 1892. He died in 1899.

“... Jo De Vries' ... grandfather, first ordnance sergeant Thomas Clark, a career Army man, was posted to Fort Casey around 1900. Her father, who was also named Thomas Clark, worked at the fort as a civilian engineer, under the first chief engineer, Mr. O.W. Degan. I was born in what was the old post office, up on the hill, De Vries recalls. At that time, the fort was bustling with 1,000 men. There was a hospital, a bakery, a bandstand, a tailor's shop, the post exchange, a blacksmith shop, and a jail, De Vries said. It was a lovely place. It makes her sad to think of the many old military buildings that have been torn down. De Vries remembers the huge noise made by the big guns. They shook the earth pretty good!”

"In July 1979 a significant building, the Sergeant Clark House, was moved from its original location in the Central Whidbey Island Historic District to a new site, which is also in the district.

The Clark House, though not discussed previously in the nomination of the district, was of primary importance to the historic character of the area and was recognized as such in local records. Built in 1892 by Thomas N. Richards, the house soon passed to the mortgage holder. It was bought in 1908 by Sergeant Thomas Clark, a soldier stationed at nearby Fort Casey. Clark retired from the service and lived in the house until his death in 1930. Until 1941, the house was occupied by members of the Clark family, some of whom achieved important positions in county government. A son was a county engineer and a grandson, the county sheriff. In 1947 ownership of the house passed to Fred Burchell, who lived in one of the rooms on the lower floor until his death in 1969. The house has not been occupied since and, until recently, was deteriorating rapidly from neglect and vandalism. The previous owners, operators of a dairy farm, did not desire to restore the house or to sell to somebody who would. They agreed, however, to sell the house for removal from their land. The present owners bought it under these conditions and moved it to its new site in July 1979.

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The original location of the Clark House was near the southwest corner of Fort Casey Road and Old State Highway. To the south is a large frame house of historic character. To the west are two badly deteriorated out-buildings and, beyond them, the verdant fields of the Engle Dairy Farm. Another historic house, the Nuttal Home, is located to the north, on the other side of Fort Casey Road. The new location, 310 South Main, is to the northwest of the old, across more grassy pasture land. It is visible from the original site and from the Nuttal Home. To the south is a large dark-stained bungalow. Across Main Street is a small Cape Cod cottage and a large turn-of-the-century house. The latter, though it has fairly recent composition siding, retains its original massing and detailing. The west facade of the Clark House is visible through dense woods from Main Street. The trees extend only about fifty feet from the road, however, and the east facade looks out over open fields. The other facades are obscured from general view by the woods. The house, which has two stories and an attic, is basically rectangular with an intersecting side wing extending to the west. The main part of the house has a gabled hip roof, while the wing has a plain gable. This design gives the house a balanced, symmetrical roof line from both the front and back. A spacious porch and upstairs verandah extend from the wing across the rest of the west facade. In the rear, there is a one story extension. The roof is new wood shingles which faithfully replicate the roofing in historic photographs. Except for fishscale shingles above the window level, bevelled siding is used throughout. Fenestration is generally two-over-two double-hung wood sash, though many of the windows are temporarily in storage. Small triangular windows in the gable and gablet light the attic and echo the roof line. On the first floor are a living room, a parlor, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a service porch. A central stairway leads to three upstairs bedrooms. All the rooms have high ceilings and generous dimensions. The walls are lath and plaster, which is badly deteriorated, especially on the second floor where rain has caused considerable damage. Before the house was moved, the new owners brought the matter before the local Historic Review Board. This group concluded that the plan to move the house to a nearby site was the best available option for preserving the structure. This conclusion was based on the lack of interest in the house on the part of the dairy farmers and on a number of other facts. Without attention, the house would soon deteriorate beyond saving. Also, the proposed site was the nearest available one and is easily visible from the original location of the house. The new location would "balance" with the Chauncey House, which is located across Main Street from the new site. Finally, the historic significance of the house derives from its architectural attributes, rather than from any associations with its original site."

The house sat vacant for ten years after Fred Burchell passed away. The Madsen's purchased it in 1979 with the stipulation that the house would be moved to a new location. The original location was the south-west corner of Fort Casey Road and Terry Road. The house was moved to its new location on S. Main Street in Coupeville and the Madsen's completed restoration to the house in the mid 1980s.

The perimeter walls were stripped to the studs on the inside and new wiring, plumbing and insulation were installed. All of interior walls except the interior hallway are drywall. A new electric furnace was also installed at this time. Both Fireplaces were completely rebuilt with high-quality block and liners during the restoration.

The Sergeant Clark House exemplifies the use of local materials and tools. The house frame was constructed of lumber milled in Port Townsend. The timber was likely old-growth timber milled from the Olympic Peninsula just before President Grover Cleveland designated Olympic Peninsula as forest reserve in 1897. The high quality of the wood is one reason the house persists and the original double-hung windows show little wear and continue to operate. Original fir flooring is still present in many of the rooms.

Although both chimney stacks were completely rebuilt after the house was moved, the chimney tops visible above the roof line were remade with the original bricks. Bricks from that time were typically darker red in color and higher quality (slightly thicker) than today's U.S. standard.

Brian S. Nuenaber, an officer stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NAS), bought the house in 1986 and occupied it for a time with his family before selling it to new owners in 2010.

External links

• National Register of Historic Places - Central Whidbey Island Historic District
• National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior - Ebey's Landing
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington