Stayton's Oldest Home Demolished

The local phone company owns the property and they tried to save the house prior to its destruction by offering it for sale for 1$ to anyone that could move it.

The Stayton House in the last day in its 134 years Photo by: Ken Cartwright

(STAYTON, Ore.) - A Stayton landmark disappeared last week when construction crews razed the town's oldest house, originally built in 1873 by Drury E. Stayton, one of the founding families of this community and its namesake.

It happened Wednesday about 9:00 AM, when Canyon Contracting began demolishing the old grey Stayton Family home located on High street between First Street and Second Street on the north side.

This house, according to local resident Bob Remington, was the oldest in Stayton. It has existed since 1873 when it was constructed by Drury E. Stayton.

Though the house had been added on to from it's original footprint, including the addition of dormers, numerous remodels, roof lines changed and many layers of siding added, it was still a standing structure and landmark, but it had no place to go.

Months ago, the Stayton Telephone Company, owners of this property, offered the house for sale to anyone who would pay to move it, for one dollar, but no takers were found.

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It was also proposed to the Brown House Heritage foundation that it be moved it to their property across the street on the west side of first street. But they said they could not justify the expense of moving it and already have plans for a large garden that did not allow for an area the size of this house.

So, the phone company allowed The Stayton Fire Department to have a practice burn in the house, knowing that the house would be demolished anyway.

And so it was, Wednesday, that the heavy equipment came in and made short work of this 134 year old home.

Don Lawrence of the Stayton Telephone Company told us by phone that they don't have any immediate plans for the site other than for more parking. The city will need to widen First avenue in the near future and parts of the brick telephone building will be demolished to make room for the road widening and the phone company will at that time, use the property where the house stood, plus the property on the corner of first and High where the Edward Jones investment business is, as well as the Stayton/Sublimity Chamber of Commerce building, for more phone company offices and switching equipment facilities structures.