The Henderson House

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

In a recent post here, I told you about The Crosby House, a historical house in Tumwater. Located about fifty yards from that house stands The Henderson House Museum. Built in 1905 for German brewmaster William Naumann, and standing right across the river from The Olympia Brewing Company it was considered "state of the art" for it's day. At 2-1/2 stories it had such ammenities as hot & cold running water, steam heat from a coal-fired burner & electric lights in each room. In 1909 the home was purchase by John & Catherine Rohrbeck who stayed in the home more than a decade & raised three children there. John Rohrbeck worked for the brewery for more than 40 years, first as an accountant and later as an officer of the business. When the brewery shut down in 1921 the Rohrbecks sold the house. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933 during the construction of the new brewery, workers rented rooms in the old Victorian house. Jumping forward to 1974 the City of Tumwater decided to purchase the old house. They restored it and developed it into the Henderson House Museum, named after another pioneer.

10 comments

  1. AB Says:

    Great to see a bit of history being preserved. And great see such items of local colour passed on in the blog. I feel I am beginning to get to know Olympia little by little.

  2. Lois Says:

    It's a wonderful looking old house. I really like that turret!

  3. Meri Says:

    I was waiting to see this post. I'll have to look for the two historic properties next time I'm down your way. (Your post from yesterday is wonderful, by the way, and your caption made me laugh).

  4. AB: They're pretty big on saving historic sites around here & I like that. Glad at least some of my posts are informative. ;-)

    Lois: I agree, I like the turret too.

    Meri: Thanks for stopping by. Glad that one gave you a chuckle.

  5. Anonymous Says:

    A beautiful house and excellent information on it. Nice post.

  6. Looks like that's quite a historical area. The house is huge, and quite impressive.

  7. Abe: Maybe they would hire you to come improve the flower beds.

    ciel: Yes, there are a number of historical homes in the area. I'm sure I'll get to them in time.

  8. Prospero Says:

    Great looking house. Wonderfully restored. I'm sure it's a popular place.

  9. Lowell Says:

    It is an intriguing house and one I'd love to investigate. So glad it has been preserved!

  10. brian stout Says:

    great post, and informative as well! i love these older homes... they're expensive to maintain, but so classic!

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