The Henderson House

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.