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The origins of the Freed House

June 30, 2009

By Administrator

Jacob Reard builds a house that will become a contentious issue for Sammamish

This is the first in a two-part series about the Reard-Freed House.
By Phil Dougherty
Some of us who have lived on the plateau are familiar with parts of the story of the Reard-Freed Farmstead, particularly the Freed half, which we will also review here. But new historical information sheds additional light on Jacob Reard (1866-1917), the man who first bought the property.
Jacob Dominique Reard was born in Germany on March 4, 1866. Little is presently known of his early life or when he came to America, but he appears in the 1889 territorial census for King County, listed as an immigrant laborer.
On November 20, 1890, he bought 80 acres of land for $380 from the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. An 1897 map shows the farm located just northwest of the northern terminus of what was then a short leg of today’s 212th Avenue Southeast, a roughly four-block long dirt strip that connected today’s Southeast 20th Street and Southeast 24th Street (which in the early 1890s was an almost brand new road and known as either Martin Monohon Road — its official name — or more informally as Monohon Hill Road).
Reard was living in Gilman (now Issaquah). On March 4, 1891, his 25th birthday, he married Emma Groat (1869-1964) of Montague, Calif.; they were married at the Snoqualmie Parlors in Seattle.
The young couple returned to Gilman, where the 1892 census recorded Reard’s profession as a gardener. However, they wouldn’t be long for Gilman.
Reard took out a $900 mortgage in June 1892 to build a house on his new property, and according to tax assessor records, both the house and a barn were built in 1895. The mortgage was also paid in full in June of that year.
Reard built his house in the “National” style, a relatively simple two-story rectangular house (and an attic) with a gable roof, which was a popular style used in homebuilding for much of the last half of the nineteenth century.
At some point, probably not long after the house was built, a one-story wing was added; this later became a kitchen. Reard also added additional touches, such as Queen Anne detailing (examples were fish-scale shingling on the primary gable ends, and porch rail detailing on the house’s porch), that made the house look more modern and ornate.
The house’s overall dimensions are 25 by 57 feet, and it has a six-room interior.
By the time the Reards moved into their new home they already had one child, John (1892-1974), and would have four more. Son Alfred died in infancy in 1896, but three children survived into adulthood:  Herbert (1897-1943), Marguerite (1902-1988), and Alice (1908-1989). Reard’s grandson, Paul Thomas of Woodinville, says that his mother Marguerite was born in the farmhouse in 1902, and it seems probable that Herbert and Alfred were born there as well.
Reard was a successful farmer. But “grandfather had itchy pants… he liked challenges” observes Thomas. “He went to the gold rush in Alaska [probably in the late 1890s] but only came back with one nugget about the size of my thumb.” Reard also farmed briefly in Wapato, alone for part of the time while his family remained here.
Then he moved again, this time to a 200-acre ranch in Ephrata, sold his farm here in 1905, and the rest of his family joined him in Ephrata.
Early in 1917, Jacob Reard was severely injured when he cut his leg on a baler. He was taken by train to Spokane for medical treatment, but died on Feb. 21, 1917.
Meanwhile back on the plateau, the farm went through a series of owners over the next decade or two. In 1923, Olaf L. Skogman (1856-1929), a Swedish immigrant, bought the property. Skogman worked at the Monohon mill.
His wife Margaret (1860-1936) occasionally worked at the nearby Clise mansion (now part of Marymoor Park in Redmond) to supplement the family’s income.  The farmhouse itself became a gathering place for the community, with a large room on the second floor used for dances.
In 1928, Oscar E. Freed (1894-1979) and wife Dorothy (d. 1978) acquired the property as the result of a land trade with Skogman, but they didn’t move there right away. The Freeds lived in Seattle and owned the Rainier Valley Food Store there. Trying to commute to the farm from Seattle was impractical in 1928, so the Freeds remained in Seattle and rented out the property until 1934.
At least one renter found a creative use for the property, and built a still on it. Prohibition was in effect at the time, but illegal stills were commonplace and many did not view them with any real stigma.
In a 2005 interview, Oscar Freed’s son Richard (b. 1923) described the farm during these years:  “We’d go out there and it’d be all quiet — there’d be a few cattle there but that’s all. The bootleggers had a still in the barn that was sunk down so you couldn’t see it.
“They put hay over the top of it. Finally the federals came down and knocked the still over. It stunk of whiskey out there for a good three weeks!”
Next week, the Freeds move in and establish a water district.

This is the first in a two-part series about the Reard-Freed House.

Some of us who have lived on the plateau are familiar with parts of the story of the Reard-Freed Farmstead, particularly the Freed half, which we will also review here. But new historical information sheds additional light on Jacob Reard (1866-1917), the man who first bought the property.

Jacob Reard and Emma Groat Reard on their wedding day, March 4, 1891. Photo courtesy Paul Thomas

Jacob Reard and Emma Groat Reard on their wedding day, March 4, 1891. Photo courtesy Paul Thomas

Jacob Dominique Reard was born in Germany on March 4, 1866. Little is presently known of his early life or when he came to America, but he appears in the 1889 territorial census for King County, listed as an immigrant laborer.

On November 20, 1890, he bought 80 acres of land for $380 from the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. An 1897 map shows the farm located just northwest of the northern terminus of what was then a short leg of today’s 212th Avenue Southeast, a roughly four-block long dirt strip that connected today’s Southeast 20th Street and Southeast 24th Street (which in the early 1890s was an almost brand new road and known as either Martin Monohon Road — its official name — or more informally as Monohon Hill Road).

Reard was living in Gilman (now Issaquah). On March 4, 1891, his 25th birthday, he married Emma Groat (1869-1964) of Montague, Calif.; they were married at the Snoqualmie Parlors in Seattle.

The young couple returned to Gilman, where the 1892 census recorded Reard’s profession as a gardener. However, they wouldn’t be long for Gilman.

Reard took out a $900 mortgage in June 1892 to build a house on his new property, and according to tax assessor records, both the house and a barn were built in 1895. The mortgage was also paid in full in June of that year.

Reard built his house in the “National” style, a relatively simple two-story rectangular house (and an attic) with a gable roof, which was a popular style used in homebuilding for much of the last half of the nineteenth century.

At some point, probably not long after the house was built, a one-story wing was added; this later became a kitchen. Reard also added additional touches, such as Queen Anne detailing (examples were fish-scale shingling on the primary gable ends, and porch rail detailing on the house’s porch), that made the house look more modern and ornate.

The house’s overall dimensions are 25 by 57 feet, and it has a six-room interior.

By the time the Reards moved into their new home they already had one child, John (1892-1974), and would have four more. Son Alfred died in infancy in 1896, but three children survived into adulthood:  Herbert (1897-1943), Marguerite (1902-1988), and Alice (1908-1989). Reard’s grandson, Paul Thomas of Woodinville, says that his mother Marguerite was born in the farmhouse in 1902, and it seems probable that Herbert and Alfred were born there as well.

Reard was a successful farmer. But “grandfather had itchy pants… he liked challenges” observes Thomas. “He went to the gold rush in Alaska [probably in the late 1890s] but only came back with one nugget about the size of my thumb.” Reard also farmed briefly in Wapato, alone for part of the time while his family remained here.

Then he moved again, this time to a 200-acre ranch in Ephrata, sold his farm here in 1905, and the rest of his family joined him in Ephrata.

Early in 1917, Jacob Reard was severely injured when he cut his leg on a baler. He was taken by train to Spokane for medical treatment, but died on Feb. 21, 1917.

Meanwhile back on the plateau, the farm went through a series of owners over the next decade or two. In 1923, Olaf L. Skogman (1856-1929), a Swedish immigrant, bought the property. Skogman worked at the Monohon mill.

His wife Margaret (1860-1936) occasionally worked at the nearby Clise mansion (now part of Marymoor Park in Redmond) to supplement the family’s income.  The farmhouse itself became a gathering place for the community, with a large room on the second floor used for dances.

In 1928, Oscar E. Freed (1894-1979) and wife Dorothy (d. 1978) acquired the property as the result of a land trade with Skogman, but they didn’t move there right away. The Freeds lived in Seattle and owned the Rainier Valley Food Store there. Trying to commute to the farm from Seattle was impractical in 1928, so the Freeds remained in Seattle and rented out the property until 1934.

At least one renter found a creative use for the property, and built a still on it. Prohibition was in effect at the time, but illegal stills were commonplace and many did not view them with any real stigma.

In a 2005 interview, Oscar Freed’s son Richard (b. 1923) described the farm during these years:  “We’d go out there and it’d be all quiet — there’d be a few cattle there but that’s all. The bootleggers had a still in the barn that was sunk down so you couldn’t see it.

“They put hay over the top of it. Finally the federals came down and knocked the still over. It stunk of whiskey out there for a good three weeks!”

Next week, the Freeds move in and establish a water district.

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Written by Administrator · Filed Under Community 

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Comments

One Response to “The origins of the Freed House”

  1. patti bradfield on July 12th, 2009 2:23 pm

    I hate to tell you but you have names and dates all wrong.

    Would love to talk to someone and get it right.

    Patti (SKOGMAN) Bradfield
    Redmond, WA
    425-883-1943

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