Remembering Charles H. Carey

 

Charles Carey residence (National Register nomination form)

The next Portland-area structure likely to be accepted by the National Register of Historic Places is the Riverdale home of Charles H. Carey, who indisputably was one of the most important lawyers and political power brokers in Oregon in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

 Carey, who practiced law from 1883 to 1933, also played key roles in writing Oregon history, helping to establish the Oregon Historical Society and the Portland Art Association, as well as founding the Multnomah Law Library, an institution that still serves as a research venue for local lawyers.

 In addition, Carey was one of the key backroom figures in the Oregon Republic Party, whose two factions battled one another ruthlessly in the era when U.S. senators were selected by state legislators.  Carey’s battles with the rival Joseph Simon faction could likely rank among the dirtiest in state history, when Senate seats to a certain extent were obtained by the highest bidder.

Perhaps the worst blight in Carey’s career is that he helped succeed in placing John Hipple Mitchell in the U.S. Senate.  Mitchell’s career and Senate term suffered a key blow when he was convicted in the 1905 timber fraud trials.  He died while the Senate was considering expulsion.

 As a lawyer, Carey represented banks and railroads and helped build what became Oregon’s largest law firm.  He wrote a lengthy “General History of Oregon” and “The Oregon Constitution.”  His constitution book is still used by lawyers today as it is the best collection of news accounts and other documents about the constitutional convention, where official minutes were not kept.

 Carey’s career of legal and social activities is so extensive, “It’s really deserving of a book,” said Liz Carpenter, a Eugene historian who prepared the National Register nomination.  Carey served as a Portland Municipal Court judge from 1892 to 1894.  Though the municipal court was the lowest rung on the judicial ladder, Carey was often referred to as “Judge Carey” for the rest of his life.

Carey library (National Register form)

 The Carey house was erected in 1902 and slightly expanded in 1904.  Its architect is believed to be Edgar Lazarus, who is best known for designing the Vista House at Crown Point.  The Carey residence is described as being a Colonial Revival style, with horizontal siding and a large porch supported by Doric columns.

 The house remains in the sixth generation of family ownership, and most of the interior is still in original condition.  The Riverdale neighborhood sits south of Portland's city limits close to the west bank of the Willamette River., 

 The National Register nomination is based primarily on Carey’s legal and social history rather than on the architecture of the house.  Regardless, the house is an excellent example of prime residential work in its era.  Carey was born in 1857 and died in 1941.

Oregonian, 1902

 ----Fred Leeson

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