By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Regional Museum board member
To escape the memories of a heart-breaking tragedy that occurred in Lebanon on New Year’s Eve 1887, John and Lottie Ralston left the town John Ralston’s father founded and moved to Albany.
Here’s what happened that night:
After the family finished dinner, John went out and Lottie took the couple’s children Johnnie, 10, and Mabel, 8, upstairs for their baths.
Lottie left the bathroom for a moment and then somehow one of the children must have tipped over a kerosene lantern, causing a fire to engulf the bathroom.
When Lottie heard her children’s screams, she ran to the bathroom and coaxed the children to escape to her through a wall of flame. Lottie also attempted to enter the room to rescue her children.
Unfortunately, the children were so badly burned that they died the next day. Lottie was burned on her face and arms but survived.
A story in the Jan. 3, 1888, edition of the Democrat-Herald noted that “a beautiful home has lost its brightest jewels, and New Year’s Day was one of grief and sadness.”
The story went on to say that the incident was one of the most “shocking and distressing” accidents to occur in that area of the state.
At the time of the fire, the Ralston family was living in a one-and-a half-story Queen Anne/Eastlake Cottage built in 1887 at 481 Main St. It remains standing today. At one time it served as a mortuary.
Following the fire, the John Ralstons realized that they could no longer remain in Lebanon, so they hired an architect to design an Eastlake-Stick home at 632 Baker St. S.E. in Albany.
The house was finished in 1889 and is distinctive for its “peachy-orangey-butterscotch” color. The home boasts ornate sunbursts, spool and spindle ornaments, an angled balcony off of the master bedroom along with other porches and balconies.
After the fire, John announced that he planned to construct an “elegant residence.”
Liz Rapp of Albany has done extensive research on the Ralston family and on their Baker Street house. That’s because Liz’s parents, Frank and Winkie Moore, lived there for about 40 years beginning in October 1973.
Liz said records indicate that John Meredith Ralston was a banker and later owned Ralston Motor Co., one of the first automobile agencies in the mid-valley.
In the beginning, Ralston and W.W. Crawford sold Ford automobiles but then in 1915 Crawford took the Ford agency and Ralston sold Dodges.
Ralston Motors building, photo courtesy Liz Rapp.
One of Ralston’s dealerships was located in a building at the rear of the Baker Street home and behind Hasty Freez.
A lengthy Democrat-Herald story in 1947 told about a new Ralston dealership location with a Lyon Street entrance to be operated by John Ralston’s son Rolla, and Rolla’s son Bob. The article said the agency was “the last word in quarters for automobile sales and service and nothing has been neglected in providing for the convenience and comfort of the public and employees in attractive surroundings.”
By that time, John Meredith Ralston was out of the picture as he died in Albany in November 1930.
Liz said Lottie died in 1908, and the next year, John married Edith Victoria Preston.
He was buried in Riverside Cemetery next to his first wife and the children who died in the fire. Ralston’s second wife died in 1955 in California and is buried there.
Liz’s research indicates that the history of the large Ralston family in the mid-valley begins on April 1, 1847. John’s father, Jeremiah Ralston and his second wife Jemima Ashpaugh Ralston, and six children joined a train of about 45 wagons to cross the plains from Missouri to Oregon. The Ralstons came west in three wagons pulled by 15 yoke of oxen.
The Ralstons arrived in Oregon City on Sept. 10, 1847. Later, Jeremiah bought property in what is now Lebanon and the plat was laid out for a new town. Nine years after arriving in Linn County, Jeremiah’s 14th child, John Meredith Ralston, was born.
Liz said her parents wanted to live in and enjoy the Ralston house because early on her father worked for the U.S. Forest Service, so the family lived in a variety of places: the Detroit Ranger Station, Idanha, Mill City, Lebanon and Eugene.
Liz Rapp on front porch of the Ralston House.
“My mother’s dream was to own a Victorian home, and my father’s dream was to please my mother,” Liz said.
“Like many other old houses it needed tons of work: dry rot repair, electrical trouble shooting, broken window replacement and ceiling and fireplace restoration,” she said.
Today, George and Marilyn Stursa live in the home. The house has been featured on a number of parlour tours.
Photographs and information about other historic Albany homes can be seen at the Albany Regional Museum, 136 Lyon St. S. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The building is closed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
To reach the museum, call 541-967-7122 or go to info@armuseum.com.