The Pillars

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As the house was aloft, waiting for the concrete contractors to come pour a new foundation, we had many volunteers on site working to get the area ready. Numerous old pillars and pilings had to be removed to make room. Some of the more interesting pieces were large sandstone pillars that were put into place when the Haller addition was being built in 1866.

We have yet to find a record of the pillars being purchased or delivered, so there is no definitive knowledge of where they came from, however there was Henry Roeder’s Chuckanut sandstone quarry out of Bellingham and we know that he and Haller were acquainted. Most likely they were sent down by ship and delivered directly to Haller’s wharf, located conveniently right across the street from his future home.

Historic Whidbey hopes to reuse the pillars and put them on display somewhere on the property. A reminder of how far we come in renovating this house and giving it a new life. Stay tuned for more updates!

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Up!

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We didn’t need any balloons to lift this house, only about a dozen I-beams and 9 hydraulic jacks. It took Nickel Brothers, our lifting team, about a day and a half to bring the beams in and put them into place. It took another two hours to raise the house three feet into the air. The seemingly small three feet looks magnified with the house high in the air.

Part of board of director’s and volunteer team showed up to answer questions and celebrate another big victory for Historic Whidbey in our quest to rehabilitate the Haller House.

We hope to begin pouring a brand new foundation in October, then the house will be lowered again. With the big task of the foundation out of the way, we can begin renovating the interior of the house.

When the Ground Moves

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As the sun shone bright above, we began digging about the perimeter of the Brunn house. Working to expose what remained of a foundation on the old house. Our shovel sliced into the ground and pound after pounds of earth were moved aside, the century old undercarriage of the home was exposed to the light. What we had seen crawling on our bellies in the damp darkness was finally visible. A certain lack of structure made the realization even more true. This old home is perched upon a mash of various items. On one end we could see an old tree trunk holding the entire weight of a corner. On the other a stack of old planks holding the other corner. It surprises that the house was able to remain erect for a century. As we continued to dig around, an old cistern was found. A box created of field stones to store clean water was just inches from the back porch. With a house so close to the sea, a well would have been useless, filled with muddy saltwater that would poison those who tried to sustain themselves from it.

Later the house will be lifted with machines that would be unimaginable to those living here before the industrial revolution. For they have never known about electricity, automobiles, and indoor plumbing. However, the crane and jacks will lift the house in the air, long enough to pour a modern foundation made of concrete. This foundation is not only a physical addition, but also emotionally relieves us of doubts about this house’s future. It will literally be cemented into existence, essentially keeping it alive forever.

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Prickly History

In the journey we have been on to save the 1866 Haller House and to tell the stories it holds, we are frequently asked why we would want to preserve the home of a man who played an active military and personal role in “Manifest Destiny” – the usurpation of the North American continent from Native peoples in the 19th century. This is an important and perennially relevant question.

We preface our answer with the statement that, as an organization devoted to the preservation of historic structures, Historic Whidbey never intended to erect a monument to Westward Expansion or anyone who took part in it. However, our interest in saving one of the state’s oldest houses was intensified by the unparalleled potential it has to explore the era in which it was built – by virtue of the controversial resume of its first occupant.

It is precisely Col. Granville Haller’s multi-faceted (and often surprising) role in that era that makes his house such an important theater for revealing the rarely told, complex and painful narrative of American settlement in the Pacific Northwest.

Because so few people in our region were raised and educated here, there is a sad dearth of public understanding about how this controversial and traumatic history unfolded in western Washington. That which we “know” is the legacy of a narrow historical point of view.

In the 21st century, we approach history in a radically different way, exploring multiple perspectives from very diverse men and women. We believe the Haller House has an important role to play in cultivating deeper understanding of a troubled time among Whidbey’s residents and the many thousands of visitors who come here every year.

We invite everyone to join us in the hopeful search for a deeper, more just understanding of our history