One of the most historic homes in Forest Grove is for sale

Built around 1873 for Benjamin Cornelius Jr., who was later killed in a gunfight, a venerable Forest Grove home is for sale for $610,000.

According to the home's National Register of Historic Places listing(.pdf), the home was designed by early Oregon architect-carpenter Harley McDonald for Benjamin Cornelius, Jr., a member of a politically active family in western Washington County. Benjamin's brother Cornelius would become the namesake for the city of Cornelius.

The Benjamin Cornelius Jr. House was described as a “classically-detailed Italianate house with Gothic overtones” in a successful application in 1988 to list the site on the National Register of Historic Places.

On the market for almost a year, the home, located on a 0.64 acre lot at 2314 19th Ave. is complemented by several unique outbuildings.

Realtor Patty Schmitz-Thursam, who works out of the John L Scott Market Center in Forest Grove, said the home is just waiting for the right person to buy it.

"I think it takes a person that has an interest in putting their mark on something that has provenance," Schmitz-Thursam said.

"There's something about owning these homes, and I think the people that take care of them, or steward them, or shepherd them through the next transition have an interest in protecting something for the future," Schmitz-Thursam said. "There's a common theme from people that have owned these homes over the years. They're only briefly attached to to them, and they know that," she said.

Schmitz-Thursam should know; of the 28 years she's been a realtor, 20 of them were spent living in a home also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Part of owning a historic home is finding the old treasures that come with it. Square nails, old newspapers used as insulation, hidden wells, Schmitz-Thursam added.

"You just uncover all kind of amazing things," she said.