The Saling House — Most Pretentious House in Town
The Saling House, built in 1880, is the largest historic brick house in Weston, Oregon–a town with unique historical distinction. Isham Saling was the leading merchant in Weston and the first farmer to prove the fertility of the soil. He was also part owner of the Brick Hotel, three brick stores and large amounts of farmland and livestock.
The home of Isham and Malinda Morton Saling is an unusual and important Oregon example of the Italian Villa style. Belvedered structures were never common, and brick structures of this period are practically unknown.
The house was purchased for $8,000 in 1978. The community raised $4,000 and the balance was covered by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) grant and the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Oregon. That same year, the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Initial restoration efforts have focused on repairing the house’s exterior to protect its interior from weather damage. Work has been done on the front porch, wall structure and grounds.
Over 40 years, there is still work that needs to be done to completely restore the house so that it can be opened to the public. It takes money, volunteers, and a lot of sweat equity to achieve this goal.
The Saling House Committee has worked tirelessly over the years one project at a time. From cleaning up the trash, to repairing the foundation and floors, to replacing damaged windows, cleaning up the vandalism, and gathering donations of furniture to fill the house, it has taken money and dedicated volunteers to get to this point.
After some 40 years, the original committee members have either passed away or are no longer able to do the physical work that is needed to finish the restoration. The passion is there! The love is there! We need the next generation to step up to help us finish the work.
The Isham Saling House was once the showcase of Weston. It can become the showcase once more. It just needs a little more TLC, funding, and manpower. Will you help?