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Overview

Dexter Horton, a Euro-American pioneer in Seattle, operated a dry goods store and later a bank until 1887. By 1895, Horton had become a real estate investor, owning the Seattle Building and New York Building. He lived in this residence at 1206 3rd Street. (See Polk's Seattle Directory Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1895. p. 404.) He resided in this Second Empire residence between 1873 and 1904.

Building History

Between the Spring of 1852 and 09/21/1852, the pioneer Dexter Horton (1825-1904), his first wife, Hannah Eliza (Shoudy) Horton (1828-1871), and their daughter, Rebecca, journeyed across the US as part of the Bethel Company, covering 2000 miles from Princeton, IL, to Salem, OR. This group included several other notable early Seattle settlers, including members of the Mercer, Bagley and West Families, as well as 20 other bachelors. The Hortons made it to Seattle, WA, by 05/1853, lived briefly in the lumber camps of Port Gamble, WA, and Port Townsend, WA, and returned to Seattle, where Dexter and Hannah did various jobs to earn livings. (Like the most successful early settlers, he stayed flexible in mind and worked at several jobs until he found the one which suited his skills best.)

He eventually partnered with landowner Arthur A. Denny (1822-1899) and newcomer David Phillips to set up a store selling excess ship cargo. As Denny and Phillips became more politically active, Horton bought them out and ran the business alone, turning it into Seattle's most important general store, one that served Caucasian and American Indians, alike. Horton developed the reputation as a fair and honest man, one whom his customers trusted. He proved so trustworthy that customers would routinely deposit savings for safe keeping in the store. By 1866, he sold his interest in the store to to Henry Atkins and William Shoudy and moved to San Francisco, CA, to work as a broker, but came back to Seattle four years later, equipped with a safe and a plan to open the city's first bank.

As an admired and successful citizen, Horton served as a founding volunteer in various public-spirited organizations, including the Seattle Library Association (founded 1873) and the Seattle Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA, founded in 1876).

He operated the Dexter Horton Bank for 17 years before selling the business to banker William Sargent Ladd (1826-1893) of Portland, OR. Horton and his second wife, Caroline E. Parsons (d. 1878), a school teacher, built this Eastlake/Second Empire Style house in the 1873, on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and Seneca Street. The house stood just below the first University of Washington building, which Horton could see clearly from his back yard. Following Caroline's death, he lived in this house with his third wife, Arabella C. Agard (1827-1914), until his death on 07/28/1904.

Building Notes

The Horton House had a wraparound front porch on its west and south sides, supported by carved wooden posts; a balustrade trimmed the porch's roof. Windows echoed the tall proportions of the interior. A mansard roof broken by two dormers covered the house, a widow's walk lining its peak. The mansard had paired brackets supporting the eaves. According to a description of the house published in the Seattle Daily Times: "The Horton home had five rooms on the first floor and four on the second...with a narrow, dark hall which entered from the front porch. The stairs and floors were carpeted in the prevailing style and the ceilings were very high. The Horton house was heated by three fireplaces; one in the living room, one in the dining room, and one upstairs." (See Margaret Pitcairn Strachan, "Early-Day Mansions No. 2: Dexter Horton," Seattle Daily Times, 09/10/1944, p. 3.)

Demolition

The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Building (1920-1921, later known as the "Century Link Building,") was erected on the site of Horton's residence.

PCAD id: 18084