Overview

Transport magnate and banker John C. Ainsworth erected this residence for his family in Portland, OR, at the corner of Southwest 3rd Avenue at Pine Street.

Building History

John Commingers Ainsworth (born 06/06/1822 in Springboro, OH-d. 12/30/1893 in CA) moved from the Midwest to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush. In the Midwest Ainsworth worked in several partnerships selling goods from boats along major rivers. Ainsworth did not strike it rich in the Gold Rush, and eventually migrated to the OR Territory, where he found work as a steamship captain. With partners, he organized the Oregon Steam Navigation Company (OSNC) in 1860, a service that ferries along the rivers in OR and WA. It developed monopolistic control over many profitable routes, making Ainsworth a very wealthy man in the process. In 1879, the railroad magnate Henry Villard (1835-1900) purchased Ainsworth's OSNC for the steep price of $5 million. Villard incorporated the OSNC into his Northern Pacific Railway network, combining rail and maritime services for passenger and freight transport. After this sale, Ainsworth got into banking in Portland, establishing the Ainsworth National Bank, and moved to Oakland, CA.

Following his move, the Ainsworth House accommodated the Arlington Club, a private men's club that excluded most non-Anglo-American males, between 1881 and 1892. It served as its first clubhouse. Businessman Simeon G. Reed (1830-1895) and thirty-four other leading male citizens of Portland founded the Arlington Club in 1867, and proceeded to meet during its first 14 years in various hotels, restaurants, assembly halls or other large spaces. The Ainsworth House was its first private meeting space.

PCAD id: 24539