Overview

The ship's captain, navigation company mogul and banker John C. Ainsworth (1822-1893) erected this Greek Revival residence in Mount Pleasant, OR, in 1851. He resided here with his new family until about 1859, when he relocated to the growing city of Portland. Ainsworth moved to Portland to enable him to supervise the operation of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, formed in 1860. This company made a fortune providing transportation to a variety of settlers, many of whom were miners, heading north into the Washington Territory, Montana Territory and British Columbia,

Building History

The Oregon Encycllopedia credited pioneer architect Absalom Hallock (1826-1889) with the design of the John C. and Nancy Ainsworth House in Mount Pleasant. John Commingers Ainsworth, born in Springboro, OH, left Iowa and arrived in the Oregon Territory in 1850, and established himself as the captain of the steamboat, Lot Whitcomb, that was launched on Christmas Day, 1850. (See Richard Engeman, The Oregon Encyclopedia.org, "Ainsworth House (Mount Pleasant)," published 03/11/2022, accessed 02/02/2023 and William L. Lang, The Oregon Encyclopedia.org, "Oregon Steam Navigation Company," published 05/31/2022, accessed 02/02/2023.) Ainsworth proved to be a successful businessman, and became a leading figure in the creation of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company (OSN), a coalition of shipping owners that focused on controlling the traffic between OR and WA after the signficant Gold Strike of 1858 on the Fraser River in British Columbia. (See Cassandra Tate, HistoryLink.org, "Gold in the Pacific Northwest," published 12/06/2004, accessed 02/02/2023.) Ainsworth, like his colleague in the OSN, William S. Ladd (1826-1893), then went into banking, and enhanced his wealth. He sold his share in the OSN in 04/1879 to the occasionally imprudent railroad tycoon Henry Villard (1835-1900), and retired to Oakland, CA. Ainsworth continued banking in CA, opening the Central Bank of Oakland a year before his death.

PCAD id: 24581