Endangered Places 2011 generously sponsored by:
Dr. Pierce's Barn
Statistics
- Built: c. 1900, advertising added around 1912
- Architect: Unknown
- Designation: National Register of Historic Places
- Significance: Agriculture, commerce, roadside advertising
- Current Status: This community icon, sits adjacent to downtown Cottage Grove, is in imminent threat of being lost. The property owner has completed a demolition application to the City of Cottage Grove so he can redevelop the approximately 1.5-acre site, and unless new ideas and a new vision are brought to the table fast, the barn will go the way of the “pleasant pellets” for which it is known.
History
In the 1850s, John Cochran received a nice piece of property—643 acres to be precise—in what is now Cottage Grove to operate his farm. But it wasn’t until the 1900s that the property, by then subdivided and whittled down to a more manageable size, became something special. After a barn was built on the property around the turn-of-the century, an unlikely character decided that this barn shouldn’t just be a barn. It should be an advertising barn!
News and Updates
December 22, 2011:
Barn still standing despite active demolition permit.
November 1, 2011:
Cottage Grove citizens exploring strengthening local preservation ordinance
Demolition permit issued, HPLO and community still looking for civic-minded buyer
October 3, 2011:
Reckoning day nears for landmark barn
Outlet: Register Guard
October 1 Update:
HPLO calls for civic-minded buyer
September 13, 2011:
Cottage Grove Historical Society ends efforts to purchase Dr. Pierce Barn
Outlet: The Cottage Grove Sentinel
To get in touch with the Friends of Dr. Pierce's Barn or if you know a prospective buyer, please contact Brandon at the HPLO offices.
August 22, 2011:
Cottage Grove City Council votes to delay issuing demolition permit until mid-October.
June 28, 2011:
The Friends of Dr. Pierce's Barn
now has a Facebook page!
June 1, 2011:
Cottage Grove Historical Society forms Friends of Dr. Pierce Barn committee.
To learn more, contact the Cottage Grove Historical Society 541-767-0600.
History continued...
Dr. Ray Vaughn Pierce, a prominent manufacturer of medicines during the late 1880s and early 1900s found success in selling questionable remedies and advertising them around the countryside. About 1912 the owner of the barn in Cottage Grove allowed Dr. Pierce’s company to paint the side of their barn with the ad. Although it is unknown what compensation was received, a free coat of paint was a customary payment.
When the barn was threatened with demolition in 1989, negotiations resulted in an easement agreement between the Cottage Grove Historical Society and the property owner. The easement expired in 2010 and negotiations to extend it were unsuccessful.
After discussing the possibility of demolition for several months, the property owner submitted a complete demolition application in March. Today, the Landmarks and Planning Commissions have issued a temporary stay on demolition. Cottage Grove does not have the authority to deny the demolition application, so the clock is ticking.
Some buildings are icons; landmarks in the traditional sense; places that embody an entire community’s identity in brick, stone, and wood. Cottage Grove, Oregon, has such a building.