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City of Eugene -,lohansen-Moo~. Youse Page 3 Historic Landmark Designation Application - Written Statement March 24, 2004 The history of Danish immigration in Eugene has been documented in the Blair Boulevard Historic District and in the nomination of the Elgaard house to the City of Eugene Landmark Inventory. The ~ettlement of the area by Danes began in the late 19th century. Ten Danish families from Iowa and Nebraska came to Oregon in response to Reverend P.L.C. Hansen's invitation to colonize the Beifi~i2Danebo area of Lane County, They farmed the land for dairy production, raising cows and chickens and creating the Eugene Farmers Creamery in 1914. Neils Johansen was a member of this first wave of Danish Immigrants and a charter member of the Bethesda Danish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. This congregation established Danebo School and Bethesda Memorial Park, ' eventually to become part of West Lawn Cemetery. In the Bethel area, Danish was the chief language spoken until 1924. The River Road area was divided into suburban residential lots from about the 1930's through the 1970's. The current land use pattern includes residences interspersed with commercial businesses. Zoning of the subject property is currently R-1 (Low Density Residential). The River Road/Santa Clara Urban Facilities Plan designates the property for residential use. If this historic landmark nomination is successful, the Applicant intends to submit an application to create a Special Area Zone. She would then apply to rezone the. property to Historic to allow the antique shop and supporting business pursuits. This process would allow public input on appropriate uses and development standards for the property. Past land use decisions on the property include annexation and a subsequent rezone from RA/UL to R-1 in 1990 (city file numbers A 90-005 and Z 90-018). D. Resource Description Information sources consulted for the resource descriptions contained herein are listed at the end of this written statement. Ownership The home was originally built in 1901 by Neils Johansen and a hired hand. Mr. Johansen and his wife Kristine Anderson held the title until 1922, when they sold it to .Kristine's · daughter and her husband for $100. Laura Anderson Moody owned the home With her husband Arthur Moody until her death in 1976, when it was sold outside the family. The current owner, Kathleen Hall, acquired the property in 2000 and completed substantial research into the history of the property and its original owners. Neils Johansen was a Danish immigrant who moved to the Eugene area from Iowa. He was a farmer and investor, part of a Danish dairy colony settled by Reverend P.L.C. Hansen, a pastor of Bethany Church in Portland.. In December 1900, Pastor Hansen held a meeting to establish a new congregation, to become Bethesda Lutheran Church. Neils Johansen was a charter member (Eugene Area Historic Context, p. 55). In 1914 Neils helped form Eugene Farmers Creamery with members of his church. He died in 1927 and was buried in the Danish West Lawn Cemetery, as were Laura and Arthur Moody. 53