The Willows Mansion
History:
The Willows, now an Orchard Mansion Bed and
Breakfast Resort, is one of 75 properties in the Rogue Valley listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. Known as the
Madden–McCaskey House, the home comes with a rich and varied history.
The original owners, Frank H. and Winifred Madden
of Chicago arrived in the Rogue Valley during the first of the
“orchard booms” in southern Oregon around 1908. Rumor has it that some
of the Madden’s wealth came from the Alaskan Gold Rush, but this has
not been substantiated. The Maddens quickly acquired two of the finest
orchard tracts in the valley, which soon become known as the Madden
Ranch. By 1910, Frank Madden had acquired more than 150 acres
surrounding the current home location and had commissioned Henry
Farnum to build an elegant “modern and high class” home on a rise
overlooking the valley. The original buildings included a main
residence, a carriage house, several small outbuildings, and a huge
barn (since converted to a large home nearby at 3385 Old Stage
Road). Madden continued to expand his orchard holdings, eventually
amassing over 1000 acres, which he named “Fairview Orchard” around
1912. “Fairview” presumably referred to the panoramic view of Mt. McLoughlin and the valley afforded from the mansion itself. Fruit from
the Madden ranch then became commercially sold under a “Fairview”
label.
By 1914, the first “Orchard Boom” in the Rogue
Valley went bust. However, Madden’s Fairview Orchard seems to have
weathered these difficult times with ease and continued to survive.
Documents show that the Maddens decided to move to Seattle in 1917-18,
and vacated the mansion. In 1919, the Maddens sold their Rogue Valley
orchard holdings to Hiram D. and Mary McCaskey of Washington, D.C.
Hiram D. McCaskey was a widely published, world
recognized geologist. He met his wife, the former Mary Louise Fuller,
on an ocean passage. Before coming to the Rogue Valley they had lived
in Washington, D.C. where Mr. McCaskey had been the Geologist in
Charge, Mineral Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, from
1915-1919. Upon purchase of the orchard estate, the McCaskeys began
extensive remodeling, commissioning the famous Medford architect,
Frank Chamberlain Clark, to renovate the home and build a
library/workroom to support Mr. McCaskey’s geological interests.
Around 1920, the McCaskeys’ renamed the estate Bora Da (a Welch saying meaning “Good Morning” or “beautiful
dawn”). This name took and the estate was thus referred to throughout
the McCaskeys’ ownership (1919-1951). Although Hiram McCaskey died at
age 65 in 1936, his wife, Mary, continued on at Bora Da until
her death in 1951. Over the McCaskey years, all orchards, save the
lone fruit trees near the mansion, were removed and sheep were run on
the property. In 1945, over 139 acres of property were transferred to
Mary McCaskey’s nephew Louis Salade, a long-time resident of the Rogue
Valley. Then, following Mary McCaskey’s death in 1951, much of Bora
Da was divided between the children of Louis Salade. The Salade
family lived at the mansion until 1960, when the house and the ranch
were traded to Armin Richter, a local contractor, in exchange for the
construction of a new home to be located up the hillside.
Richter only lived in the mansion a short time.
County records in 1962 show that the home was sold to Dr. Max
Flowers; it was then transferred again, in 1973, to Ethel Prusch; and
shortly thereafter, in 1975, to Peter and Suzanne Watson. The Watsons
operated a Montessori school on the first floor of the mansion from
1975 to 1993, when it was once again sold. The new owners, Fred and
Jennifer Johnson, undertook a major restoration of the home, which
took the first floor back to its original state; those renovations
were continued by Johann and Geraldine de Vos (1996-2003) on the main
floor including the addition of a new master suite. The two upper
floors were recently restored and renovated by the current owners, Joe
and Sandy Dowling (2003-). The extensive recent renovations include
the addition of five new private bathrooms to better accommodate
guests on the historic property.
