Michigan timberman L. G. Porter was one of the first settlers in Medford, Ore., after purchasing timberland around Prospect in the 1890s.
Porter believed that East Medford was a desirable place to live and purchased over five acres there for his home site. He hired contractor D. W. Hazel to build a large two-story home, considered at the time as one of the most charming and attractive houses in Medford.
The home had a broad veranda across the front and side of the house. Hazel added a low wall of concrete blocks topped by an ornate cap around the street side of a huge lawn. The front door opened to a roomy vestibule and formal 240-square-foot parlor. There was a separate sitting room and a library.
The Medford Mail described the kitchen as “commodious,” with a 305-square-foot formal dining room. There were five bedrooms with roomy closets and a bath on the second floor. There was also an upper balcony accessible from the hall. The family lived there until Porter’s death in 1921.
Their home became the present-day Hawthorne apartments.
2020 update: The Hawthorne building was torn down ca 2019. It was located east of the Main Street bridge, at NW corner of Main and Gennessee.
Source: "Porter Residence an Ideal Home." Mail, 26 Oct. 1906 [Medford, Ore.]; “Early Settler of Medford Passes to His Reward.” Mail Tribune. July 19, 1921 [Medford, Ore.].
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