Charles and Mary Olson had prospered during their first decade in Sandpoint after
moving the family from Rhinelander, Wisconsin in 1903. So in 1915 he
bought the house on the southwest corner of Church and Fourth, demolished
it, and hired architect and  builder
H. L. Mountjoy to build his new home. Mountjoy built an Arts and Crafts
bungalow of one and a half stories, liberally using old growth
Douglas-fir for the interior woodwork.
The younger daughter, Judith (far
right in family picture), was married in the house in 1924.
The Olsons sold the house in 1935 to William and Maybelle Nieman,
heads of a prominent Sandpoint family who owned a soda fountain in town
and, later, a florist shop and music business on Cedar Street. Like Judith
Olson, the Nieman's daughter was married in the house.
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The
Niemans sold the house in December, 1941, to Frank Taylor who in turn sold
it a year later to my grandparents, Vic and Elmah Barber. Logging and
sawmilling supported Pappy and his family of five sons through the 30's and
40's. And the Barbers celebrated two weddings in the house during the war
years, including that of my parents in December, 1944. In the spring of
1947 Pappy was eager to explore the newly opened Alaska Highway. What
started as a "hunting trip" resulted in Pappy sending for the
family and selling the Church Street House to Margaret Long. For a
time, second thoughts of the wisdom of living in Alaska had the Barbers
splitting time between Fairbanks and another house in Sandpoint at 701
Sixth. "The Church Street House" received its name to
distinguish it from the other house, "The Sixth Street House".
Margaret, an osteopath, set up her treatment table in the dining room and used the
living room as a waiting area for patients. When Margaret died in 1952 her
brother Oliver and his wife Kittie inherited the home. Oliver died not long
after and for two more decades Kittie lived there alone, renting three
upstairs rooms individually. It seems there are few old time Sandpoint
residents who didn't rent a room from Kittie at some time in the 50's,
60's, or 70's. Upon Kittie's death in 1977 the property passed to a
collection of owners who used it as office space--first a title company,
later a chiropractor's office. In 1988 one of the chiropractors, Michael
Trowbridge, bought out the other owners and established his practice
downstairs while he lived with his family upstairs. Through the 90's when
Heather and I visited my parents in Sagle we would also visit the Church
Street House and attempt to buy it from the Trowbridges. By 1999 they
relented and we started making plans for a Bed and Breakfast (which closed in 2010).
The year 2001 was filled with demolition and construction as the
Church Street House was restored to a middle class residence of the
20's and 30's. Layers of "improvements" were cleared away to
reveal the tight grained, old growth Douglas-fir