100-year old home maintains the original charm
If a house could talk, many a tale it would spin of the generations of passing time, especially one that is over 100 years old, as is the Oren and Pearl Jones home south of Malad.
Built in 1880, the red frame dwelling with white gingerbread trim, has sheltered four generations of Jones family members.
Few homes in Oneida County are left that qualify for centennial distinction. But in the months ahead, as Oneida County prepares to celebrate the 1990 Idaho Centennial, the Oneida Centennial Committee hopes to pinpoint these links with the past and give them special recognition.
The Jones home was constructed with square nails and adobe brick inner walls. Four wood-burning stoves consumed fuel from the old orchard planted by Oren’s grandfather, James E. Jones.
James Jones came to Malad from Wales in 1864, when the first settlers arrived. While homesteading a farm south of town, he built a little log house. By 1866 he had married Annie Williams, a daughter of other Welsh pioneers.
They lived in the little log cabins with their growing family until 1879 when tragedy struck. When Annie was taking a pitcher of cool lemonade to haymen working in a field, she looked back and saw the cabin in flames. The older children were safe, but the 2-year old baby girl burned to death.
The family’s only housing then was the barn. When winter came they “farmed out” their children with friends in town and continued to live in the barn until spring.
Then James started building the frame home. They believed that if the cabin had had another outside door, they could have saved the life of their baby, so James build outside doors in each of the five rooms.
The pioneer couple lived there until 1908 when a son, James T. Jones brought his bride, Sadie, to live on the farm.
Sadie and James T. lived there until 1945 when their only son, Oren J. Jones, came home from World War II and brought his wife , Pearl, and baby daughter. Then Oren’s parents moved to town.
Some people expected Pearl, a red haired school teacher, to spurn the 65-year-old home and want a new one, but she loved it from the start. With an artistic eye and nimble fingers she set about to accent every homey feature. Pearl and Oren have made it functionally modern without sacrificing any of the original charm. The interior early American decor is authentic from the light oak paneled 10-foot ceilings with wide scalloped cornices to the ancient butter churn and the old fashioned coal stove.
Calico print wallpaper is a comfortable companion to enlarged family photographs in wide gilt frames. Maple spool furniture gleams in sunlight peeking through lace curtains.
The treasured home has seen laughter and tears, weddings, births and deaths. The Joneses still sleep in the room where Oren was born. Every nook and corner holds keepsakes of the past. Most of them were once used in daily work.
The yard, too, is resplendent with flowers and plants that give a feeling of days gone by. The Joneses have purposely cultivated their yard with the idea of preserving its heritage. Even the gate latch is a relic of the past.
Yes, the old house has seen many a story unfold in and around its premises. Some are recorded, but many are not. All are precious to one or more of those who have lived there.
And when the four daughters who call Oren and Pearl “Mom and Dad” bring their families home for a visit, as they drive into the yard, they are greeted by the little ole homemade rocking horse, painted and well preserved, mounted atop the arch of the wide gate. It welcomes those of the fifth generation.
(picture of Oren Jones home)