County winds up vintage home sale

Hood River County Director of Parks and Buildings Dean Guess said 21 people either expressed interest in buying the vintage home or made offers since it went on the market in December. He said the money from the sale will be deposited in the capital projects fund and, once resettlement costs of about $100,000 have been reimbursed, the Board of Commissioners will decide how to distribute the remaining $125,000.

Last summer the county moved the historic home from its original site next to the State Street library onto a double lot owned by the county on Sherman Avenue. The Queen Anne-style cottage, formerly listed on the National Register of Historic Places, had to be relocated to make way for the $4 million library upgrade now underway. In 1999 the dwelling was purchased for $215,000 from funds raised by the library foundation and a $90,000 loan from the county. The foundation repaid the loan. Shortly after that transaction, the county agreed to assume ownership of the house and take responsibility for its resettlement and accompanying costs. Guess said county crews tried to retain as many of the original features on the 94-year-old residence as possible. It now sits on the hill above Overlook Memorial Park, with a view of downtown Hood River and the Columbia River.