Meeker Mansion

Mom's birthday is today (61, son!), so Monika and I took her to the historic Meeker Mansion in Puyallup. The Meeker Mansion is a 17-room Italianate Victorian mansion, which was owned by Eliza Jane Meeker, wife of Ezra Meeker, a pioneer and the first mayor of Puyallup, WA. 

The house was decorated for a Victorian Christmas, with cider and cookies. And a bar! If you're from the midwest, you're definitely familiar with the charms of bars. Anyway, the house is really cool--chock full of swell fixtures and moldings and period details, and Monika and I were particularly obsessed with all the old braided rugs. 

Other things we were a little obsessed with:

Mom & Monika in front of Ezra Meeker's desk.

And here's an interesting tidbit on Ezra Meeker from the history portion of the Meeker Mansion website:


"Ezra Meeker became the self-appointed champion of the Oregon Trail in 1906, when at the age of 75, accompanied by two oxen, a wagon, a driver and a dog, he made his way from his front yard to Washington D.C., by way of New York City.  His purpose was to preserve and re-mark the Oregon Trail, which was being obliterated by civilization.  He thought he could make his trip once before he died, but this remarkable man lived to 98 and made this journey by ox team once more, then by automobile in 1916, and by airplane in 1924.  The fact that you can see actual traces of the Oregon Trail is due almost entirely to Ezra Meeker."


Totally rad.