Cascade House opens in Sisters

Suzi Sheward restored the historic Cascade House. Photo by Jaki Roberson

There is a charmingly quaint little house on East Cascade Avenue with a huge history. Now known as the Cascade House, it is available to guests. Located in the heart of Sisters, it is within walking distance of downtown's restaurants, galleries, shops, and parks.

In 1914 Tillie Davidson came to Sisters to become the town's first schoolteacher. Tillie was born in 1893 and her parents were pioneers in Dufur in Wasco County.

Tillie married George Wilson of the U.S. Forest Service in 1917. They had two children, Virgil and Virginia. Virginia later married George Wakefield.

The family lived in the house that was next to Cascade House, the former Sisters Real Estate office of Dave Goodwin. Behind that house, Tillie's husband George built a shed with a trap door. Under the trap door he had a moonshine still. The shed is still standing.

In 1945, the Wilsons built the present Cascade House. Tillie was an avid gardener and even today the wild roses she planted are growing on the old woodshed in the backyard. Tillie lived there until she died in 1987.

The house was then purchased by local artist Dennis McGregor and his wife Marcie.

Upon settling in, Dennis moved the garage by crane farther back from the house to its present location to use as his studio. They erected the white picket fence and opened up the attic, building dormers at the front and back of the house. They then decided to put on the shingles.

The shakes on the roof are original to the house when it was built in 1945; they are dated and stamped from the old Sisters Millworks.

When the McGregors bought the house, most of Tillie's personal effects, even her vintage dresses and furnishings were still in it. Behind an antique armoire was an old rodeo poster, which was given to the Tumalo Feed Company.

In 1997 the house was sold to a couple from the Willamette Valley who owned it for only a few years. Unfortunately they removed the wonderful claw foot bathtubs.

After they left, it was purchased and became the Cascade House for the purpose of morphing it into a very exceptional vacation rental.

Suzi Sheward, another local artist, has taken over the painstaking project from the ground up.

"It is a warm and cozy respite from the daily grind," Sheward said.

The kitchen has been done in French Country, in white, blues, and yellow. Suzi used interesting colors on the walls to give a feel for friendly, at-home ease. Furnishings were found at antique and thrift stores, garage sales, and the like.

Suzy's philosophy in design is evident everywhere.

"I hate going into homes and seeing the latest trendy stuff. It's really boring and it tells me the owners don't have an identity of their own, or that they've had a decorator do it and it looks like every other home done by decorators that season," she said.

"I can date a home immediately from furnishings, and you don't want a home that ever looks dated.

"I find things from everywhere that add up an overall look of comfort, as I define comfort. It must work because people say Cascade House has wonderful feeling, and they could just bring a toothbrush and move in."

The house's history continues to resonate.

A woman with a wedding party contacted Sheward for reservations. She wanted her mother to stay at Cascade House.

The mother had been taught by Tillie and remembered the house. She even had come to call over the years.

Sheward has worked diligently to maintain the integrity of the house's era.

Currently, she is in the process of trying to find old photographs that were there when the McGregors purchased it. She would like to place them again in the house, back where they belong.

And perhaps hang a few of Tillie's dresses in the bedroom closets.

Miss Tillie would no doubt approve.

For more information contact Sheward at 504-9000 or 866-294-8400.