This large Italianate residence was built of local brick by George Holt, the town mason, for John Orth, the town butcher. It was one of the last substantial residences erected during the final decade of Jacksonville's active growth.

John Orth was born in Bavaria in 1834. Emigrating at the age of 18, he settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he learned the butcher's trade. In 1856 he set out for Oregon via the Isthmus of Panama. By 1857 or 1859 he was located in Jacksonville.

He married Ellen Hill, daughter of an Irish immigrant who worked as a carpenter. Orth and his wife raised a family of seven children. He served as city councilman for several years and completed a term as county treasurer.

When Orth died in 1896, the family butchering business was carried on by Orth's son, John Stephen Orth, who also interested himself in public affairs.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1972.

When we photographed the building in 2006, it housed a bed and breakfast inn.