Eastside Heritage Center Formerly McDowell House

Eastside Heritage Center (formerly the McDowell House)

11660 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98005

1918 - Built by John H. and Ella McDowell

• Originally part of a five-acre parcel that included an orchard with cherry trees, berries, grapes, and other fruit trees.

• The McDowell House is one of the few existing houses in the Wilburton area that retains its original integrity. The cedar lumber used to build the house came from the nearby Wilburton Mill, which was closing around the time the house was being built.

1988 - The City of Bellevue bought the McDowell house from the Paxtons.

• Today, the McDowell houses the Eastside Heritage Center’s administrative offices where staff, interns, and volunteers do outreach organization, event planning, and research.

• The Eastside Heritage Center's mission is to steward Eastside history by actively collecting, preserving, and interpreting documents and artifacts and by promoting public involvement in and appreciation of this heritage through educational programming and community outreach.

• The Eastside Heritage Center maintains a collection of over 60,000 items relating to the history of the Eastside. A selection of records can be viewed in our online collections database.

Resources:

• McDowell House becomes Eastside Heritage Center - PDF

• The McDowell House

• History of Wilburton and Kelsey Creek Farm

  • Come to Kelsey Creek Farm to learn about local Native Americans, early logging operations, and the Twin Valley Dairy, all in the context of early Eastside history.

• YouTube-Eastside Story

• Eastside Heritage Center Events / Lectures

• Eastside Stories Video Lectures