The Abel Uglow building was built by Mr. Uglow for commerce. Mr. Uglow was a skilled entrepreneur with many holdings including hop yards, a hop kiln, and a hop warehouse. In 1900, to test the European market for American hops, he sailed to London with 756 bales of hops valued at $20,000. It was said that, “He will not sell until he thinks prices have reached the top notch.” Mr. Uglow returned four months later after selling 332 bales and leaving the rest “in good hands.” After he returned, he purchased the corner lot for his building.
This brick two-story building originally had two storefronts on Main Street and three storefronts on Mill Street. There were eight spaces upstairs for professional offices. The stairway access to the upstairs was on Mill Street. The original Main Street businesses were Belt & Cherrington Pharmacy on the north side (then later, Fuller’s Drug Store, and Savery’s Drug Store after that), and the W. H. Roy’s confectionery selling Hazelwood Ice Cream and cigars on the south side (then later, Uglow Clothing House and Clayton’s Grocery after that). The 1950’s saw Salem Title Company on the north side and Betz Hardware and Sporting Goods on the south side.
Original tenants on the Mill Steet side included a telephone office and a barber. In 1909, son John Uglow altered the 402 Main Street storefront by shortening the door and adding a fixed awning as part of relocating the Uglow Clothing House from Mill Street. This alteration can be seen in photographs of that time.
Over time, the interior partitions were removed, and the façade was simplified with a single door on Main Street. Two of the offices on the Mill Street side were also eliminated over time, incorporating that space as well into Main Street address. The doors and windows for these offices were covered over sometime after 1959. The second-story tin frieze was also removed. The upper-story windows remain original. The original Iron pilasters remain but are behind plywood and stucco.
Access to the eight upstairs offices was by a broad open stairwell. The original ironwork, created by the Dallas Iron Works and annotated “Abel Uglow,” still surrounds what was then the opening. That stairwell was removed and relocated, unadorned, to the west of the building. A fire exit was then constructed through the back of the upper level of the Faull and Uglow buildings and down the relocated stairwell. This allowed the upper floors of the Blue Garden building to be leased to the county as office space.
Uglow Building Mill Street tenants include:
- F. H. Muscott Cigars and Tobacco (1903)
- Schultz the Barber (1902)
- Dee’s Tog Shop, Fine Millinery
- Elite Millinery (1909)
- Helm Optical Company (1914)
- Mildred’s Beauty Salon (1946)
- Wm. A. Boydston Accountant/Realtor (1959)
Uglow Building upstairs tenants include:
- Dallas & Falls City Railroad (1902)
- Silas Orchard Realtor Room 2 (1902)
- Dr. E. J. Howard MD Room 8 (1903)
- H. L. Toney Dentist (1903)
- Dr. E. L. Todd Physician & Surgeon Rooms 7 & 8 (1904)
- Dr. S. A, Bartlett Osteopathic Physician Rooms 1 & 2 (1904)
- Dr. R. C. Hunter Room 6 (1905)
- S. T. Donohoe DMD Room 1 (1907)
- Dr. A. B. Starbuck (1907)
- Dr. L. A. Bollman MD (1907)
- Dr. B. B. Bachelder, Chiropractor Rooms 5 and 6 (1908)
- L. D. Brown & Stott Attorneys (1908)
- Oscar Hayter Attorney Rooms 5 and 6 (1909)
- Van Wyck Dental Parlor, Dr. Donohoe Mgr. Room 1 (1910)
- Dr. M. H. Hendershott (1910)
- Dr. B.F. Butler DMD (1912)
- Himes Engineering Room 8 (1914)
- Miss Stella Johnson, Teacher of Piano and Harmony Room 6 (1914)
- Dr. A. McNichol Osteopath Physician Rooms 5 and 6 (1915)
- Dr R. C. Virgil Osteopath Physician (1916)
- Dr. Thomas Starbuck DMD (Son of Dr. A. B. Starbuck) (1946)
- Dr. E. B. Bossatti, Room 1 (1932 until his retirement in 1978). Dr. Bossatti’s signage and AMA decal are still present in the building.
KEY REFERENCES:
- Independence Enterprise, Polk County Observer, Polk County Itemizer (1888 – 1910)
- Library of Congress Sanborn Maps: https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/?q=dallas+oregon