Oregon City's oldest dwelling (c. 1843) and the parlor of the 1845 coin toss that named Portland; ghost-tour lore reports a little girl and a steamboat captain.
619 6th St, Oregon City, OR 97045
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Donation/low-fee guided and self-guided museum tours; seasonal ghost-tour and themed evening events are separately ticketed.
Access
Limited Access
1843 wood-frame house museum with steps; main-floor period rooms.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1843 · National Register of Historic Places (1977) · Third-Oldest House in Oregon / Oldest in Clackamas County · Reputed Site of the 1845 Coin Toss That Named Portland · Hudson's Bay Company and Provisional Government Connection
The Francis Ermatinger House was built around 1843 near the Willamette Falls waterfront in Oregon City for Francis Ermatinger, a chief trader of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia District who later became treasurer of the Provisional Government of Oregon. Its Greek or Classical Revival detailing was unusual for the Oregon Territory of that period, and the building is generally regarded as the third-oldest surviving house in Oregon and the oldest in Clackamas County.
The house is best known for a story tied to its left parlor. According to long-standing accounts, Francis Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy settled the name of their new downriver settlement there in 1845 with a coin toss — Pettygrove won, and the town became Portland rather than Boston. The coin involved is preserved in Oregon historical collections, and the episode is one of the most-cited founding anecdotes in the state.
The building has not stayed in one place. It was first moved in 1910 to the corner of 11th and Center streets, and again in 1986 to its present location near 6th and John Adams streets, beside the Stevens-Crawford House. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
After a period of decline and a restoration effort led with Restore Oregon and the City of Oregon City, the house reopened to the public on July 7, 2018. It now operates as a house museum under Oregon City Parks & Recreation, open Fridays and Saturdays, interpreting the fur-trade era, the Ermatinger family, and early Oregon City history.
Sources
The Ermatinger House appears on Oregon City's ghost-tour circuit, and the lore most often names two figures. Travel Oregon's roundup of Oregon ghost tours notes that, depending on the tour, visitors may hear of a little girl and a boat captain said to haunt the c. 1843 dwelling.
Local reporting fills in the captain's story: accounts hold that a steamboat captain lived in the house during the 1800s and was known for hosting parties. Tour guides describe a dining-room chair that reportedly moves on its own, framing it as the captain 'still trying to throw parties.' The little-girl figure is less detailed in the available sources and is presented as part of the building's general haunted reputation.
The house leans into this side of its history through seasonal programming, including fall ghost tours and evening 'frights' events that pair the paranormal stories with the documented record of the fur-trade era. None of the ghost accounts is tied to a confirmed death in the building, and they are best understood as folklore that has accumulated around one of Oregon's oldest houses.
Because the museum is operated by the city and interprets a well-documented founding-era history, the ghost lore functions as an after-dark complement to the daytime program rather than the basis of the site's significance.
Notable Entities
Tour Oregon City's oldest dwelling, a c. 1843 house built for Hudson's Bay Company trader Francis Ermatinger and now run by Oregon City Parks & Recreation. Guides cover the fur-trade and Provisional Government era and the parlor where the 1845 coin toss reportedly named Portland. Walk-ins welcome Fridays and Saturdays.
During fall and select evenings the house takes part in Oregon City ghost-tour programming, where guides recount the lore of a little girl and a steamboat captain associated with the building. Dates and ticketing are announced seasonally; confirm on the city's events listings.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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