Before there was much of a Union Gap, before there were any shopping malls, big-box stores, subdivisions, freeways or roundabouts, there was a sheep ranch.
The ranch was a flat, sprawling spread along the banks of Wide Hollow Creek, just west of the Yakima River. of sheep grazed here, and there were hundreds of acres of hops, a hop kiln and for a time, a woolen mill.
It was Alexander McAllister鈥檚 place, and from 1892-95, the Scotsman oversaw the construction of a stately Queen Anne-style home for himself and his young bride. That home, Alexander McAllister House, is now on the .
Sadly, the McAllisters鈥 marriage was short-lived. After a painfully public breakup, McAllister鈥檚 wife left, and her jilted husband eventually wandered away from the grand life he鈥檇 built for them on the ranch.
But these are happier days for the old place. The young new owners, Piper Richmond and Ryan Hill, have brought a cheery, playful feel to the home. They bought it a little over a year ago after it had been in the family of Union Gap Mayor John Hodkinson for several generations.
Ryan Hill and Piper Richmond have settled in comfortably to their new surroundings. The old house fits their personalities, they say.
Richmond came across the place on the Zillow real-estate website and was instantly smitten. She phoned her mom and excitedly told her about the listing.
鈥淚t even has a moat!鈥 she recalls telling her mother, referring to the stream that runs along the front yard and under a wooden footbridge that leads to the home鈥檚 front door.
A lifelong 黑料福利社 resident,聽 Richmond had no doubt passed by the house numerous times, but somehow it just didn't register in her memory.
"I can't believe I'd never noticed this house," she says. "It was not on my radar."
Richmond didn鈥檛 want to get her hopes up, but when she and her husband realized that the house was within their reach, they didn鈥檛 think twice.
Since moving in, the couple have added a few of their own personal design touches, but out of respect for the home鈥檚 history, they鈥檝e left most of the structure as close to original as possible. And they have no plans to ever alter the house鈥檚 signature features 鈥 including the sturdy oak woodwork that McAllister brought in from The Dalles, Ore., or the elaborate fireplace tile from New York鈥檚 American Encaustic Tiling Co.
The wooden porch聽that wraps around half the house needs repairs, Richmond says, and someday she and Hill might look into extending it clear around the building. They might also see about upgrading the attic, she says.
For now, though, they鈥檙e just happy to be home.
Over time, the ranch鈥檚 original land has been whittled down to two acres. New homes have crept in as curbed city streets have snaked their way closer. But somehow, the Alexander McAllister House maintains its distance.
The property faces the edge of town, and a large old barn holds its ground just across the driveway to the south. Richmond and Hill鈥檚 kitchen windows look out to a backyard and field that stretches into open land to the west, where a railroad line runs alongside the back fence.
It didn't take Piper Richmond long to appreciate one of the home's most distinctive features: "It has a moat!" she told her mom.
Hill likes passing time there, watching the trains go by.
鈥淛ust about as perfect as anything my husband and I could鈥檝e found,鈥 Richmond says. 鈥淚 see coyotes back there at least once a week.鈥
Walking around the front yard, Richmond gestures as she describes her landscaping plans: shrubs, trees, flowers. As they make the home their own, she and Hill are settling comfortably into country living.
While Hill scouts out where the coyotes are coming from, Richmond enjoys 鈥渟leuthing鈥 to discover all she can about the house鈥檚 history and its buried secrets. She鈥檚 even bought a metal detector to see what else she can dig up.
鈥淪o far I鈥檝e only found pennies and nails,鈥 she sighs.
The couple are just minutes away from shopping or dining establishments, yet their home somehow still feels distinctly rural. It's the best of both worlds.
It鈥檚 probably not much like the life old Alexander McAllister envisioned there, but it鈥檚 hard to believe he would disapprove.
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