Rothschild House (Port Townsend, Washington) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Rothschild House
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 Location in Washington (state)
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| Location | Taylor and Franklin Sts., Port Townsend, Washington, U.S. |
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| Built | 1868 |
| Architect | Horace Tucker |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000639 |
| Added to NRHP | September 29, 1970 |
The Rothschild House is a special old house in Port Townsend, Washington, U.S. A man named David Charles Henry Rothschild built it way back in 1868. Today, it's a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about life in the past! The Jefferson County Historical Society takes care of it.
This house is so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. It's also part of the bigger Port Townsend Historic District, which is a very important historical area.
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The Story of D.C.H. Rothschild
David Charles Henry Rothschild (1824–1886), also known as D.C.H. Rothschild, was an interesting person who built this house. He was one of seven children from a place called Sulzbach am Main in Bavaria, Germany. He came to the United States in the 1840s.
Early Adventures and Travels
When David first came to America, he joined his older brother, William, who had a store in Kentucky. But David was an adventurer! In 1848, he traveled all the way around Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America) to reach San Francisco. He worked in mining companies and even opened his own store in Nevada City, California.
David loved to travel. For three years, he explored amazing places like China, Australia, Tahiti, and other islands. After his travels, he returned to California and opened a tobacco and cigar store in Sacramento. This is where he met and married his wife, Dorette, who was also from Bavaria.
Settling in Port Townsend
David and Dorette decided to make their home and raise their family in Port Townsend. Over time, people started calling him "The Baron." This was a playful nickname that reminded them of the famous Rothschild banking family in Europe, because David was also a successful businessman.
Rothschild & Company
In 1858, soon after moving to Port Townsend, David opened a new store called "The Kentucky Store." It was a general store, but it also supplied ships and helped rescue things from shipwrecks (called salvage).
By 1881, shipping became the most important part of his business, and it was renamed "Rothschild & Company." David Rothschild passed away in 1886. His son, Henry, later took over the family business. Henry worked with a partner, William J. Jones, and they expanded into stevedoring, which means loading and unloading ships at the docks. Today, this company is still in business as "Jones Stevedoring" and is based in Seattle.
