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THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
September 2013
By RILEY STEVENSON
Pamplin Media Group
When Addison and Hester Dunbar
arrived in Fairview by covered wagon in
1850, they came carrying four children,
basic survival supplies and hope for a
new life out west. After traveling 2,000
miles from Independence, Mo., the tired
mid-westerners found Fairview’s source
of usable water from the Sandy River,
lush grass and open acreage “mighty
ne.”
In the coming years, along with the rest
of the handful of Oregon Trail settlers,
they built an agricultural community that
has grown into nearly 9,000 residents.
The Dunbars settled down on 640
acres on the north side of town after their
arrival and began work as fruit harvesters.
The Dunbar’s daughter, Drusilla, married
John Patrick Heslin on Oct. 13, 1864, and
had six children.
Their oldest son, Ed, moved into a
house in town that he inherited from his
father in 1905. This yellow, two-story
house is now known as the Heslin House
and is located at 60 Main St.
The house is maintained by the
Fairview Rockwood Wilkes Historical
Society and serves as both a museum
and research facility. Items displayed
throughout the rst story detail the family
and area’s history and several books can
be checked out for further reading on the
family.
The historical artifacts document the
lives of the Heslins, who resided in the
house for almost 100 years.
Much of the family history is known
because of Drusilla’s diary, which details
her daily activities over a period of 43
years. The pages are lled with cursive
writings describing everything from family
vacations in The Dalles to weddings to
the day inmates escaped from the Oregon
HistoricalHeslinHouse
The 120-year-old home in Fairview is filled with pioneer and family history
Historical displays at the Heslin House depict the family’s history in Fairview and that of other early settlers. PAMPLIN FILE PHOTO
