The Hackleman National Register District
The Hackleman District contains 228 properties within about 28 city blocks. The District is named after Abner Hackleman, a farmer from Iowa, who in 1845 immigrated to Oregon by crossing the plains with ox teams. Hacleman settled in the area that became the Hackleman Historic District. During the winter of 1845 Abner Hackleman took up the donation land claim, which is known as Hackleman's Addition in Albany. Hackleman laid off 70 acres of land for the first addition, and this was followed with three more additions now totaling over 100 acres.
Other immigrants began arriving and Mr. Hackleman hired Hiram N. Smead to hold another claim for him until his son arrived from Iowa. Only a year after arriving in Oregon, Abner died while returning to Iowa to fetch his family.
In 1847, Abner's son Abram relocated his father's claim and built a log house in an oak grove still known as Hackleman's Grove. He later built the house that still stands at the corner of Fifth and Jackson.
In 1853, residents of the newly-settled district had enough influence to persuade the Territorial Legislature to change the name of Albany to "Takenah," a Kalapuya word describing the pool created by the Calapooia River as it meets the Willamette. Certain irreverent old-timers translated the new name as "hole in the ground." This seemed unsuitable for the aspiring community, so it was changed back to Albany in 1855.
Historic Albany "Firsts":
- In 1858 the first plaster house was built in Albany in the Hackleman District. It was first coated on the inside with a mixture of lime, sand and water mixed with horsehair. Then dried plaster-of-paris, shipped from Oregon City, was applied as a cover.
- The first newspaper in Albany, the Oregon Democrat, was established by November of 1859. It was owned and edited by G.H. Hackleman and published every Saturday morning.
- The Oregon Electric Railway linked Albany with Portland and Eugene in 1912. At the time of its construction, it was the most modern railroad in the west and one of the main sources of employment in the area. The train tracks ran down the middle of Fifth Avenue and the depot still stands at 133 Fifth Avenue SE.
Located in the Hackleman District are twelve different historic architectural styles including Classical and Gothic Revival, Rural Vernacular, Italianate, Queen Anne, French Second Empire, Stick, Craftsman, Eastlake, Colonial Revival, Transitional Box, Bungalow, and American Renaissance. There are also many eclectic hybrids that combine elements from different styles. The Hackleman Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
