Hillsboro Historical Society

Linklater House
230 NE Second Avenue

Zula Warren Linklater was born in the Hillsboro vicinity in 1870 (her parents were Edward and Ruth Warren and the large oaks on the north side of E. Main Street just east of Tenth Avenue were planted to mark the edge of their property). At age 28 she married Samuel Towers Linklater, a prominent early Hillsboro physician and widower. Between 1899 and 1911, the couple had six children.

One night, early in 1914, Dr. Linklater was struck and killed by a train while returning from a house call. Mrs. Linklater wisely managed the late doctor's investments and successfully maintained financial security for the family.

The construction of this house -- located on a vacant lot purchased by Dr. Linklater in 1889 -- began in 1922. Zula's daughter Ruth asked her mother to build a “house that would last forever.” The resulting Mediterranean style structure is the only example of 1920s residential concrete architecture in Hillsboro and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

An active member of the community, Zula was a member of the Eastern Star and Pythian Sisters and served as organist for the Congregational Church. She also donated the lot at NE Second and Lincoln in 1922 for the construction of the new Masonic Temple. Her death in 1930 was widely mourned. At that time, her son Kenneth became sole owner of this residence. Kenneth was determined to keep the home in the family. Even though he lived here for only a few years, the house was never sold. Only after his death in 1983 did ownership pass from the family, exactly 60 years after construction was completed.