Wasco County Historical Society and
the Rorick House

Mission Statement

"The Wasco County Historical Society actively promotes the heritage of Wasco County, through the maintenance of the 1850 Moody/Rorick House and the preservation and dissemination of the history of the county’s people, places and events.”

WCHS maintains the Rorick House and grounds as its headquarters, cares for the collections and opens the House to the public during the summer and for special events.

WCHS sponsors regular Field Trips and special events including the Docent’s Tea, Summer Picnic; an Annual membership meeting in November (the public is also invited to attend these annual meetings which consist of a dinner and guest speaker) and the Christmas Open House.

WCHS supports and participates in community celebrations such as Historic The Dalles Days.

WCHS supports local preservation projects and facilitates the availability of accurate historical information.

WCHS publishes a Quarterly Newsletter featuring articles of local historic interest.

The Rorick House became the headquarters of the Wasco County Historical Society after Eck Rorick’s death in 1991. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also known as the "Moody House," the Rorick House was built around 1850 by a non-commissioned Army officer. This is the oldest house in The Dalles. Although expanded, the house retains its authentic vernacular board-and-batten exterior. As part of the old Fort Dalles Miltary Reservation, the house served as the Sergeant's Quarters. Former Mayor of The Dalles and U.S. Congressman (1899 to 1903) Malcolm A. Moody owned the house from 1884 until his death in 1925. The house was donated in 1992 to the Wasco County Historical Society by Eck and Mae Rorick, who enlarged and enhanced the house and grounds over the sixty-one years of their residency.

Schools are invited to schedule a tour of the house and to bring brown bag lunches. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to introduce the house to the younger members of the community to some of our local history. The Rorick House rooms are very small and it can be difficult to get too many visitors into the house at one time, so we suggest one classroom or organization at a time for group tours, or plan on staggered tours with one class in the gardens while another is inside. We try to have events where people can “drop in” during specific hours as a means of traffic control inside the house. Parking is on street. Our annual picnic with guest speaker is held outdoors. The house is sitting on three lots so the yard is very large.

The house is just as Eck Rorick left it when he entered the nursing home (except the room the WCHS uses as an “office”.) His wife Mae had passed away prior to his death. Everything on display, in the various cabinets, items in the kitchen are exactly as they were when the house was used as a residence.

Quilt historian and author to speak at annual meeting Wasco County Historical Society invites the public to attend the annual meeting and luncheon Saturday, October 30, 1 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1805 Minnesota St., The Dalles. Featured speaker will be Mary Bywater Cross, who will present a talk on two historic quilt projects from The Dalles area. One is a quilt from the Wasco County Historical Society. The other is a series of autograph blocks with names and places like Ione, Tygh Valley, Grass Valley, Heppner, Houlton in Ore.; White Salmon, Spokane, and Opportunity, Wash.; Moscow, Idaho, and Hamilton, Mont. The quilts are a puzzle to solve: what was the common denominator among the women who signed their names back in the 1930s? Luncheon will include a chicken soufflé and an apple bake. Cost for members is $15, non-menbers $20. Membership is only $20 per year for individuals and supports the mission of Wasco County Historical Society, a 501(c)3 organization. The public is invited. To register, please contact Jill Durow at 541-296-8400. Mary Bywater Cross is the author of “Treasures In The Trunk” Quilts of the Oregon Trail,” “Women in Pacific Northwest History” and “Quilts and Women of the Mormon Migrations: Treasures of Transition.” She currently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Oregon Quilt Documentation Project. As a quilt historian, Cross has worked to bring awareness to quilts as visual records of women’s history. She has curated numerous quilt exhibitions featuring contemporary and traditional quilts of current quiltmakers, and traveled internationally under the sponsorship of Visual Arts Resources. Since 1981 Cross has studied and traveled extensively visiting national museums, historical areas, and resource people. While serving on the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) Board of Directors, she created and launched a regional coordinator program designed to help area members become acquainted with one another and support the organization. Her research work on quilts of migration has won national recognition including an Award of Merit from the American Association of State and Local History and the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Publishers’ Marketing Association. Cross’ website is: http://www.web-ster.com

To learn more about the Rorick House, contact Paula Kuttner.

Location: 300 W. 13th Street, The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Phone: 541- 296-1867
http://www.wascochs.org/