Front entrance to the Emil and Alice Applegate Peil House Photograph by Terry Skibby

The Emil and Alice Applegate Peil House is a rather subdued and partially eclectic mix of bungalow or cottage design and certain more traditional elements from the earlier Victorian period. As the Plaza developed into an industrial and commercial area, prosperous businessmen built their new homes along Granite Street to have a view of their companies below. So Emil Peil built his house overlooking his wagon and agricultural implements business as he prepared to marry a teacher who was a granddaughter of Lindsay Applegate, one of the pioneers who blazed the Applegate Trail to Oregon. Alice Applegate Peil was an early educator, the first female school principal in the area. She was responsible for organizing the Ashland Study Club that was to play an important role in developing the Chautauqua, the Ashland Library, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In addition to her social and cultural interests, Mrs. Peil was an active partner in the Peil Implement Company. In that capacity, she purchased an automobile in 1916 and became one of the first women to drive on Oregon highways throughout southern Oregon.

Historic photograph of a the Ashland Study Club posing on the porch of the Peil House, March 16, 1916 Courtesy of The Terry Skibby Collection

A single-story building, the Emil and Alice Applegate Peil House was built by local contractors Moyer and Van Natta and completed in August 1910. The wood frame building with a distinctive cut sandstone porch retains considerable integrity in design, use of materials, and setting. In order to have easier access to the family business, the Peils built a flight of steel steps down to the Plaza. As their use became popular with Ashland residents, Mrs. Peil donated the northern six feet of her lot to the city, thus formalizing the public use of the walkway known as the Alice Applegate Peil Walkway.

The Emil and Alice Applegate Peil House is located at 52 Granite St. It is a private residence and is not open to the public.