Reard-Freed House finds permanent location in Sammamish

When Mary Moore heard the city was considering demolishing Sammamish's 115-year-old Reard-Freed House and using its parts for park benches, she knew something had to be done.

By Kevin Endejan • June 4, 2012 4:09 pm

When Mary Moore heard the city was considering demolishing Sammamish’s 115-year-old Reard-Freed House and using its parts for park benches, she knew something had to be done.

“That kind of moved a lot of people to get involved,” said Moore, who more than two years ago took the lead on a project to save the historic house.

Early Sunday morning, all the hard work of Moore and several other Sammamish Heritage Society members paid off when the house arrived at its permanent location at the new Southeast Eighth Street Park — part of a 51-acre land donation made by Sammamish resident Mary Pigott.

“There was a big sense of relief knowing it was going to its final resting place,” said Moore, who was up at 3 a.m. with several others to watch a large truck move the house approximately a mile from its old location on 212th Avenue Southeast.

During the past two-plus years, the Sammamish Heritage Society raised more than $80,000 from grants and various fundraisers to relocate and preserve the house.

Originally built in 1890 by Jacob D. Reard, the home was eventually sold to Oscar Freed in 1930.

In 2010, the Reard-Freed House was placed on the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s List of the top most endangered historic sites. In 2011, the City of Sammamish and the King County Landmark Commission designated the Jacob and Emma Reard House the first historic landmark in the City of Sammamish. The house is also notable for its inclusion in a 1980 movie titled, “Act of Love,” that featured Ron Howard, Robert Foxworth and Mickey Rourke.

“This is a wonderful building,” said Ben Yazici, city manager. “I know there were times over the past 10 years when its fate was in doubt, but thanks to the determined fundraising and hard work of the Heritage Society, the Reard-Freed House will provide our new park with a terrific touch of Sammamish history.”

The house is slated to be placed into its new foundation later this month. From there, the Heritage Society will refurbish both the exterior and interior with the goal of restoring the house to its original state. The home is now located on a 20-acre portion of the Pigott land donation that is set to be opened in three to five years.

There are talks that the house could eventually serve as a meeting hall or serve other community needs.

After more than a decade of discussions as to whether the historic house would survive, Moore is just glad to know it will now be available for generations to come.

“We’re happy to see that there was success at the end of it,” she said.