W.A. Howe General Store / Log Cabin Tavern

Built: 1904

Burned: 1995

On this now vacant lot once stood a large two-story brick building. It was built in 1904 as W.A. Howe's General Merchandise store. In this building was Carlton's first bank, a private operation run by W.A. Howe. He continued this private banking until incorporating the Carlton State & Savings Bank in 1910 (Stop 7). Also in this building was jeweler James Robertson, tailor George Robertson and a millinery store run by Effie Smith. The general store in this building carried groceries, dry goods, clothing, furniture, shoes and books. Many businesses operated in this building over the years.

After the end of prohibition in 1932, Harold Barks and Bill Buffum converted the Howe building into the Log Cabin, a "beer parlor." This was a busy establishment, catering to the loggers. At times there were as many as three or four hundred people in the building in one night. They served food as well as drink, and "Lockjaw" Neeley, the town marshall served as bouncer. The basement of the building was used as a supper club and live entertainment was brought in from Portland. Dances were held in this room.

The Log Cabin served the Carlton community for over 60 years, through decades of economic and social change. Rod and Celeste Atkinson were the last owners. It was destroyed in a spectacular fire on April 18, 1995. The loss of the Log Cabin is still mourned to this day in Carlton.

William Addison Howe was one of the most important citizens of Carlton in its early years. Born in Massachusetts in 1859, he moved to Yamhill County in 1883. A graduate of Harvard, he co-invented an early type of baseball catchers mask in 1875. Along with his general store, bank, and hotel, he was a founder of the Carlton Lumber Company. The company built the first major sawmill and dammed the North Yamhill, creating Carlton Lake. He was invested in many other enterprises and served several terms as a state senator. He died in 1935 at age 75.