Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Tourtellotte, John E. February 22, 1869 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 21, 2008, 2:43 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     JOHN E. TOURTELLOTTE.  Imagination is a priceless crystal in the vision 
of the man who achieves. Liberally endowed with this quality and also 
possessing the creative instinct, John E. Tourtellotte has risen to the top of 
his profession and is known throughout the northwest as an architect of 
superior attainments. He has been a resident of Portland since 1913 and is a 
scion of one of the colonial families of New England. A native of Thompson, 
Connecticut, he was born February 22, 1869. His parents were Charles W. and 
Hannah J. (Leach) Tourtellotte. Gabriel Tourtellotte, the American progenitor 
of the family, was a native of France and came to this country in the 
seventeenth century, settling in the east, where he married a Miss De Signey, 
a granddaughter of Roger Williams, who was a Welshman and became the founder 
of Rhode Island. The great-grandfather of John F. Tourtellotte was a surgeon 
of high standing and served in the Revolutionary war under General Washington. 
Charles W. Tourtellotte was a prosperous agriculturist and also owned a grist 
mill.
	After the completion of his high school course John E. Tourtellotte 
studied architectural drawing at Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1885, when a 
youth of sixteen, entered the employ of the firm of Cutting & Bishop, 
prominent architects of that city. It was in 1899 that he yielded to the lure 
of the west, going to Pueblo, Colorado, and in the fall of 1890 went to Boise, 
Idaho. There he embarked in business as an architect and builder and his 
ability soon won recognition. He designed the state capitol and had charge of 
its construction. The sum of two million, one hundred thousand dollars was 
expended upon the building, which was completed in 1920 and represents the 
highest expression of Mr. Tourtellotte’s art. He enjoys the distinction of 
being one of the seven living architects who have designed a state capitol and 
examples of his skill are also found in other parts of Idaho, namely the 
buildings of the Industrial School at St. Anthony; the Liberal Arts building 
of the University of Idaho; the Technical School at Pocatello; the buildings 
of Gooding College at Gooding; the Owyhee Hotel at Boise; Washington Hotel at 
Weiser; many school buildings the Roman Catholic cathedral in Boise and one-
half of the churches in that city. In 1913 he established his headquarters in 
Portland but still retains the Boise office, which has been operated 
continuously for a period of thirty-six years. It is conducted by C. F, 
Hummel, who became associated with Mr. Tourtellotte in 1896 and has been his 
partner since 1900. Mr. Hummel is the junior member of the firm, which has 
erected twenty Episcopal and fifteen Catholic churches; the Administration 
building of Willamette University; the normal training school, the junior high 
school and the grammar school at Ashland, Oregon; the junior high school at 
North Bend, Oregon; the high schools at Medford, Grants Pass, Enterprise, West 
Linn and Coquille, Oregon; the public schools of Wasco and The Dalles, Oregon, 
and Asotin, Washington; the grammar and high schools of Haines, North Powder, 
Wasco, Athena and Pilot Rock, Oregon, and Ilwaco, Washington; and the Lithia 
Springs Hotel at Ashland, Oregon; the Astoria Hotel; Hotel North Bend; the 
Sacajawea Hotel at La Grande, Oregon; Union Hotel at Union, Oregon; the 
Antlers Hotel in Baker City, Oregon; the Redwoods Hotel at Grants Pass, 
Oregon; the Pendleton Hotel at Pendleton, Oregon; Pilot Butte Inn at Bend, 
Oregon; the Washington Hotel at Pullman, Washington; the Evergreen Hotel in 
Vancouver, Washington, and Yreka Inn at Yreka, California.  Since coming to 
Portland, Mr. Tourtellotte has remodeled the Multnomah, making it one of the 
finest hostelries in the Pacific northwest, and has designed and erected more 
hotels than any other architect in the northwest. He is now building a 
courthouse at Roseburg, Oregon, and was one of the eleven competitors for this 
contract. His work is of high character and an ornament to every locality in 
which it is found.
	Mr. Tourtellotte was married November 24, 1892, in Boise, Idaho, to 
Miss Della Wallace, a daughter of John N. and Eliza (Parsons) Wallace, the 
last named a second cousin of General Custer.  Mr. Wallace was born in 
Missouri and went to California with the ‘49ers. He engaged in placer mining 
and was also a builder. In the ‘60s he migrated to Idaho, where he spent the 
remainder of his life, attaining the ripe age of eighty-nine years. His 
connection with the Masonic order of Idaho exceeded in length that of any 
other resident of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Tourtellotte have two sons. The 
elder, Neal Everett, went to France with the American Expeditionary Force. His 
overseas’ service covered two years and merit won him a captain’s commission. 
After his graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he became 
identified with building operations and is now engaged in contracting, 
specializing in floor covering. He married Miss Janet Powell, of Seattle, 
Washington, and in that city they make their home. Ralph N., the younger son, 
received his higher education in the State Universities of Oregon and 
Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is an 
architectural draughtsman, residing in New York city.
	Mr. Tourtellotte adheres to the Methodist faith and is serving on the 
official board of his church. His fraternal affiliations are with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masons and he is also a member of 
the Kiwanis Club. He has chosen the best medium for the expression of his 
talents and his has been a successful career in the fullest sense of the term.


Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 485-486

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