John Palmer was a builder who settled in Portland, Oregon in the 19th century.  Construction on the John Palmer House was started in 1890.

John Palmer’s wife died just four years after moving into the home.  For many years the home was used as the Multnomah Conservatory of Music.  The Sauter Family purchased the John Palmer House in the late 60’s and lavished great care and attention on the home.  They opened the home as a Bed & Breakfast and hosted many receptions and weddings in the beautiful garden.

Maggie Kolkena and Susan Dunn purchased the home in 2008 for use by not-for-profit organizations. Refreshing this grand old house has included complete re-wiring and re-plumbing, the remodel of the kitchen and addition of a modern bathroom.  The main floor, with its extravagant Bradbury & Bradbury wallpapers, remains largely unchanged.

External work was initiated in the spring of 2010.  JPH has a new roof and will soon have a rebuilt porch and a spectacular new coat of paint. 

The John Palmer House has a two-fold non-profit mission:

1)it is available to local non-profit organizations for fund-raising purposes.  If you would like to explore the possibility of using the space for an event please contact us at maggie[at]thirdthought[dot]com.

2) we have rooms for traveling cancer patients