Mims House, Gothic Revival house in East Skinner Butte Historic District, Eugene, United States.
The Mims House is a single-family Gothic Revival home built in 1867 on Skinner Butte, now within Eugene's East Skinner Butte Historic District. It has a steep gable roof with a cross-gable and pointed arch windows. A millstone from the Eugene Mill & Elevator Company, whose original mill burned in 1894, lies in the yard.
The Mims House was built in 1867 on Skinner Butte and is thought to have been the home of James Huddleston, one of Eugene's early settlers. In 1948 C.B. and Annie Mims, who had lived in a dirt-floor shack in the segregated Ferry Street Village, bought the house with sponsorship from hotel owner Joe E. Earley Sr., becoming one of the first African American homeowner families in Eugene. A neighbor's petition demanding they leave drew little support. The city designated it a Historic Landmark in 1979, and it was later listed on the National Register as part of the East Skinner Butte Historic District.
From 1948 to 1966, this residence served as a welcoming place for Black travelers during a time when lodging options were severely limited by segregation. The home became known throughout the traveling community as a safe and hospitable stopping point.
The house is leased by the Eugene-Springfield branch of the NAACP, which holds community events and advocacy work there; it also operates as a museum. It stands within the East Skinner Butte Historic District, so other historic buildings are within walking distance. During COVID-19 it served as a food pantry and vaccination clinic.
A millstone from the original Eugene Mill, which burned down in 1894, remains in the yard as a physical reminder of the town's industrial past. For many years this stone functioned as a step at the house entrance, connecting the building to the broader history of the place.
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