A prairie house built 132 years ago regained its original family

One of the things that fascinates me about life on Central Whidbey is how many people here today descend from farmers and others who pioneered Ebey’s Prairie up to 150 years ago — Shermans, Engles, Hancocks and Bishops among them. And equally fascinating is how many homes still stand on Central Whidbey that were built by pioneers and their families.

But one name that isn’t often heard but should be is LeSourd. Francis Asbury LeSourd (1843-1921), born in Indiana and a Civil War veteran, bought 320 acres of farmland in Ebey’s Prairie in 1886 from Col. Granville Haller and quickly became one of the area’s most successful and prosperous farmers. He also became a community leader, serving two terms as an Island County commissioner followed by two terms as a representative in the state legislature.

Francis LeSourd and his wife Mary Ellen had four children. In 1892, they commissioned Howard Lovejoy, the Coupeville community’s best-known architect, to build them a family home on their farmland, facing Ebey Road and looking up toward Sunnyside Cemetery. It was a suitable Victorian home for a prosperous family, with a wrap-around porch and steep gabled roof.

And now, 132 years later, that historic home, beautifully restored, is once again owned by descendants of Francis and Mary LeSourd. For the past 60 years, it had been owned by others and often used as a rental. But it was purchased in May 2023 by Karen Bishop, great-great granddaughter of the LeSourds, her husband Wilbur Bishop, their son Clark and his wife Danielle. The Bishops own and operate the adjacent Ebey Road Farm.

“I have a great feeling of gratitude that we finally have the house back in our ownership,” Karen said. “I feel like there is almost a spiritual nature to it. It just feels like this is where I should be.”

Karen and Wilbur had hoped to buy the house when they took over the family farm years ago, but the owner at that time decided not to sell. So the Bishops built their own home on the farm, where they live today.

After a year of hard work repairing, painting and restoring, the Bishops have now put the home up for occasional short-term rentals. “Definitely not an Air BnB, but more of a place of respite and relaxation for family groups up to six people.” The rate is $350 per night with a two-night minimum.

Karen is the granddaughter of Dorothy LeSourd, daughter of Francis and Mary’s son John. In the beautiful main parlor of her grandparents’s house, Dorothy married Clark Sherman in July 1931. Together, they had three sons — Al, Roger and Jim — all of whom grew up on Ebey’s Prairie. Descendants of the Sherman brothers — including Karen, daughter of Al and his wife Phyllis — as well as Sherman cousins still live in the area and some farm several hundred acres on the prairie.

Original LeSourd ownership of the house ended in 1965; it went through several owners and became a bit rundown until art history professor Marguerite Walker and her artist husband Jasper Walker bought it in 1969. The Walkers owned it for the next 40 years, carefully maintaining it and restoring some of the historic elements that had been removed earlier. The fact that the house still looks much like it did in 1892 is due to the Walkers and their devotion to it.

Marguerite Walker finally sold the home to David and Rosita Vincent-Jones in 2009. They continued the careful maintenance and restoration, adding an ultra modern kitchen and a plush all-white upstairs bathroom. They sold the home to Karen Bishop and her family in May 2023.

The LeSourd house has been through a lot in its 132-year history. Indoor plumbing and electricity came in the 1920s, as did an addition in the rear that added more bedrooms. Then, in the 1970s, Marguerite Walker began a beautiful garden with paved walkways along the north side of the house. She also preserved the original “carriage house” where the LeSourds once parked their first automobiles.

The Bishops have added period-appropriate furniture and light fixtures. It’s believed that before electricity came the house was lighted by kerosene lamps. Much of the fancy original Victorian woodwork still adorns windows, doors, the staircase and floor casings.

In the master bedroom upstairs, there is a sweeping view out very large windows of Ebey’s Prairie that extends all the way to Admiralty Inlet and the Olympics. As I stood there admiring that view, I had a good understanding of the “respite and relaxation” that visitors who rent the house will have.

As I left, I asked Karen if perhaps she’d eventually live in the house herself. “Maybe. Who knows?” she responded. “Right now I’m just happy to be able to share it.”

Those interested in renting the LeSourd House should send Karen an email at ebeyroadfarm@gmail.com

Harry Anderson is a retired journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Times and now lives on Central Whidbey.