The Priest's House

The Priest's House. .

It would be more practical to … erect new [rental] houses … places built in the American way, that is frame houses … , Builder Peter Callsen in a letter dated 1887 to Father Vladimir Donskoi, advising the construction of new frame rental houses rather than the repair of three severely dilapidated Russian-era log buildings

For approximately eighty years, this modest structure on Monastery Street across from the Bishop's House provided housing for priests who served the Russian Orthodox Church., Built in the summer of 1887 under the direction of Father Vladimir Donskoi, the structure replaced a deteriorating log cabin from the Russian era. A map showing lands and properties transferred from Russia to the United States following the purchase of Alaska in 1867 designated the former log building as "House 105.” This name was transferred to the new frame structure by the Russian Orthodox Church. 22 July 1892, roughly five years after the new House 105 had been raised, Father Donskoi wrote that the construction debt of 900 dollars was paid. He reported that the building had four rooms and was surrounded by land. Rent was ten dollars a month., In 1895, Donskoi's successor, Father Anatolii Kamenskii, noted that House 105 was flimsily built and without insulation. Heating costs in winter were so high as to dissuade renters. Priest Andrei Kashevarov and his large family occupied the building in the early 1900s. Father Kashevarov, and the clergy in general, disliked the cold building and the high price of heating., In 1936 the land on which House 105 stood, a plot roughly 100 feet north of the Bishop's House, was sold to the City of Sitka. House 105 was moved to its present location in the 1950s. Over the years the building has been used for a variety of purposes, ranging from storage to a construction office during the restoration of the Russian Bishop's House., Today, following a careful rehabilitation that preserved the look of the original structure, the former "Priest's House" provides space for the administrative office of Sitka National Historical Park., Captions , (Top, left) The Bishop's House is in foreground; House 105, the Priest's House, is only partially visible in background to left. National Park Service (NPS) photograph. , (Top, right) Above top: Drawings of the east and north walls of the Priest's House showing recommended treatments for rehabilitation, 1983. Above bottom: Photographs of the east (1975) and north (1981) walls of the Priest's House. By 1975 the building was derelict with windows boarded and part of the foundation skirting fallen away. In 1981, the National Park Service removed the chimneys and dismantled an addition on the rear wall that postdated the original construction. Both images courtesy NPS. , (Bottom, left) Exterior sketch and plan view of the Priest's House by Father Vladimir Donskoi, February 1887. Images courtesy Library of Congress. , (Bottom, right) Portion of April 1887 contract between the building contractor Peter Callsen and the Russian Orthodox Church for construction of three frame rental houses.