The earliest Marie Graham can trace her family’s presence in the Willow Creek Valley with certainty is four generations back to William T. Hill. Born in 1831, William would have acquired his land in the valley no later than the 1850s, by which point he had established a home with Caroline Williams Hill as his wife. The union resulted in the birth of a son, Elza V. Hill, in 1866. After marrying Fermer Dinsmoor Hill, Elza acquired a piece of his father’s land farther upstream in the fertile floodplain of Willow Creek. In a spot nestled snuggly against an imposing sandstone cliff, Elza built a house in about 1895. The family took part in the usual agricultural activities of the region, including caring for cattle, sheep, chickens, and hogs, as well as harvesting corn, hay, and a bit of timber.
In 1898, Nelle was born as the daughter of Elza and Fermer. At some point in her childhood years, Elza and Fermer divorced, though the mom and daughter continued to live in the house constructed by Elza. Despite the contentious emotions that doubtlessly surrounded the divorce, there must have been at least some level of understanding as Elza, who had moved back to his family’s home just down the road, continued to farm the land and provide for her daughter and the property. In her later years, Nelle would marry Leslie Halbirt, and the two lived in the house built by Nelle’s father. Marie, who currently owns the property with her husband Don, recalls spending many pleasant childhood days with her grandparents on the farm.
The house is constructed in a vernacular style, featuring a gabled front and side wing, typical of rural houses of the time. Spindle posts and lattice decorate the front porch, which overlooks an expansive field leading down to Willow Creek. Behind the house, pockets and shelters weathered from the rockface conjure up images of native habitation at the site long before Elza and Fermer ever decided to plant their own roots here. Several display boxes of arrowheads and points collected by Marie over the years make this idea feel yet more like a reality.
Outside of the house, the property also contains a barn, wooden shed, and springhouse, all of which sit on foundations of locally quarried sandstone and likely date to Elza’s ownership of the farm. Additionally, a garage and workshop built by Marie’s grandfather, Leslie Halbirt, sits beside the house. In these peaceful surrounds, one would never know a major federal highway exists just over a mile to the east.