A Life of Love & Adventure

Lilla Leach at Horsesign Butte, May 1931.

Courtesy The Leach Collection, Univ. of Oregon Knight Lib., Archives and Spec. Coll.
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John and Lilla acquired the original 4.17 acre property on Johnson Creek in the early 1930s, and first had the stone cabin built on the south side of the creek. It is a charming, storybook cottage, with a terrazzo floor installed as a 50 year anniversary gift from John to Lilla. The slate used for the roof was left over from the construction of the Reed College library. The Leaches spent time in the cabin as a getaway from city life until they moved into their newly-built home on the north side of the creek in 1936. Landscaping and planting of the property they called “Sleepy Hollow” then began in earnest. Wilbert Davies, later a successful California landscape architect, began work on the landscape design and implementation, with significant contributions from John Leach. The two of them did a lot of the stonework still seen in the historic garden.
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Johnson Creek (formerly Milwaukie Creek) was named for the Johnson family by surveyors shortly after 1850 when the Donation Land Claim Act came into being. William Johnson and his family crossed the plains in 1846 and claimed property in outer SE Portland. Johnson and his sons each received a donation land claim. William’s land claim extended from present-day Springwater Corridor to about SE 110th. Jacob’s land claim (east of 112^th) extended as far as present-day SE134th/Deardorff Rd, and the Leach property sits on part of it. Both claims extended up Mt Scott. William’s claim extended uphill towards the original Lincoln Memorial Cemetery on Mt. Scott Boulevard. Son Ezra’s property was smaller and northeast of Jacob’s at roughly SE 136th Ave. north of Holgate Blvd. Jacob Johnson ran a sawmill on the creek because there was great demand for lumber as Portland was beginning to grow. Jacob wanted an education and it is said that he would tend to the mill, study as much as he could, then run via the “Indian trail” (probably close to what we know as Foster Rd) to the Willamette River, where he kept a boat to cross to the west side. Then he attended school at the Portland Academy which was located on the site of present-day Pioneer Square. (There is a plaque on the wall at SW Morrison & SW Broadway which marks the location of this early Portland school.)
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John and Lilla lived in their beloved “Sleepy Hollow” until John passed away in 1972. Lilla’s mobility had become severely impaired by arthritis and John provided loving care for her with help from neighbors, friends, and former drugstore employees. After John’s death, Lilla was moved to a care center in Lake Oswego where she resided until her death in 1980. John’s and Lilla’s ashes were later released in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area in Curry County in southwestern Oregon—the place where they had undertaken so many of their adventurous botanizing trips with their donkeys, Pansy and Violet.
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John and Lilla specifically stated in their wills that their home and property be given to the City of Portland to be developed as a botanical park and museum. However, if the City had not taken action within 10 years, the property was to be signed over to the YMCA. In the early 1980s the YMCA contacted the City and began to pursue their potential acquisition. A grassroots organization, Leach Garden Friends, was formed by concerned friends and neighbors and they urged the city to save the property.  At that time, Charles Jordan, was the newly elected Commissioner of Parks. While a great many people had pleaded to save the garden, the decision to sign over the property was about to be made, and Commissioner Charles Jordan was about to sign the release document. However, at the last minute he said, “I think I should go look at the property before signing off on it.”  After seeing it, he reported that it was a “little jewel” and “we can’t let it go.” Thanks to John and Lilla, to the quickly formed Leach Garden Friends, and to the foresight of Commissioner Jordan, we have the lovely garden that now encompasses almost 17 acres, including many new features for visitors to enjoy, while retaining the historic Leach property and honoring the enduring story of John and Lilla.
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