MYRTLE POINT -- It’s one of the oldest homes in the city and its history is mysterious.

 The Benson House on Seventh Street is named after its builder, John R. Benson, the first banker in town. He lived in the house he built in 1889 for at least 20 years. He started the Bank of Myrtle Point. There were rumors of financial impropriety, but no one now really knows if the rumors are true — or what happened to Benson.

He isn’t buried in the historical cemetery in town.

The house he built in 1889, on the other hand, still is very much a part of the community. It was an apartment complex for many years and most recently known as “The Pink House” because it was all pink — outside and inside.

The latest owners Rebecca and Darrell Chaloux have been changing its pink image for the last three years since retiring and buying the house as a project. Like many Victorians, the house has one part elegance and equal part playful charm with its colorful exterior.

“It’s the kind of house you want to decorate for Christmas,” Rebecca Chaloux said.

This year the couple spent a couple of weeks doing just that in preparation for this weekend’s Myrtle Point Christmas Tour of Historic Homes from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Darrell said people passing through town often stop to look at their house, located behind the A&W. The couple often lets people inside take a look around. One former resident even stopped by and told them he rented their front room. They thought the Christmas tour would be a good chance to let local people get a peek at the inside.

The Chalouxs have found history stored in the house itself. Darrell Chaloux discovered a blocked off doorway on the second floor as he was removing brick from a derelict chimney. He opened up the small space that had been walled off by a previous owner and found a bright orange beaded purse.

“It was classic 1970s,” Rebecca Chaloux said.

The purse was an interesting find, but Darrell Chaloux is hoping to find something a little more valuable, considering who built the house.

“I’m looking for gold bars,” he said.

Darrell, who worked in construction before retiring, said he is fascinated with the methods used to build the house. Unlike modern construction in which builders lay the foundation, frame, walls and then the floors, in the Benson House, the floors were put down first, followed by the walls. Rooms in the downstairs are exactly the same size, 17 by 17 feet.

“There is enough wood in this house to build several houses,” Darrell said.

Most of the windows are original, along with the hardwood floors, though scarred by the installation of carpet. Darrell said he likes the marks left by others who lived in the home.

“It’s character,” he said. “For us it’s fine. That’s the way the house was built.”

The Chalouxs moved in January. It took more than a month to a install working heater.

“This house was like a tomb,” Rebecca Chaloux said.

After three years of restoration and Christmas decorations at every turn, the old Queen Anne Victorian is far from seeming empty and cold.

“It’s gone from that to being really loved by us,” Rebecca said.

———

On the Net:

Myrtle Point Historic Homes

http://historictour.coquillevalley.org/index.html

 Want to go?

What: Myrtle Point Christmas Tour of Historic Homes.

When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday .

Where: The tour starts at the Coos County Logging Museum, 705 Maple St. and visits five of Myrtle Point’s oldest homes.

Tickets: $5 per person, available at the old bank building at 503 Spruce St.

More info? Call 572-2716.