The Dr. Edward and Anne McLean House is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) recommended the nomination at their October 2024 meeting for its significant association with the development of a very early prepaid healthcare organization designed to serve local millworkers and their families during the Great Depression, as well as for its architectural merit. The National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places, accepted this nomination in late January 2025.

Located on the southern bank of the Willamette River in West Linn’s Bolton Neighborhood, the McLean House was designed and constructed by the Henderson-Bankus Company for Dr. Edward and Anne McLean in 1927. The house exhibits a modified or eclectic Colonial Revival style with its symmetrical side-gabled form, original multilight wood windows, entry portico, and English Cottage-style rolled-edge roof. The interior retains many original features including walnut baseboards and trim, oak flooring, a primary staircase with turned balusters, and a fireplace with classical pilasters, entablature, and glazed tile surround.

While notable for its design, the McLean House is also significant for its association with the Physicians’ Association of Clackamas County (PACC), a very early Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) using the prepaid medical care foundation model. Dr. Edward McLean, working from his home office, collaborated with Dr. William O. Steele, and Dr. John (“Jack”) G. P. Cleland to develop the organization between 1932 and 1938, in the depths of the Great Depression. Their mission was to provide healthcare coverage that was high quality, affordable, and designed to fit the needs of area residents—many of them millworkers and their families—as well as physicians. The PACC was unique for its time, and it has since proved to be a national model for improving healthcare delivery.

The McLean House has been owned by the City of West Linn since 1969, and in addition to its recent listing in the National Register of Historic Places, it is also listed on the West Linn Historic Inventory.

The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Properties listed in the National Register are:

• Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;

• Considered in the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects;

• Eligible for federal tax benefits;

• Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;

• Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;

• Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.

State law in Oregon requires local governments to offer a minimal level of protection for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places; the decisions about how to accomplish that goal reside with local governments, which also have the authority to create and regulate local historic districts and landmarks.

More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings are online at oregonheritage.org (under the heading “Designate”).