George Edgar Weller was born on April 14, 1870 in Raymond, Lancaster County, Nebraska, the son of the family, with five sisters. On December 29, 1898 he married Maude Parker (1879-1967) in Crab Orchard, Nebraska, 45 miles southeast of Lincoln. In the 1900 census, George was 29 and listed as a “dry goods merchant” living in his hometown of Raymond, about 15 miles north of Lincoln. Maude was 21. Sons Charles Parker Weller and George Edgar Weller Jr. were both born in Raymond before 1903.

George E. Weller, about 1910

By 1910, the young family was in Portland: George, age 39, was listed in the census as a house contractor. Maude, age 30 and sons Parker 9, and Edgar 6 were at home, 131 East 45th Street South, today’s 727 SE 45th Avenue in the Sunnyside neighborhood.

George likely worked for others to learn the business, but by 1913 was out on his own as a building contractor. The first house he built and sold on his own was 2118 SE 46th Avenue, a bungalow, just a few blocks south of the Weller home.

In the early 1920s, Weller’s newspaper advertisements proclaimed that he was the Builder of Good Bungalows, and Building Bungalows a Specialty. Here’s a business card he had printed in 1926: Weller-Built is Well-Built.

George Weller business card, about 1924

By the 1920s, the Weller family had moved to a 1912 wood-frame building (demolished in 2015) at the southwest corner of SE 50th and Lincoln, which included a rental apartment. According to the 1920 census George (48), Maude (40) and sons Charles (19) and George Jr. (16) rented rooms to the Lyman and Mabel Mack family of four. During these years, George’s office was Suite 226 of the Chamber of Commerce Building downtown at SW 4th and Stark, one of downtown’s notable office buildings, which was demolished in 1934.

An article in the May 4, 1924 edition of The Oregonian lists Weller as the president of Pacific Building Company and identifies several properties built by the company. Weller does not appear to be a company owner, but rather a contractor who built houses on behalf of company owners, even while he was running his own homebuilding business as Builder of Good Homes.

Newspaper ads also refer to Weller as an architect as well as a builder, though he was never a registered architect in Oregon, which was not uncommon at the time. In the mid-1920s, he worked with noted designer Ora K. Akers—who was also not a trained architect—but who published a book of frequently used house plans in 1924. Weller also likely utilized designs by the Universal Plans Service, another Portland-based house plans publisher. A review of plan books from the time did not reveal any designs matching 2645.

The last documented house Weller built was in 1927: 3426 NE 31st. After that, newspaper references to Weller are related only to his realty business: selling lots and farm property.

The 1930 census shows George (58) and Maude (51) living with their son Parker (29), who was listed as an interior decorator, and their granddaughter Lenore (5) at 1628 SE 58th Avenue. Son George Weller Jr. became a Portland painting contractor. In 1940, the couple was renting an apartment at NE 6th and Alberta, George (68) was listed as “real estate.” Maude was 61. Advertisements that year show he was selling properties in the Walnut Park area of Northeast Portland. George died on June 20, 1942, and Maude lived in Portland until March 1967.

What follows is a partial list of homes built by Weller. * indicates built for Pacific Building Co.

2118 SE 46th               1913

2346 NE 46th              1916

4537 NE Wistaria        1918

75 NE Meikle Place     1921

3423 NE Multnomah  1921

3566 NE 25th              1921

3225 E. Burnside         1921

2932 NE Weidler         1921 (demolished)

452 SE Stark                1921

3234 NE 56th              1921

846 NE 43rd                1921

856 NE 43rd                1921

4324 NE Broadway     1921 (demolished)

4334 NE Broadway     1921 (demolished)

4414 NE Broadway     1921 (demolished)

4420 NE Broadway     1921 (demolished)

2015 SE Pine               1921

3416 NE 30th              1921

846 NE 43rd                1921

856 NE 43rd                1921

866 NE 43rd                1921

1804 SE 22nd*            1921

1734 SE 22nd              1922

3076 E. Burnside         1923

3088 E. Burnside         1923

3100 E. Burnside         1923

3120 E. Burnside         1923

2224 NE 41st               1923

2615 NE 38th              1923

1224 NE 47th*            1923

1234 NE 47th*            1923

1242 NE 47th*            1923

1252 NE 47th*            1923

1533 SE Hickory          1924

1543 SE Hickory          1924

2300 SE Orange          1924

2310 SE Orange          1924

1915 SE 24th               1924

1925 SE 24th               1924

1935 SE 24th               1924

1945 SE 24th               1924

4916 SE Lincoln           1924

2616 NE 26th              1924

2624 SE Harrison        1924

3020 NE 26th*            1924

3206 NE 57th*            1924

2634 NE 27th              1924

2644 NE 27th              1924

6014 SE 22nd              1924

6024 SE 22nd              1924

2542 NE 26th              1925

2604 NE 26th              1925

2616 NE 26th              1925

2525 SE Lincoln           1925

2511 SE Lincoln           1925

2535 NE 27th              1925

2645 NE 27th              1925

3416 NE 31st               1926

2645 NE 28th              1926

2633 NE 28th              1926

2625 NE 26th              1926

2611 NE 28th              1926

2605 NE 28th              1926

2604 SE Lincoln           1926

2709 SE Taylor             1926 3426 NE 31st               1927