#22 on Map

Harriette Van Gasken Pedersen Bray, granddaughter of Des Moines pioneers Capt. William D. and Jane Shaw Fleming, daughter of Des Moines pioneers William Van Gasken and Emma Shaw Van Gasken, was a member of the first Camp Fire Girls group in Des Moines and one of the narrators of the video on Des Moines History. She made the quilt square depicting her parents’ house, which still stands.

Van Gasken House of 1890

Located at 402 S. 222nd Street, “this house was built in 1889 as the home of Captain William D. and Jane Fleming. After Captain Fleming’s death, Jane Fleming’s daughter and son-in-law, Emma and William Van Gasken, moved in with her. The Van Gasken family was one of the original families in Des Moines. Mr. Van Gasken operated a sawmill in Des Moines from 1889 to 1892, leaving the area only to return in 1910. The home is still in the family.
“The house is 1,000 square feet (92.9 sq. meters), 1½ stories high, and is irregularly shaped, sitting on a cliff overlooking Puget Sound. There is an enclosed porch wing on the northwest corner and an open porch on the southwest corner of the house. The tall gable roof is covered in wood shakes with two shed-roofed dormers on the east (front) side of the house. In 1952 the house was remodeled. Two fireplaces were added with a brick exterior chimney on the southern wall. The main entrance to the house was moved to the center of the east side with brick steps leading up to the door.”

—from One Hundred Years of the “Waterland” Community: A History of Des Moines, Washington