Rorick House Museum

The exact date when the house was originally built is unknown, but it appears that a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Army built it around 1850. This coincides when the Army established Camp Drum in The Dalles to fight Indians in the region (in November 1847 a settler family was massacred at a mission on the Walla Walla River). The house, apparently, served as the the Sergeant's Quarters. Camp Drum later became Fort Dalles in 1853.

Malcolm Moody bought the house in 1884. Born in 1854 in Oregon, he learned business from his father who owned a mercantile business which later merged into The Dalles City Bank, where Moody worked as cashier. He attended Pacific University and then at the University of California at Berkeley (it is unclear what he studied). Back in The Dalles, he became a prominent figure in the city in the late 1800s, serving as a member of the city council and becoming mayor in 1889, a position he held for two terms. During his time in office, among his accomplishments was improving the city's water system. A Republican, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1899 and served until 1903. It seems he was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt and convinced the president to build The Dalles-Celilo Canal on the Columbia River, which was completed in 1915. During the canal's construction, the project engineer lived in the house and expanded it.

After Moody died in 1925, two sisters, who were Moody's friends, acquired the house. However, they never lived in it and the house remained empty until the Roricks bought it in 1929, who made additional changes including adding a second bedroom. Eck managed the state's employment office and Mae worked as a home economics teacher at The Dalles High School. She was also the women's editor The Dalles Chronicle. Eck, who served as a pilot during WWII, was well known in the city for his love of music. He formed orchestras and played the piano.

The Wasco County Historical Society Acquired the house in 1992. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

"Moody House." Historic The Dalles. Accessed August 19, 2020. http://historicthedalles.org/moody-house.

Seufert, Gladys. "Moody, Malcolm A., House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 10, 1980. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2f01536c-c7c9-41dd-aed2-7bc15f63e832.