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JACKSONVILLE Estate sale offers treasure trove from Jacksonville mansion Estate of former Alaskan territorial governor includes thousands of items Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 4:29 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 4:29 PM » Social News JACKSONVILLE — Ninety years after it was built by Jackson County pioneers Alfred and Helen Carpenter, the "Topsides" estate is in transition. Four houses occupy the 47-acre site overlooking Old Stage Road and the Bear Creek Valley beyond. County records and historical documents don't quite agree on the date the 6,133-square-foot "Topsides" mansion was built. Some argue for 1925, others date it to 1928. Whatever the case, a second, stately 2,847-square-foot "guest house" was erected in 1947. Two other smaller residences were built in the 1940s. Mike and Matilda Stepovich acquired the estate from Carpenter descendants in 1977 and moved in with the youngest five of their 13 children. Mike Stepovich was Alaska's last territorial governor before admission to the union in 1959. Matilda died in 2003, and Mike Stepovich died in February 2014 at the age of 94. Although a few family heirlooms have been retrieved, until recently most of the accumulated possessions remained in drawers, closets, cupboards and shelves in the sprawling two-story house with a full basement. "Normally when I take a property, the family has removed everything," said Sue Tucker of Tucker Estate Sales, who will conduct a three-day "Governor's Sale" at 1677 Old Stage Road Friday through Sunday at the mansion. "This property is a little different because the family is all out of state." Tucker and her crew have sorted, organized, categorized and set up displays. She's still working on the valuation and tagging for items, leaning heavily on her daughter, Cherish Hageman, to research the value of each of the thousands of items. At this point, the relics and personal treasures left over from days gone by are dispersed about the ground floor. "It takes a small village and a month to prepare for a sale like this," Tucker said. "Unlike an auction company, we have to price things below secondary-market value — it takes time. There are a lot of fun things and good things that aren't in a usual sale." An Alaskan bent runs through the remnants of the estate. Mike's father, Marko, joined the Klondike gold rush in the late 1890s, journeying from his native Montenegro. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Mike, a 38-year-old territorial legislator, as Alaska's territorial governor. He championed Alaska statehood, lobbying Congress tirelessly. His efforts even landed him on the cover of Time magazine on June 9, 1958. "Everyone has an interest in the history part of an estate, and everyone wants to know a story that goes with the estate," Tucker said. Artwork, books, recordings, lighting fixtures and an oversized fireplace screen and poker set, desks and dressers dot the half-timbered interior. Period patio furniture accompanies the swimming pool and deck areas. "There were things everywhere, because the family had been here intermittently the last couple of years," Tucker said. "Lots of things were stuffed away. It didn't look like we had whole lot, but there is a tremendous amount of storage. So when you start pulling things out of the nooks and crannies, then you've got a sale. It's not like a normal house where you've got a little miscellaneous. This one just grew." Although Matilda Stepovich was gone for more than a decade before her husband died, her influence remains, as evidenced by an extensive collection of Lladró figurines. And there are other feminine touches. "We have a sewing room set up with boxes and boxes of patterns," Tucker said. The family entertained and traveled extensively. "There are multiples of things, such as dishes and linens, because they entertained," she said. What isn't sold, she said, will be returned to the family, donated or disposed of as instructed by the client. Although there appears no hope of selling everything in three days, Tucker suggests one weekend is enough. "A second weekend came up. However, we don't normally do that, because we get our best buyers the first weekend," she said. "Topsides" was designed by Medford architect Louis B. Humphrys in the English Cottage style, and the significant landscaping was designed by Charles Howard Voorhies. Additions and changes were made through the early 1950s. The property is listed by two local real estate firms, with an asking price of $1.7 million. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 . By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 4:29 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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