Patrick Hughes House
Patrick Hughes, from County Tyrone, Ireland, arrived in Boston, where he met and married Jane O'Neil in 1855. From there, it is unknown if they traveled west together or separately, overland or through the Isthmus of Panama. Once they arrived on the west coast, it is said, Patrick traveled as far north as Canada's Fraser River, looking for the elusive golden treasure, while Jane stayed behind, working in San Francisco. Our first documentation of them in Oregon is the birth of their first child, John, April 7, 1860. Later that year, Patrick, and his family were enumerated in the 1860 census, boarding in the home of Mathew Deady, a lawyer in the communtiy of Deady, Oregon.
Cape Blanco 1861: Patrick and Jane baptize their second child Edward. It isn't
clear what occupation Patrick pursues between the arrival on the cape, and his
purchase of 80 acres of bottomland in 1868. It is widely held that he was a gold
miner, mining the black sands of Cape Blanco's south beach. Certainly, with that
first purchase, Patrick was well on his way to building a land and dairy empire.
Patrick was known as a progressive dairy farmer, and a charitable man. "His excellent dairy farm has been celebrated for its yield of excellent butter a third of the century," notes Orville Dodge in his Centennial History of Coos and Curry Counties. Interested in the community infrastructure, he (along with others) inspected the first county road, running from New River to Port Orford and recommended it's acceptance in 1865. He lent his hand to the county management board for eight years. A staunch Catholic, Patrick built "Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church" on an acre of land he donated to the church. His belief in the education of children was also apparent, as schoolhouse was constructed on the ranch in 1881.
Patrick and Jane raised seven of their nine children to adulthood. John and
Joseph died as young children. Edward, Thomas and Francis lived their entire
lives on the ranch, Edward taking the helm after his father's death in 1901.
Francis, the youngest, brought his bride Annie Doyle to live on the ranch in
1905, where they raised their only child, Joseph. In large Catholic families,
a son was often encouraged to become a priest. John C. became the second native
Oregonian to be ordained a priest; he also bears the name of his deceased older
brother. James married Laura McMullen and moved to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse
where he was a keeper for 38 years. There were just two girls, Alice and Mary.
Alice married Patrick J. Masterson who owned a mercantile in Port Orford, and
Mary fell in love with and married Francis McMullen, younger brother to Laura,
and moved to Langlois, where they pursued farming.
Patrick established the family home on the bottomland near the river. Buildings were added to the farm as needed: most notably a creamery and dairy barn. It wasn't until 1898 that Patrick had P.J. Lindberg build the stately Victorian home on the terrace above the river. Framed with Port Orford cedar, it is quite solidly built. Upon completion Patrick, Jane and three sons (Edward, Thomas and Francis) moved into the spacious six-bedroom home. Their new home featured running water upstairs and down, gas lights in the kitchen, a newfangled built-in stove with warming oven and water heater. The bath featured an oak-rimmed tub in the bathroom, where one could admire the handsomely painted ceiling. Space for a small chapel was also allotted: for use by Fr. John and other visiting priests. Today, the home stands as a tribute to the family who left their mark in Oregon's pioneer history.
Cape Blanco Pioneer Cemetery: Just a few were buried in the small cemetery adjacent to the little church. An all-Irish cemetery, where the names recorded on the tombstones seem to have been neighbors to the Hughes family, with the exception of the McMullen's. McMullen's lived in Langlois, their connection to the family being marriage of their son and daughter to Hughes siblings. The cemetery was short-lived, with the reburial of the McMullens in Connecticut and others to Portland in 1938. Today, the headstones remain, a reminder of the hard life on the isolated, wind-swept cape.
History of the Hughes House and family is shared with visitors from all over the world. The Hughes House and gift shop are open Thursday through Monday, 10:00 to 3:30, April through October. House admittance is by donation. Please join us and learn more about this fascinating family, their dairy and ranch, which became Cape Blanco State Park in 1971. Miles of trails explore the cape; come hike. Lowlands below the historic home are open as a day use area; consider a picnic, fishing or pan for a little gold in the Sixes River.
To reach Hughes House, drive west on Cape Blanco Road about 4 miles. (Cape Blanco Road is located 4 miles north of Port Orford on Hwy 101)
website: www.capeblanco.org
Patrick established the family home on the bottomland near the river. Buildings were added to the farm as needed: most notably a creamery and dairy barn. It wasn't until 1898 that Patrick had P.J. Lindberg build the stately Victorian home on the terrace above the river. Framed with Port Orford cedar, it is quite solidly built. Upon completion Patrick, Jane and three sons (Edward, Thomas and Francis) moved into the spacious six-bedroom home. Their new home featured running water upstairs and down, gas lights in the kitchen, a newfangled built-in stove with warming oven and water heater. The bath featured an oak-rimmed tub in the bathroom, where one could admire the handsomely painted ceiling. Space for a small chapel was also allotted: for use by Fr. John and other visiting priests. Today, the home stands as a tribute to the family who left their mark in Oregon's pioneer history. 
