Another historic home on the Oregon Coast is the Hughes House. It was built in 1898 and framed with old-growth Port Orford cedar. The home was built just above the banks of the Sixes River and is adjacent to Cape Blanco State Park.

The home has 3,000 square feet and has 11 rooms. It cost $3,800 to build and that includes a chapel. When they built the house they put in indoor plumbing but they didn’t get electricity until 1942. They used gaslights until then.

Patrick and Jane Hughes started what became a land and dairy empire. Patrick added buildings as they were needed such as a creamery and dairy barn. They raised 7 or their 9 children on the ranch.

The chapel in the home for mainly for their son John who was a Catholic priest serving in a parish in Portland. The chapel features original carpet, which may have been recycled from another area of the home during a restoration. Clouds are featured on the hand-painted ceiling but the original date of the painting is unknown.

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The home is two stories and the first floor features a formal guest parlor that is decorated in shades of rose. This was the most important room because it reflected the wealthy status of the Hughes family. The fireplace in this room has a shallow firebox designed to burn coal rather than the cheap and easily obtained wood.

There is also a men’s parlor, which was well used. This is where they would catch up on bookwork and reading. The central focus of the room is a massive wood-burning fireplace, that made it one of the warmest rooms in the house.

There is a lovely dining room, which features a large table next to a spacious kitchen. A great cast iron wood cook stove warmed it. Adjoining the kitchen and dining room is a pass thru pantry with storage bins for the large quantities of staples they had to purchase.

The master bedroom and bath are also located on the first floor. Without electricity in the early days they heated water on the kitchen stove and then enjoyed a warm bath. The room still has the original wood trimmed claw footed bathtub.

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As you enter the home the first thing you see is the beautiful mahogany banister that leads the way to the second floor. The chapel is located here plus 5 bedrooms. The largest room was set-aside for guests because it was the fanciest of all the bedrooms and well used by friends of the Hughes family.

Patrick Hughes died in 1901 and his son Edward took over the operation. The family lived at the ranch for 111 years. The Hughes House is now a registered landmark and you can take a tour and see it for yourself. The Hughes House is located 4 miles west on Cape Blanco Road. Cape Blanco Road is located 4 miles north of Port Orford on Hwy 101 and just south of Bandon on the Southern Oregon Coast.

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