Patrick Hughes was born in County Tyrone, Ireland and immigrated to the United States about 1850. He married Jane O'Neill (also from County Tyrone) in Boston in 1853 and shortly thereafter moved to Oregon and established a prosperous dairy farm in Cape Blanco in 1865. In 1898 Patrick and Jane built what is now known as the Hughes House. They had nine children, two of whom died in early childhood. Patrick died in 1901. Jane continued to operate the ranch with the assistance of three of her sons: Edward, Thomas and Francis. One of her sons (James) went to work as Assistant Keeper at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse and became Head Keeper in 1926. Another son (John) became the second Oregonian to be ordained as a Roman Catholic Priest and served as pastor of St. Lawrence's parish in Portland. A daughter (Alice) married a storekeeper in Port Orford and another daughter (Mary) married a dairy farmer in Langlois. In 1971 most of the 2,000 acre farm was aquired by the state and became Cape Blanco State Park. In 1988 The Friends of Cape Blanco, a non-profit organization, was formed to restore the Hughes House. ( See www.hugheshouse.org for more information.)
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