CAPE BLANCO HERITAGE SOCIETY

   Mural by Darren Evans Art   

On June 3 2000, OREGON STATE PARKS DAY, the Port Orford Lifeboat Station opened it’s doors as a public museum and there was much rejoicing in Port Orford. Join us in 2025 as we take a trip down memory lane at our historic sites and in our quarterly newsletter, the Heritage Journal, in a series of articles to remember the events that led up to this momentous occasion and to recall what it means to be honored with such a distinction. — (Read More)

2025 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

• Opening Day: April 1 (Cape Blanco Lighthouse Greeting Center Gift Shop); May 1 (Hughes House and Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum). Open until Closing Day from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM, every day except Tuesday (All 3 locations, if we have sufficient volunteers).
• CBHS Board Meetings: Currently held at Point.B Studio at 10:00 AM (open to everyone): 2nd Tuesday each month.
• Oregon State Parks Day: TBD.
• Jerry Can Races + Artists at the Hughes House: July 4 (Port Orford Jubilee)
• Coast Guard Day/Lighthouse Day Celebration:(Concert in the Park TBD).
• Art Exhibit: "Save Our Lighthouse" through October 31.
• Closing Day: September 30 (Hughes House and Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum); October 31 (Cape Blanco Lighthouse Greeting Center Gift Shop). 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
• Annual Membership Meeting: TBD
• ESA Christmas Bazaar: TBD.
• Hughes House Christmas: TBD.

SAVE OUR LIGHTHOUSE CONTINUES ...

Journey to Cape Blanco in 2025 to see the "Save Our Lighthouse" art exhibit in progress in the Greeting Center Gift Shop/Interpretive Center and the Hughes House. Many thanks to the artists who have donated work so far to save the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Proceeds go towards our ongoing efforts to restore the lighthouse so it can be reopened to public. Learn more at our website: saveourlighthouse.net. The art catalogue will be updated as new works are available. If you are interested in acquiring any of the works on display, please talk to our cashier or contact the Cape Blanco Heritage Society at 541-332-0521.

ABOVE: "Save Our Lighthouse" painting by artist Darren Evans is the signature work of the “Save Our Lighthouse” Exhibit. Also check out Emmy award-winning cinematographer David Fortney's beautiful film that was on display for Lighthouse Day and the US Lighthouse Society's 40th Anniversary. Watch for more art and events in 2025!

PAST EVENTS

A DUAL VENUE EVENT: August 12th at 10AM to 3:30PM at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse and 3:00PM to just before Sunset at the Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum.

Come Celebrate a new tradition with our First Lighthouse Day featuring Music, Dessert and Docents at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse followed by DANCING at the Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum.

National Lighthouse Day is celebrated annually by lighthouse organizations in the U.S., although Congress has yet to designate a date that we all recognize the importance of America’s lighthouse heritage. The Cape Blanco Heritage Society (CBHS) will be celebrating Lighthouse Day on August 12th to honor ingenuity and inventiveness worldwide. Our lighthouse continues to be a technological wonder to this day as Oregon's oldest continuously working lighthouse and its southernmost major beacon.

AURORA will be performing at the event and the Side of the Tide Morris Dancers will perform at the Port Orford Lifeboat Station Museum as part of a nationwide effort to celebrate lighthouses by the U.S. Lighthouse Society. Artwork from supporters of our lighthouse will be on display in the Greeting Center Gift Shop. The concept behind this art exhibit is to raise awareness of the current need for repairs at our lighthouse.

In addition to the festivities of the event, our lighthouse workroom will be open as well as the Greeting Center Gift Shop. Come learn about our lighthouse and meet the volunteers who keep our sites open during the Summer season. We will also have food and designer desserts by Tasty Kate's and our our CBHS members.

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse, so named for the white sands of the geology of the landform, was built as part of an ambitious program to construct lighthouses in California and Oregon to facilitate the economic development of the American West by the U.S. Lighthouse Board in 1870. This era was an incredibly inventive period of time in history which is just one small part of what lighthouses have come to represent culturally in our nation as well as worldwide.

Please come enjoy the day with us as well as the beautiful hiking trails and wonderful ocean views of the surrounding Cape Blanco State Park. From Highway 101, 4.5 miles north of Port Orford or 26 miles south of Bandon and just south of Sixes, Oregon, turn west on Cape Blanco Road. Follow the road past the historic Hughes House and Ranch to the very end. Be aware that the short road from the gate to the lighthouse is closed due its deteriorating condition. If weather conditions are such that the event cannot be held on this date, we will reschedule (note that the weather at Cape Blanco can be unpredictable and not reflect local forecasts). Please watch our Facebook page and website for updates on this event.

For more information, call the Cape Blanco Greeting Center Gift Shop at 541-332-2207 or visit capeblancoheritagesociety.com. ⎈⎈⎈

→ Download our First Annual Lighthouse Day Poster

"The Spirit of Community Christmas" (ABOVE) — A walkthrough of the Hughes House during the holiday festivities of 2023. The audio is from the Christmas Concert by Just Jensens on December 17th. The Hughes House is the pioneer home of Patrick and Jane Hughes and each year area organizations, businesses and individuals are invited to decorate to a theme. The theme in 2023 was “The Spirit of Community Christmas”. Learn more in our press release and monthly one-sheet and consider joining us this year in this Southern Oregon Coast Tradition.