For more than a century Heceta Head Lighthouse has helped seagoers navigate the Pacific Ocean’s treacherous currents. The cape owes its name to Don Bruno de Heceta, who in 1775 embarked on a secret voyage for the Queen of Spain to sail up the West Coast. Due to the onslaught of scurvy, Heceta and his crew turned back just before the Columbia River, but not before he noted the shallow waters and rocky headland that now bear his name.
A century later, mariners frequenting the dark waters between Coos Bay and Newport asked for a lighthouse to guide their journeys up and down the coast. Heceta Head proved an ideal location, but the construction project in this isolated place was no small feat. In 1892, an order was placed with the Chance Brothers in England for a powerful First Order Fresnel Lens to be shipped to Heceta Head, where construction of two Queen Anne-style Lightkeepers’ houses and Lighthouse tower had already begun. Building materials were transported over a single lane wagon road or placed on rafts and pushed overboard at Cape Cove to float ashore with the incoming tide.
On March 30, 1894, the lighthouse cast its first beam. The first eight years were trying times for the three Lightkeepers and their families who lived in the little community of Heceta Head. Many Lightkeepers were unable to handle the sparse and isolated conditions and moved on. Head Keeper Olaf Hansen worked for over fifteen years to make the Lightstation a sustainable community. Olaf started the vegetable gardens, a schoolhouse and the Heceta Head Post Office.
Much changed in the 1930s, when Oregon finished construction of U.S. Highway 101 and the Lightstation received electricty. Motorist frequently traveled up and down the Oregon Coast, which ended the Lightkeepers’ years of isolation. Electricity allowed for a partially automated lighthouse, ending the duty of one Lightkeeper.
The 1930s ended with the retirement of the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Its successor, the U.S. Coast Guard, retired the Head Keeper’s dwelling and sold the house for $10. The salvaged lumber returned to Mapleton to build what’s now known as the Alpha Bit Store and Cafe.
During World War II, the Coast Guard Beach Patrol manned Heceta Head with 75 men. They guarded the beaches between Florence and Yachats with attack dogs and lived in wooden bunkers where the Head Keeper’s house once stood. From 1925 to 1950 Cap and Ma Herman witnessed all of these drastic changes. Cap opted not to take a Coast Guard rank and was the only civilian allowed on the property during the war.
After WWII, the Coast Guard continued to man the Lightstation as an aide to navigation. Two men and their families remained at Heceta. In 1963, Head Lightkeeper Oswald Allick witnessed the end of the era of Lightkeepers when the Lighthouse was automated and turned over to computers. The Keeper’s House was then turned over to the U.S. Forest Service.
From 1970 to 1995, the U.S. Forest Service leased the Keepers House to Lane Community College for use as a satellite campus. The wall dividing the two dining rooms was removed to create a classroom space. Students were able to enjoy the Oregon Coast while taking classes, retiring afterwards to the second floor, which was furnished with bunk beds.
When the Keepers House was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973, the U.S. Forest Service looked for alternative uses that would allow the Keepers House to be more accessible to the public and to share the rich history. It was decided that a Bed & Breakfast would make this feasible.
Heceta Head entered a new era in 1995, when Mike and Carol Korgan were chosen to be the first Innkeeper’s for the Heceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast. As volunteers, the Korgans helped start the careful restoration of the interior. Now retired, their daughter Michelle and husband Steven continue to restore the Keepets House and invite the public to enjoy this National Treasure.