Endangered Since 2016: Oregon Caves Chateau & Historic District
Cave Junction, Oregon (1934)
While progress has been made since first threatened, the Chateau needs an infusion of capital investment in order to re-open. Since 2024, Restore Oregon has been a key partner on a Blue Ribbon Committee of local, state and national partners organized by the Friends of the Oregon Caves & Chateau (Friends). The goal is to raise awareness, advocate, and be a strong voice for this incredible historic lodge until it is once again, open and welcoming guests from all around the world.
We’ve been working with the Friends of the Oregon Caves & Chateau in our MEP program since 2016. The Friends and Restore Oregon successfully advocated for restoration planning and secured federal funding for the Chateau’s restoration. In 2018, the Chateau was closed by its owner, the National Park Service, to undertake extensive restoration work. However, after work began, unplanned structural and seismic upgrades were determined necessary, causing the total project cost to dramatically increase. The building is now in mid-construction and can not serve guests until more funding is available to complete the restoration.
The Friends have been working on preservation efforts to restore the doors, lighting fixtures, historic balconies and all of the interior Monterey-style furnishings, all while the National Park Service is rehabilitating the building itself. In 2024, they secured State of Oregon grant funds of $455,690 to repair and restore the 97 remaining doors and their related hardware dating back to the Chateau’s original construction in 1933. The Friends are also working on several other restoration projects, including the unique Monterey-style furnishings.
Built in Cave Junction, the Chateau is one of the nations Great Lodges and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The six-story hotel has 23 rooms, a fine dining room and a 1930’s era coffee shop. Once the restoration is complete, the Oregon Caves Chateau will be the only lodge in the National Park Service with its original furniture in each room, complimented by restored doors with their original hardware!
The Oregon Caves Historic District covers 60 acres in the main visitor area of the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve (OCNMP) in southwestern Oregon. In December 2014, Congress expanded the OCNMP from 430 acres to over 4,000 acres. The Historic District includes four primary buildings plus two other structures. Because of the unique rustic architecture of these National Park Service buildings and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Elijah Davidson discovered the Oregon Caves in 1874 while bear hunting near Sand Mountain (now renamed Mount Elijah after Davidson). While Native Americans may have known of the caves prior to Davidson’s discovery, no evidence of earlier exploration or use has been found. Thus, Davidson is credited with being the first person to enter the caves.
In 1907, Joaquin Miller visited the caves and wrote an article highlighting the cave’s unique beauty, which gave the caves national exposure. Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the Federal Government ordered a site survey whose results, along with continued advocacy from Miller, caused President William Howard Taft to designate Oregon Caves a National Monument by 1909 becoming Oregon’s first National Monument.
In 1923, local businessmen formed the Oregon Caves Company and took over the food services, overnight accommodations, and cave tours. The potential for the successful operation of a resort on the monument was increased when the first permanent road was completed in 1922. All the structures in the Historic District were designed and built by this private company’s personal investors. Gust Lium was the architect and builder. The CCC created the surrounding park landscape.
Learn more about this historic place that needs your support!