Catherine Davis Renfrew was a saint & Mr. Humphrey’s last trip with the boys.

Today, our journey takes us a little way up the dirt street from Eugene’s early saloons, into its hotels, and others nearby. Hotels of the 19th century American West developed from necessity. Early fur trappers established the first stops as the need and greed of beaver pelts fueled an avenue of western exploitation by eastern whites. As time hurried along, travelers needed better amenities, such as a bed, rather than a simple board or floor. Many early 19th century hotels, considered “well equipped”, provided a traveler a room with a bed, table, and a bowl or pitcher. A meal was generally included in the stay and the quality of the meal was dependent on the establishment’s cook. Hotels enticed travelers with safe livery stables for their animals. Oregon was a major destination for folks from back east and up from California. The territory had numerous operating hotels by the 1880s. There is a treasure trove of Oregon hotel histories to be discovered, but today we will focus on a small sample. We’ll delve into the locations and the colorful people involved in operating and frequenting the area’s hospitality industry. 

The St. Charles hotel was built 1855 in Eugene City, by Dr. Alexander Renfrew, a physician from Ohio. Dr. Renfrew came west in 1852 with his wife, Catherine Davis Renfrew, also originally from Ohio. Together they operated the hotel until 1879. Originally, Dr. Renfrew may have called the hotel, “The Globe” before it became the St. Charles sometime later. In 1864, the hotel was advertised:

“This established and popular Hotel is open for accommodation of travelers and the public generally. Commodious rooms, a well supplied table, and good beds are among the inducements offered to guests at this Hotel. The California and Oregon Stages Have their office at the St. Charles and make it their point of starting and arrival. Parties traveling in their own conveyances can have their vehicles and animals well cared for.”

The St. Charles, like its counterparts of the day, served as a stopping point between long distances to provide relief for the weary traveler. A wide variety of people stayed at the St. Charles and 19th century hotels in general. There were hotels advertised as appropriate for families. Common collective memory can lead us to thinking that all hotels were only bastions of the drunk and disorderly, but this wasn’t always the case. On the 21st of June 1860, according to the US Federal Census, guests of the St. Charles Hotel included a jeweler, a carpenter, a lawyer, a clerk, a surveyor, another carpenter, a farmer, a butcher, a laborer and some folks without occupations listed. The St. Charles was located at the corner of 9th and Willamette. Today, what was 9th is now Broadway. This was a prominent place for a business of any type to be located in the heart of Eugene’s commercial activity. According to Catherine Davis’ obituary dated 4 Feb 1899, she and Dr. Renfrew operated a restaurant in 1854. They constructed the St. Charles Hotel the following spring. The couple operated the hotel until 1874, and then in 1875 it was managed by Charles Baker for one year. Charles Baker’s name came up frequently during the research of this blog post, but the author did not have time to follow that curious trail. Perhaps, the hotelier Charles Baker will be explored at a later date. The couple regained the hotel and operated it until 1879. Sadly, Dr. Renfrew suffered a sudden death in 1880, where he was prospecting out in the Gold Hill area when he reportedly became overheated, took a drink of cold water too fast, and died on the spot. His biography card on file with the Oregon Historical Society lists his cause of death as cramps. Catherine’s obituary tells of Dr. Renfrew’s lone grave in the Blue River mining district. It is unknown to this author if the grave can be located at present day. After her husband’s death, Catherine operated a restaurant and ran lodging homes. She relocated to Portland to live with her daughter Theresa Anne or “Annie”. Catherine and her husband adopted Annie after they had settled in Oregon. It was written that Mrs. Renfrew was “one of the best known personages between Portland and San Francisco”. Catherine Davis Renfrew was one of many women that established themselves in the west as savvy business minded hospitality professionals.

There were other St. Charles Hotels’ in Oregon in addition to that of Eugene and they operated during the same era. Albany had a popular one, as did Portland. There was possibly one in Salem as well. Eugene’s St. Charles later became the Hoffman House in the 1880s. An interesting story about the Portland St. Charles’ hotel that relates to Eugene is of Mr. Humphrey and his trip with the boys to Portland. On 15 Nov 1895, a well known Eugene and Lane County business man, Henry Clay Humphrey, died from a morphine overdose in room 58. Humphrey went to Portland with a group of other Eugene men on a “football excursion”. When Humphrey got to town he visited a local drug store, bought a bottle of morphine, and checked into the St. Charles on Front and Morrison. He checked himself into the hotel under the name of John Smith Chehallis. Humphrey didn’t wake up early in the morning, but like today, some of us don’t rise early in a hotel. However, by afternoon it was discovered that Humphrey had presumably died from morphine overdose. The bottle he had purchased was on the bedside table. His body was brought down to Eugene for service and burial. Professor Thomas Condon of the University spoke at the funeral. The newspaper article published in the Eugene Guard on 18 Nov 1895 discusses Humphrey’s accomplishments including his partnership helping organize the Lane County bank. He was married and had three daughters. The article reports his death as an accidental overdose, but the true circumstances to Mr. Humphrey’s final hours will never be known.

In 1885, Charles Baker established the first class Baker Hotel. The Baker Hotel became the Eugene Hotel in 1892. If you’ve been to Eugene lately and have seen the neon “Eugene Hotel” standing out, this is not the same place. That Eugene Hotel was built in the 1920s, and now is a retirement community. It certainly has its own place in Eugene history, but is not the subject of this post. The former Baker Hotel/Eugene Hotel was located on Willamette, between 7th and 8th. The beautiful thing about this old hotel is that the building still stands, and somewhat hides its history within the different architecture speckled throughout downtown. There is a cafe in the front entrance, and one in the back. What an enchanting building our good buddy Charles Baker built for Eugene. Ownership changed from Baker to the H. Tannensee in 1892, and as mentioned, the name changed to the Eugene Hotel. The new proprietor advertised the hotel on 12 Oct 1892 in the Eugene Guard, calling it the “Leading Hotel of the City” and that “Only first class white help employed”. The advertisement was displayed in the Eugene Guard over the course of about three months. Five years later the hotel was under the management of W. O. Zeigler, who did not advertise by stating whom he had employed. The Eugene Hotel then became the Smeede Hotel and for a moment in time the Hotel Smeede. It is one of the oldest remaining buildings in downtown Eugene. 

Oregon hosts a few other old hotels with rich histories of their own, still standing and operating that deserve mention here. The Grand Geiser Hotel in Baker City first opened in November 1889. You can make a reservation to stay at this beautiful Italianate Victorian architecture style hotel located in northeastern Oregon. The hotel is reportedly, as perhaps expected, haunted. The Hood River Hotel located in, you guessed it – Hood River, Oregon, has seen its share of upgrades since the initial building of 1881 but maintains a delightful charm today. You can stay comfortably at the Hood River Hotel and room 310 has given more than a handful of folks a story to take home (and hopefully only a story!). The oldest operating hotel in Oregon, The Wolf Creek Inn, was built in 1883 along the Applegate Trail (if you’re curious about the Applegate Trail, don’t worry, we’re going to get into that at a later date on the blog). The property features an abundance of spooky tales and experiences. If you stay at any of these historic properties, this author encourages you to book your reservation directly with the hotel/inn rather than a big internet giant out there in the ether. A friendly suggestion. 

Eugene, along with many communities like it, had a variety of hotels throughout history that welcomed all kinds of travelers. Many people were engaged in the business development side of this industry and many more nineteenth century folk were employed with the service side of the industry. Fortunately, we history enthusiasts can still visit some early hotel relics. Perhaps, we won’t be the only ones in the old hotels, with visitors from long ago, still making their presence known, if only by playing harmless spooky tricks on a fellow traveler.

Thank you, reader, until next Monday!

Spooky Mulder