Shore Acres State Park was once the estate of Oregon pioneer lumberman and shipbuilder Louis J. Simpson. It is located south of Coos Bay, Oregon.
Captain Asa Meade Simpson came west for the 1848 California gold rush and in 1856 he set up a lumber mill in the Coos Bay area. While he made money in the gold fields, he realized that there was more profit to be made in supplying food and lumber to California’s new immigrants.
The coast of Oregon and Washington had abundant timber resources in the nineteenth century which could be harvested to help meet the demands for lumber in California and other markets.
Simpson soon found that getting his lumber from his Oregon mill to markets left him at the mercy of the shipping companies. In 1857, he started the Coos Bay Shipbuilding Co. His shipbuilding goal was to simply supply his own company with a means of getting his lumber to market.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Simpson shipyards in North Bend, Oregon, had built more than 50 ships. According to one of the information signs at the Park:
“Over the years, Simpson’s ships and cargoes went around the world, delivering lumber for homes and buildings from the West Coast of America to Hawaii, Australia, South America, and Africa.”
Asa Simpson died in 1915.
Louis J. Simpson (commonly called L.J.) entered the family lumber and shipbuilding business in 1898. He was first sent to the family’s North Western Lumber Company in Hoquiam, Washington. Here he had a reputation for drinking, gambling, and incurring debts. He also wrote short stories, acted in local theater, and sang. He also met and fell in love with Cassandra Stearns. The couple were married in 1899 after she divorced her first husband. Asa gave the new couple a fresh start at the family mill near Coos Bay, Oregon.
By 1900, L.J. was the manager of the Simpson Mill and Shipyard in Yarrow, a small community north of Coos Bay. In 1902, he bought the Yarrow townsite, replatted it, and in 1903 incorporated it as North Bend. According to one of the information signs:
“He invested in several businesses and gave waterfront sites to any businessman who would employ 50 or more people.”
The sign also says:
“L.J. had a good sense for the physical and social needs of his fellow residents. His business strategy was to provide jobs, so that people would come to North Bend.”
Cassie Simpson soon became the first lady of North Bend (L.J. was the town’s mayor). She was actively involved with civic improvement and promoting the arts.
The Shoreacres mansion was completed in 1908 and became the Simpson family summer house. Cassie, by the way, preferred the designation “Shore Acres.” According to one of the signs:
“Designed to take every possible advantage of its spectacular setting, the mansion’s living room faced the sea, and the family also enjoyed the views from the second story deck and bedroom windows.”
In 1914, the house was expanded with a Roman bath and swimming pool, nine guest bedroom suites, and a ballroom. In 1915, the Simpsons began living in the mansion year-round.
In 1921, Cassie fell ill and died. Three months later, a fire destroyed the mansion. The cause of the fire was never determined, and the loss of the house was a huge financial blow for L.J.
In 1922, L.J. married Lela Gardner. The new family, which included Lela’s two infant girls, lived in the gardener’s cottage on the Shoreacres estate.
In 1927, Simpson had a new home erected on the original Shoreacres building site. The new home was 224 feet long with 17 rooms and a gymnasium. Each of the second story bedrooms was a suite with a dressing room and private bath.
In 1929, the stock market crashed, and the United States entered into a major economic depression. Unlike his father Asa, who was known to be tightfisted with money, L.J. spent money lavishly on travel, entertainment, and luxury real estate. In good economic times his lifestyle could be sustained, but with the Great Depression the market for lumber dried up. Financially Simpson was hit hard by the depression and in 1932 he donated the Cape Arago portion of his estate to the State of Oregon (it is currently Cape Arago State Park).
L.J. suffered a stroke in 1939 and went bankrupt in 1940. The Shoreacres estate was then sold by the mortgage holders to the State of Oregon to be used as a park.
During World War II, the State of Oregon loaned Shore Acres to the U.S. Army which used the mansion as a barracks and an officers’ club. The deteriorating mansion was determined to be unsuitable for restoration and was razed in 1949, the same year in which L.J. Simpson died.
During the period from 1942 through 1970, the formal gardens at Shore Acres fell into disarray. The gardens have since been restored, perhaps to a grander scale than previously.
Three Oregon State Parks—Sunset Bay, Shore Acres, and Cape Arago—were originally part of the Simpson estate.
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