History of Early Pioneer Families of Hood River, Oregon. Compiled by Mrs. D.M. Coon

JAMES L. LANGILLE AND FAMILY

     James L. Langille with his family located in Hood River Valley in l883, settling on a homestead in the upper valley near Mt. Hood postoffice. Mr. Langille was a contractor and house builder and kept busy at his trade in Hood River and valley. Mrs. Langille's maiden name was Sarah Harding, she was a native of Pubnico, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, born January 24, 1844. She and James Langulle were married in June 1867. In 1869 they came to California where they remained three years, then returned to Nova Scotia. In November 1880 they moved to Chicago and from there to Hood River.
     For seven years the family lived on their homestead in the upper valley. In 1890 Wm. Ladd, a banker of Portland, purchased the toll road owned by H.C. Coe, D.R. Cooper and Oscar Stranahan.
     Cloud Cap Inn was built that year within a half mile of Eliot Glacier. A line of stages was put on between Hood River town and the Inn and Mrs. Langille was employed as hostess to look after the welfare of guests. For sixteen years she acted in that capacity and the history of Cloud Cap Inn is the history of Mrs. Langille and her sons during the summer days. Mr. Langille, busy with his work had little time to spend at the Inn. The nearest habitation of any description was three miles distant. The Inn was log structure anchored with steel cables to the earth for the winter storms often swept with great velocity around the mountain. A large fireplace in the living room made it a cheerful and restful spot. West of the living room was a dining room with windows giving a magnificent view of the Mountain. Several small log cabins near by were used in times of emergency. The elevation of the Inn was about 6000 ft., and its temperature was a delightful change from the stifling heat found on the lower levels in mid-summer. The Inn was opened as soon as weather conditions made access to the mountain possible, usually in June and closed in September.
     To Mr. and Mrs. Langille and her sons, Mt. Hood and the surrounding country became an intensely interesting study. The geological formation, the trees and flowers and birds were like books from which they daily absorbed information.
     Mrs. Langille says: "The mountains were sources of unending interest to us, we knew them so well that I never worried about my boys becoming lost. They knew their way through the dense forest and never failed to relocate anything of interest in the mountains. A college professor visiting at the Inn one day remarked that he had noticed a great number of Douglas firs not far away. "No, you are mistaken," Douglas told him. "I know of only three Douglas firs around here." There was some discussion and finally my son took him to the grove and convinced the scientist they were of the white fir variety, known as Amabalis.
     "My son Bert," continued Mrs. Langille, was especially interested in plants and, flowers. He made a complete collection of them for his herbarium which contained the pressed flowers, together with their common and botanical name. He has since given the herbarium to Professor Colville of the Smithsonian Institute.
     "The boys used to place markers to show the movement of Eliot Glacier. During one year we noticed a variation of four feet in its position. Each year showed some difference in its action. We found that the movement of the glacier depended very much on the snowfall. One year the black ice would recede toward the mountain and perhaps the next year it extended further down.
     "I remember one summer when we heard a terrible rumbling, which was caused by an immense slide near Mazama rock. Tons of ice, snow and debris dropped to a depth of at least 3000 feet. The river then became muddy and there was quite a rise in the middle fork of Hood River. Most of the people who visited the Inn while we were there, were from Portland or Hood River, or were eastern college professors.
     Some of them came to carry on scientific research work and some to climb the mountain front the north side, which is a shorter ascent than that on the south side. Many did not come prepared for mountain climbing and we had to outfit then with the discarded clothing and equipment of previous parties. Some were unfortunate enough to lose their footing and finish their descent without sufficient protection and the result was highly detrimental to their clothing and their dignity as well as their comfort."
     At such times Mrs. Langille did the necessary patching to make them presentable. In 1892 the Langille boys began experimenting with mirrors for heliographing purposes on Mt. Hood; it was not until 1895 that they had any satisfactory results. At that time Mrs. Sam Mears with a party of ten flashed messages from Cooper's Spur. Later in the summer T. Brook White and Col. L Hawkins, Portland men cooperated with the Langilles for heliograph experimenting.
     White and Bert Langille flashed code messages to Hawkins in Portland. On one occasion Will Langille and M.C. George were stationed on Mt. Adams while Douglas and Bert Langille and P. Brook White were on the summit of Mt. Hood and responded to messages flashed from the summit of Mt. Adams.
     Among the people who frequently visited the Inn were Prof. Merriam, a noted biologist; Prof. Sweetzer and wife of Oregon University, who studied lichens; Prof. Bailey, a biologist of the Smithsonian Institute, and his wife, Mary Florence Bailey, who is the author of the biological works, "Birds of the Northwest".
     While the Langille boys spent their summers studying Nature at first hand, their winters were spent in first class schools. Will and Douglas were graduates from the Yale Forestry school. For several years Will served as fiscal agent in the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska. Both Douglas and Bert were in the World War. Douglas was a major overseas and Bert was in the navy. Douglas is in the timber business in Portland and Bert is head of the mechanical department of the University of California at Berkley.
     James Langille, the father was the first to pass away. In her later years Mrs. Langille spent much time in Portland but was a frequent visitor in Hood River where she had many friends who always made her welcome. While visiting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. D.E. Rand, in Hood River, on May 16, 1924, she was taken suddenly ill and died Monday morning at the age of 80 years.

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