The Old Costelloe Homestead

Between bits and pieces, memories, land titles and some hear say, we have tried to put together a history of the old Costelloe Homestead. 

The original property was owned by Elon Catlin and Andrew Jackson Dow.  The original deed, signed by President Grover Cleveland in 1893 is now in the Chetco Museum.

The house use to set on the west end of the apple orchard.  It was moved to its present location, which is now at the east end of the orchard, at the head of a small canyon and nearer to its water source, Elk Creek.  At that time it was the end of the county road.  Now the road is paved and extends to the Wheeler Creek Bridge and Campgrounds.  The house was moved in the late 1890s with the help of Peter Costelloe and several others.  The kitchen and extra room was built on then.  The kitchen burned several years later and was rebuilt before Joe Costelloe was born in 1912.  Some time in the late 1930's the outside of the house was covered with cedar shingles and a large front porch was partially enclosed after 1960.

Edmond and Alice raised five children in this house, though only two Carl and Joe were born there.  After Edmonds' death in 1912, Alice married David Gilmore and her youngest son, Jack Gilmore was born and raised there.

Across the road from the house was a small oak grove, two small cabins and a large barn.  The cabins were eventually destroyed, one about 1917.  The other one had a lot of wind damage and was torn down along with most of the oaks which were cut down  late in 1939.  The Original barn was torn down the summer of 1989.  It was replaced with a metal barn.  Some of the uprights in the old barn were carved with the initials of all the Costelloe boys.

Further west in the pasture (if you follow the power line you will find it) is the gravestone of Edmond Costelloe near an ancient pear tree, at the foot of Edmonds grave is a plaque in remembrance of his son, Joseph and Joe's wife Eleanor Costelloe.

Alice Dow Costelloe Gilmore sold the ranch about 1937, but continued to live there until 1939,  she then moved to Brooking for a time.  Joe was married in 1936 and lived in a tent with is wife on the place for a time.

During the time that Edmond and Alice had the ranch, they did a lot of buying and selling of land.  We figure if they had kept all they bought they would have had about 1800 acres.  Some of the names mentioned on the legal papers of sales and purchases were Lucus, Snodgrass, Dow, Catlin, Gilmore and the U. S. Government.

In recent years the house was owned by a family with the name of Grover.