Our great-grandfather, Homer Rogers, moved to the upper Hood River Valley in 1910. When he and our great-grandmother, Elizabeth Smith, discovered that the fertile volcanic soils around Mount Hood produced some of the best-tasting apples he’s ever tasted, he planted a small orchard where fruit trees still remain today. Lured by the beautiful streams, meadows and craggy slopes of the north side of Mount Hood, Homer and Elizabeth decided to build an inn (this was more than 20 years before the iconic Timberline Lodge was built near Government Camp).
Mt. Hood Lodge was a welcoming outpost for visitors who wanted to experience the recreational opportunities and scenic beauty of Mount Hood. Homer did some guiding on Mount Hood as well, and would summit 34 times in his lifetime. He also briefly owned Cloud Cap Inn (which he purchased from William Ladd for $5,000.)
"It was a grand life—of course you don’t make any money doing a crazy thing like that—no regrets when I think of these wonderful years—or when I watch my three daughters on horseback, all three superb horsewomen," he wrote in a letter in 1959.
Homer's sense of adventure and respect for the land has been handed down through generations. Today, Homer's great-grandson, Adam McCarthy manages McCarthy Family Farm on the same plot of land where the Mt. Hood Lodge once stood. The view of Mount Hood never gets old.