The McLoughlin House is the restored home of John McLoughlin, the dominant figure in early Oregon settlement and sometimes called the "Father of Oregon." McLoughlin was chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver for two decades, controlling the fur trade across a vast territory. He repeatedly helped destitute American emigrants with food and supplies — acts of generosity that eventually got him dismissed by the company and led him to retire to Oregon City in 1845 and take American citizenship.
The house has been preserved as a National Historic Site and contains period furnishings and exhibits on McLoughlin's life and the complicated politics of the Oregon Question, the dispute between Britain and the United States over sovereignty of the Pacific Northwest. The building itself is handsome — a proper two-storey New England-style frame house that looks slightly out of place in its 19th-century surroundings but has been carefully maintained. Tours are offered on a regular schedule; check ahead for times.