Julie Weber of Astoria is pictured with the portrait of her grandmother, Julia Hoare, who was proprietor of the Shelburne Hotel in Seaview, Washington, 1911 to her death in 1939. She has donated the painting to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum.

A painting of a woman who was prominent in Seaview’s business community in the last century has “come home.”

The granddaughter of Julia Hoare has presented the portrait to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco in southwest Washington.

Curator Betsy Millard is especially pleased because she plans to hang it in a permanent collection gallery that features predominantly men.

The painting was presented by Julie Weber of Astoria. She is Hoare’s granddaughter, and named for her, although her relative died in 1939 three years before she was born.

Julia Hoare’s significance was as proprietor of the Shelburne Hotel in Seaview northwest of Astoria, across the Columbia River.

The Victorian inn at 4415 Pacific Ave. dates to 1896 and was named after the Shelbourne Hotel, built in Dublin, Ireland, in 1824. It inevitably figures largely in any discussion of historic buildings on the Long Beach Peninsula.

William Hoare bought the Shelburne from the original owner, Charles Beaver, in 1906 and installed managers to run it. His son, Timothy, and his wife, Julia, had met when running a Portland restaurant which they later owned. Timothy’s poor health led them to move to the Peninsula. Julie Weber said the added attraction was the prospect of running the hotel, which they operated from 1911 to Julia’s death in 1939.

“Grandma was managing it and taking care of the property and doing the cooking, but then they later hired staff,” Weber said. She added that Timothy was described as “an immaculate dresser who laughed easily” — he died in 1921.

Weber said their two children, a daughter also named Julia and her father, Curtis, who died in 1970, were parents to key members of the Coastal community.

Julia married Jack Williams and that led to a line of Williams descendants who made their mark. Weber recalled that their children were Tim, who worked in insurance, Jack, a retired admiral, and Jane, who was adopted. In turn, son Tim’s family included Tom, another Tim and Marilyn. Tom Williams was Ilwaco’s long-serving fire chief.

On the other side were Weber, Cannon Beach community leader Robin Risley, and others in Portland and Salem.

Weber said she hopes gifting the painting to the museum in Ilwaco is an appropriate as a way of acknowledging the contributions of Julia Hoare’s descendants.

“You look at all the things that have collected over the years and you don’t know what has value and what does not,” she said. “So I thought, where do I want it to go? How perfect It would be to go to a museum on the Peninsula and honor the Williams family.”

While the exact date on the painting is not known, museum staff were delighted that Weber’s gift came with a file folder of detailed family history. It is believed to date to the late 1920s, and is the work of a known artist.

“Someone looked at the painting and said, ’This is a Joe Knowles,’ You can almost read his signature. He was well known for signing in red,” Weber said.

Millard’s broad smile signaled her appreciation. “We were so pleased when she approached us about the painting,” she said. “It had been on exhibit here 20 years ago in a show, on loan, but she thought it would be good for it to come back here.”

If You Go

Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, 115 S.E. Lake St., Ilwaco,

Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission free.

‘You look at all the things that have collected over the years and you don’t know what has value and what does not. So I thought, where do I want it to go? How perfect It would be to go to a museum on the Peninsula and honor the Williams family.’

Julie Weber, Hoare’s granddaughter