Our Story
A Real Home With an Extraordinary Film History
Long before welcoming overnight guests from around the world, this 1930s home on a quiet hillside in St. Helens, Oregon, became part of cinematic history when it was selected as a filming location for the 2008 film Twilight.
The home’s exterior and interior were used as the Swan family residence during filming, leaving behind a connection to the movie that continues to bring visitors to St. Helens decades later.
Today, the Swan House remains first and foremost a real historic home. Since becoming its caretakers, our goal has been to preserve the character of the house while thoughtfully restoring familiar details and décor associated with its appearance on screen.
What began as a private residence and unexpected piece of film history has grown into a place where guests from around the world can stay, make memories, and experience the story of this remarkable home for themselves.
Preserving the Magic
When we first began preparing the house to welcome overnight guests, we wanted fans who visited to feel an immediate connection to the home they remembered from the screen.
We were incredibly fortunate to learn that after filming, the previous owners were given the option to keep the interior colors chosen by the production—and they did. With that piece of the home’s film history still intact, my hunt began for décor and furnishings that were either screen-accurate or as close to their on-screen counterparts as possible.
As fellow Twilight fans followed along with the project, something wonderful began to happen. People started reaching out to ask how they could help and how they could become part of the house’s story. Over time, fans from around the world contributed many of the pieces of décor now found throughout the home. Those contributions have made the preservation of this special place feel like a true community effort.
We officially opened the house for overnight stays in February 2019. Since then, one of the greatest and most unexpected parts of this experience has been the people we’ve met along the way. We’ve welcomed guests from around the world and formed friendships within the fandom that we now consider some of our closest.
During our first two years of owning the Swan House, we found ourselves making the trip to St. Helens again and again—and somewhere along the way, we fell in love with Columbia County, too. In October 2020, we packed up our belongings and made the move. Today, we live just 20 minutes from the house.
To everyone who has followed this journey from the beginning, contributed to the house, stayed with us, or simply cheered us on from afar: thank you. And to those who are just discovering the Swan House, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here, and we look forward to sharing this remarkable piece of cinematic history with you.