Elk/Greenwood

Cuffey's Cove

This photo, taken in the 1890's, shows Cuffey's Cove and looks to the south. This site is just south of the present day cemetery near the spot where so many present day photos are taken of this view. Cuffey's Cove was surveyed out with approximately a dozen streets with names like Front Street, Howard Street, West Street, Sacramento Street, Mendocino Street, and many others representing local family names. Front and West Streets comprised the present day Highway One as it makes the turn near the cemeteries. A hotel faces Front Street. Behind it is the Buchanan Home and Livery Stable. In the distance you can see Greenwood, a sizable town at the time. The flat unoccupied coastal outcropping between Elk and Cuffey's Cove is the Matson property, currently for sale.

Lumber operations in full swing at Cuffey's Cove. James Kenny had seen the possibilities of shipping timber from the cove on his land. First a short chute and lighters were used. Later a larger chute was built that schooners could moor under loading the lumber directly onto the ship.

Charlie Li Foo, for whom the gulch is named just to the north of the state park in Greenwood, worked as a woodsman. Alone in the woods, a tree fell on him pinning his leg to the ground. After waiting and giving up hope of rescue, he took out his knife and "took care of business". After crawling into town, he recovered and changed occupations to the town barber. St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church was built in 1880 at a cost of $3000 to replace an older, unsafe church. The new church with a 22 foot ceiling was situated in the present day cemetery high on a bluff over the sea. It was considered the most beautiful of the Catholic churches on the coast. It served the community until 1910 when Cuffey's Cove was largely deserted for Elk.

This is the entrance to the Cuffey's Cove Catholic Cemetary as it is today. Once the site of the Star of the Sea Church, it remains a beautiful place.

Few cemetaries are as scenic as this one. Visible in the distance is the Elk Coast stretching down to Bridgeport and Manchester.

This Page Has Been Referenced Times Since July. 25, 1999.


Charlie Li Foo, for whom the gulch is named just to the north of the state park in Greenwood, worked as a woodsman. Alone in the woods, a tree fell on him pinning his leg to the ground. After waiting and giving up hope of rescue, he took out his knife and "took care of business". After crawling into town, he recovered and changed occupations to the town barber.	St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church was built in 1880 at a cost of $3000 to replace an older, unsafe church. The new church with a 22 foot ceiling was situated in the present day cemetery high on a bluff over the sea. It was considered the most beautiful of the Catholic churches on the coast. It served the community until 1910 when Cuffey's Cove was largely deserted for Elk.