Augustus "Gus" Papen is one of the many members of the Papen family, the namesake of Papen County. Gus worked with the Papen County Historical Society, and was interested in renovating the Papen County Lighthouse, overseen by the McQuoddy family. After her husband vanished at sea, Gus started a relationship with Nora McQuoddy that ended in her untimely death. Gus changed his plans for the lighthouse renovation to become a hotel and honor it as a symbol of his and Nora's love, and convinced Nora's son Elliot to go along with the idea.