Become a Friend of Maxville Heritage

Through firsthand stories and original poetry and music, the Oregon Stories Listen & Learn Program presents and celebrates the historical contributions of African Americans, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants to Oregon’s early logging communities and culture. Grade level-specific course curriculum and teacher’s guides offer regional and historical context to support student understanding and reflection.

Timber Culture is a traveling exhibit and exploration into cultural heritage in the Pacific Northwest. The exhibit depicts the lives of loggers and their families drawn together from different cultures during the great migration, presenting an inclusive look at Oregon's multicultural logging communities.

The Maxville Gathering – now in its 10th year – celebrates the rich and diverse cultural history of logging in Wallowa County and similar isolated communities across the Pacific Northwest.

At the Maxville Townsite, the remnants of metal pipes, foundations, and ceramic plumbing are still visible. Just one structure remains—a large log building that once housed the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Company.

The Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center is working with Hancock Timber, Eastern Oregon University and Clatsop Community College on a plan to preserve the remaining original structures on the Maxville townsite.

The Maxville Heritage Youth-to-Elder Program trains local students to conduct video-recorded oral-history interviews to be preserved at the Maxville Visitor Center in Joseph.

Educational partnerships include participation in tours at the Maxville site, learning about MHIC archives care from visiting curator at the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, K-12 after-school programs, and presentations in local schools.

On to Higher Ground is a fictional musical play about Maxville, based on firsthand historical accounts, transcripts, and research. The play explores the historical logging culture of the 1920's and 1930's in Wallowa County where African American and Caucasian cultures were impacted by the development of the segregated lumber camp.