Friends of Historic Champoeg
Interpreting the cultural & natural history of  Champoeg State Heritage Area

Click Here for our newest volunteer program - the Costumed Interpreter Program

F ROM ARCHEOLOGY  TO BLUEBIRDS!  Learn more about Champoeg's natural and cultural history. Read online or print your own copy of 12 monographs, click on picture for the title list . . .

 

 

Champoeg State Heritage Area

   Midway between Portland and Salem, Champoeg is almost like stepping into rural 19th-century America. A walk will take you along the Willamette River, through forest, farmland and prairie, and past the site of an important pioneer town that was swept away in the great Willamette Flood of 1861.

   You can camp overnight, picnic, play disc golf, ride your bicycle on a four-mile paved trail, watch the bluebirds, listen to the hawks and owls, stargaze, and much more. Stop at the Visitor Center to learn about what's going on today and what happened here in the past.

     

The Visitor Center and Museum Store The Visitor Center should be your first stop for information and making plans. Besides exhibits, videos, and a store, you can find out about current special events. FHC operates the Museum Store, which includes: Over 300 books on Northwest history, nature and travel Period and Native American music CDs Historic games Snacks and pop Annual parking passes good for all Oregon State Parks Old-time toys and stuffed animals Disc Golf Supplies Heritage Seeds All proceeds benefit the interpretive and educational programs offered at Champoeg and Butteville. The Visitor Center is open year-round, 7 days a week. Call 503-678-1251 x221 for park information. Visitor Center Winter Hours of Operation 11:00 am - 4:00 pm  M-F 10:00 am - 4:30 pm Weekends Park hours are 7:00 am - 5:00 pm in winter, 7:00 am - 9:00 pm in summer.   CAMP CHAMPOEG March 22nd - 26th, 2010 Registration Form

 
                                   Our Award-Winning School Program

Champoeg Promise is our curriculum-based, experiential school program for students in grades one through eight.  The four programs that comprise Champoeg Promise are interactive, hands-on, and based on Oregon social science content standards. This program is a recipient of a Leadership in History award from the American Association for State and Local History.  These awards are the nation's most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

Our Programs for Adults

Champoeg’s vibrant landscape and colorful past come to life through innovative programs for adults of all ages. Champoeg Legacy features four interactive programs encouraging us to understand our past and preserve our heritage.

 

Living History Events  

Our volunteers demonstrate pioneer skills and chores on summer Saturdays, with different skills each week. You and the kids get to try them out! Pioneer Farmstead Day, on August 30, brings all the skills together on one fun afternoon. A barn dance (in a real 1862 barn) and the Apple Harvest Festival come later in September.
Check the current schedule for details.

Join Friends of Historic Champoeg (FHC)

for fun with a mission!  We're an active, growing non-profit organization that helps the park do exciting and interesting things. We organize living history events, create and administer education programs, produce park guides, fund interpretive signs, tend the pioneer kitchen garden, and demonstrate skills from woodworking to blacksmithing. And you can be a part of it!  Join us as a member and/or volunteer to have fun and help share the story of Oregon's heritage.