Champoeg State Heritage Area
One of the most significant historical sites in Oregon

See Aerial Views Here

See Historical Maps Here

        
          For the Kalapuya Indians, Champoeg was an important place to meet and gather food. French-Canadian trappers also met here, building Oregon’s first farms. A pioneer town flourished, but was destroyed by flood. Here, after months of debate and disagreement, men voted to form the first government in the Northwest. Indian treaties were negotiated, then broken. Steamboats brought goods and hauled away farm produce. Dreams succeeded and dreams failed. To a great extent, the story of Champoeg is the story of the Oregon Territory.
 

Highlights include: Important meeting place for the native Kalapuya Indians.   Rendezvous point for French-Canadian trappers in the 19th century.   Shipping point for Oregon’s first farms (c. 1829), which were nearby in French Prairie.   First American farm in the Pacific Northwest (1833).   First gristmill in the Willamette Valley (1835).

To watch a video about archeology at the Champoeg town site, visit The Archeology Channel.

Site of an important pioneer town, Champoeg, later destroyed by the flooding Willamette River (existed from the 1840s to December, 1861) Site of the vote, on May 2, 1843, to form Oregon's Provisional Government—the first government in the Pacific Northwest.   Site of the Robert Newell house, which survived the flood of 1861, and is now a museum adjacent to the park.   Site of the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin, a reproduction of a pioneer cabin built in 1931, now a museum in the park.

Today, with the help of FHC, Oregon State Parks works to preserve, restore and interpret Oregon's rich heritage.

Projects and attractions include:

• A recreated kitchen garden and apple orchard with heirloom varieties from the 1850s and ‘60s.
   

• The restored 1862 Manson barn, one of the oldest in Oregon.
  (The interior structure may date to the 1840s or before.)
   

• The Historic Butteville Store, in neighboring Butteville, from the 1850s.
   

• Recent archeological work focused on early French Prairie settlement.
   

• Restoration of historic wetlands, prairie, and other disappearing
  Willamette Valley ecosystems.
   

• Return of western bluebirds and ospreys.
   

• Reintroduction of horse farming to the park.

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The Work of
Friends of Historic Champoeg

FHC works hand-in-hand with the park to connect visitors to Champoeg’s history, nature, and landscape. We create and present programs, and provide funds, services, volunteers, and organizational help.

Living History Programs  Visitors explore the sights and sounds, smells and flavors of 19^th-century French Prairie life with the help of our volunteer costumed interpreters. Programs include:

Founders’ Day -- An annual celebration of the historical event that led to the establishment of government in Oregon—and eventually to the establishment of Champoeg Park.

Summer Living History -- Demonstrations of the skills, crafts, games, gardening, and music that made life on French Prairie possible, and even enjoyable! Special events include Pioneer Farmstead Day, Apple Harvest Time, and Old-Time Barn Dances.

Holiday Gathering -- Children of all ages spend an afternoon engaged in simple activities and pastimes that are reminiscent of a bygone era.

Education Programs -- Include programs for school groups and for adults, at Champoeg or at your site. A fabulous field trip  
opportunity that is both fun and educational.

Champoeg Promise is a series of four distinct curricula designed to engage students from first through eighth grades. We explore Champoeg’s multicultural history, government, and the ways in which history is uncovered. Since its inception in 2003, over 10,000 children have experienced Champoeg history first-hand.

Champoeg Legacy is a new program designed specifically for adult learners. It will launch in the fall of 2006, with two distinct programs. Two more programs will be added in fall of 2007.

Chautauqua Lecture Series  Each winter, in cooperation with Oregon Council for the Humanities, we sponsor outstanding lectures on history, nature, and folk life.

Oregon 150  FHC will be working with regional businesses, museums and cultural communities to plan for Oregon’s celebration of 150 years of statehood in 2009.

Interpretive Stores  We operate the Museum Store in the Champoeg Visitor Center year-round, and the Butteville Store during the summer season. Both stores stock an extensive selection of books about history, nature, and discovering Oregon, plus snacks, toys, gifts, and other mementos of your visit.

Interpretive Materials  We publish a new, eight-page park guide annually, with nearly 20,000 copies distributed to visitors each year. (Champoeg is the only Oregon State Park with its own park guide!) We also help produce new interpretive signs and other materials.

What's next?
Champoeg is a gold mine of opportunities to explore and interpret history and nature. How far we go and how much we accomplish depends on people like you—people with the interest to devote their time, energy, money, ideas, or all of these things.  Click here to find out how to join us as a member or as a volunteer!