The Annual Maxville Gathering

Now part of the Woodlands and Watersheds Festival!

Performers at the Maxville Gathering in Enterprise, Oregon. Joe Whittle and S. Renee Mitchell’s story, “Reaching Back for Truth,” explores the legacy of Maxville, a logging camp where Black and white loggers worked side by side at a time when laws e… — Performers at the Maxville Gathering in Enterprise, Oregon. Joe Whittle and S. Renee Mitchell’s story, “Reaching Back for Truth,” explores the legacy of Maxville, a logging camp where Black and white loggers worked side by side at a time when laws excluding Black people from living in Oregon were still on the books.

Since 2017, Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center has partnered with Wallowa Resources to host the Woodlands and Watersheds Festival.

The Maxville Gathering celebrates the rich and diverse cultural history of logging in Wallowa County and similar isolated communities across the Pacific Northwest to honor the connection of people to place and each other–the skill, passion and sweat required to make a living from the land.

The Maxville Gathering Origin Story

MHIC organized the first Annual Maxville Gathering in 2009. Community residents and members of heritage organizations volunteered time, resources, and materials. Local businesses offered discounts for services and gift certificates. Agencies, clubs, and community groups provided donations, in-kind support, and artwork for fundraisers. Guest speakers representing descendants, experts, and scholars offered perspectives on the history of the community.

Attendees at the Annual Maxville Gathering enjoyed learning about logging practices from the community’s early days. Volunteers used axes, saws, and horseshoes to demonstrate logging skills. Other volunteers used mule teams to demonstrate how logs were moved from forest to railcars. The gathering also featured local musicians and local foods, and the neighboring town to the north, Flora, provided a mule-drawn peoplehauler for tours of the town site.

This celebration is family-friendly and fun for all ages–with logging demonstrations, scavenger hunts, fishing, stories, lumberjack games, a silent auction, drawings and a lineup of award-winning musicians.