7 min
Overview
In the early 1840s, before the masses arrived via the Oregon Trail, early valley settlers met at Champoeg, the first town in the Willamette Valley, to discuss settlement of the estate of the valley's wealthiest resident, Ewing Young, as well as wolf predation of livestock and other matters. In time, these early meetings assumed a larger scope. In 1843, an eclectic group of 102 white male settlers gathered on the banks of the Willamette River to vote on a provisional government. Government was established by a 52-50 vote, the deciders cast by a pair of French-Canadian trappers. The very next year, the government moved to Oregon City, but Champoeg remained a regular steamboat/stagecoach stop. A massive flood in 1861 destroyed most of the town's buildings, forcing abandonment, and another flood in 1892 erased Champoeg's significance as a transportation link. Today, apart from the Newell House up on the bluff, very little remains of those early days, but a series of markers guides walkers around the Champoeg State Heritage Area and provides a delightful glimpse into early European settlement of the valley. Before beginning the loop, take a tour of the small Visitor Center, which is well-worth your time. Here you can also pick up a map of the state park. A paved trail heads along behind the Visitor Center and past a gate leading to the grounds of the Manson Homestead. The 1862 barn has been restored; there’s also an apple orchard and a kitchen garden. Take the switchback downhill and cross Mission Creek on a footbridge. Then cross the park road and go left on a paved bicycle trail. The trail is fenced on both sides as you pass across an open field. Cross a channel of Mission Creek and pass through a line a cottonwoods and cherries. Then amble through a lush grassy area shaded by locust and maple trees. Reach a road and pass a house. Continue to the end of the parking loop and pick up a paved trail heading along an avenue of sequoias. At a trail junction, go right up to the Champoeg Pioneer Memorial Building and M
Trail Stats
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36 m
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