In the mountains of Northeastern Oregon lie what remains of an abandoned timber town. Once the most populous community in Wallowa County, Maxville now comprises a single log cabin atop 96 acres of empty land. Its past—nearly lost to history—echoes through the efforts of Gwen Trice, the founder and executive director of Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in Joseph, Oregon.
In the past decade, Gwen has transformed Maxville into more than just a historical site. She has created a space where the past comes alive, and the spirit of community thrives.
Revealing an Untold Story
Gwen’s journey to preserve Maxville’s history began in 2003 when she discovered her heritage in connection with the township.
“I found out my father and grandfather were in the group of the first African Americans that came out by boxcar from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1923,” Gwen says.
This discovery shocked Gwen, who knew her father, Lafayette “Lucky” Trice, as a respected businessman in La Grande, Oregon. After the revelation, Gwen uprooted her life in Seattle to return to Eastern Oregon—where she was raised—to reconnect with her past.
“I realized having grown up in this space where Black history wasn’t told … we weren’t a part of the narrative,” Gwen says. “I ended up moving to Wallowa County, where this history resides, and just really took up the gauntlet, more for myself. I really wanted to find out about my history.”
Gwen took to Maxville’s neighboring towns in search of stories. She began collecting and preserving the personal accounts of elders. Her project became the Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary, “The Logger’s Daughter,” which explores the history of Maxville through interviews and collected artifacts.
The documentary’s first Oregon viewing was at the senior center in Wallowa. There was an overwhelming turnout, surpassing the room’s capacity. Upon seeing the elders weeping in the front row, Gwen realized how important it was to tell the story of Maxville in its entirety.
“I knew that it was bigger than me coming back, writing on screenplays and doing my family history,” Gwen says. “It was a history of a community. I had no idea how much bigger it would get.”
100 Years of Maxville
Not many Oregonians have heard of Maxville. The town of about 400 people was founded in 1923 by the Bowman-Hicks Lumber Co., which recruited loggers from the South to work in the timber industry. Unlike most lumber towns, Black and white loggers worked side by side.
The segregated township was one of the only places in Oregon where Black families lived due to Oregon’s exclusionary laws at the time. Despite the laws and segregation practices, the town was known for breaking down the barriers of race. Gwen says community members relied on each other and coexisted peacefully.
“(Maxville) is a place where my family came because they got to make more money and had the hope of possibly coming out of a space that we were being hung from trees in the South,” she says.
For a decade, Maxville prospered as a major logging town. But in 1933, it fell victim to the Great Depression, and the land was quickly vacated. Many families moved to nearby Wallowa or La Grande. The history of the once-bustling community faded from memory during the next few decades.
One hundred years later, Maxville is reentering the Oregon landscape thanks to Gwen’s efforts and advocacy. With the help of Hancock Timber, Eastern Oregon University and Clatsop Community College, Gwen is restoring the authentic cabin that remains on the townsite. She hopes to establish the site as a visitors center and permanent exhibition of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center.
Interpreting the History of Maxville
With her materials collected and the groundwork started, Gwen began to create the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in 2008. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to cultivate an educational and healing environment.
“To tell this inclusive story—the good, the bad, the ugly—in a truthful and transparent way is extremely healing and helpful,” Gwen says. “And it’s difficult. Some days are better than others.”
Gwen says the center is a healing place for not just for Black people but also allies.
“We’re creating a trauma and healing program right now,” she says. “Trauma and healing in the environment and making the connection to a lot of us that have been marginalized in one way or another.”
The program is in the early stages of development. As Gwen expands the center, she hopes visitors see it as a sacred and bright place for everyone.
“We all have different needs,” Gwen says. “But I hope that it provides a bridge to whatever healing they may be looking for.”
Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center is at 103 N. Main St. in Joseph, Oregon.