Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
Our mission is to gather, preserve, and share the rich history of African American, Indigenous, and immigrant loggers in the Pacific Northwest. We utilize inclusive stories of multicultural logging communities to better connect the experiences of immigrants and migrants to a larger American narrative.” Founded in 2008, the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center (MHIC) tells the forgotten histories of African American loggers in the Pacific Northwest. We are dedicated to educating the public about the history and significance of Maxville founded in 1923 as a railroad logging town and similar towns in the Pacific Northwest. Our goal is to share Oregon’s multiethnic logging history and to provide access to educational materials of these important histories to our region. We offer programs to our local community, host events celebrating logging history, staff a visitor center, collaborate on artistic projects, and present a traveling exhibit. MHIC museum is in Joseph, Oregon, an arts and cultural hub of eastern Oregon located in the beautiful Wallowa Mountains. Wallowa County covers 3,152 square miles in remote NE Oregon, with 7,008 residents. The local economy, ranching and timber, is bolstered by heritage and arts tourism, which includes MHIC. Since April 2013, MHIC has been based in Joseph, one of the first Arts and Culture Districts in Oregon at the foothills of the Wallowa Mountains and Moraine, one of the "Seven Wonders of Oregon.” Joseph is a national and international tourist destination, and MHIC is in the heart of Downtown Joseph. At this location, MHIC welcomes visitors, volunteers, and donations to learn about the Maxville story through exhibitions and programs. We serve our local and regional community, including school-aged children in Eastern and South Eastern Oregon, Maxville descendants, and people of color in our community who do not see their histories represented in the existing education, interpretive centers, and museums in our region.
