Lumber History Exhibit Comes to Town at Deschutes Historical Museum

Interested in the history of small town lumber in Oregon?

The Deschutes Historical Museum is opening an exhibit you might like.

The Maxville Lumber Culture Exhibit, which opens April 28, takes a closer look at the history of the lumber community in the town of Maxville, Oregon (350 miles northeast of Bend).

A postponed project from 2020, the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center’s traveling exhibit explores multicultural forest communities, as well as individuals and their families.

The exhibit examines issues of racial and social justice through the lens of the segregation that has occurred in these communities.

This will coincide with the production of “From Maxville to Vanport” at the Tower Theater on April 27.

The multimedia concert features singer Marilyn Keller with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble and highlights the stories of African Americans in two unique Oregon cities.

Audience members will enjoy a performance of jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel-inspired music by Ezra Weiss, text by S. Renee Mitchell, films by Kalimah Abioto, and historical consultation by Gwendolyn Trice.

“In 2020, we partnered with The Tower to bring the history of Maxville to Bend by combining both a traditional history exhibit, but also through songs and videos at the Tower with the Portland’s unique performance Jazz Composer’s Ensemble,” said Deschutes Historical Museum executive director Kelly Cannon-Miller. “He was our first victim of the pandemic.

“The traveling exhibit had a busy schedule, and the museum community worked with Gwen Trice in Maxville to rearrange all of our schedules.

“Luckily we were able to hold the exhibit here in time for the rescheduled show at the Tower.”

Ticket holders for the show at the tower can show their ticket information to purchase one, gain free admission to view the exhibit at the Deschutes Historical Museum.

The exhibition will be on view until June 10.

For more information, call the museum at 541.389.1813 or email info@deschuteshistory.org.

Tickets for From Maxville to Vanport are available on the tower’s website www.towertheatre.org.

For more information on the traveling exhibit, visit the Maxville Heritage Interpretation Center website at https://www.maxvilleheritage.org/programs/timber-culture.