Advocates for Willamette Falls Heritage

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Advocates for Willamette Falls Heritage

Preserving and sharing the stories of human enterprise and the power of the water at the great Falls of the Willamette River.

The Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization established to raise funds for historic preservation, education, and other heritage-related programs and advocacy in an area reaching from the mouth of the Clackamas River to the mouth of the Tualatin River. We have been celebrating industrial history in the falls area since 2002. We may be reached at PO Box 635, West

Linn, OR, 97068. The foundation is also focused on raising public awareness of West Linn oral history and the under-interpreted historic transportation and industrial resources near Willamette Falls. Board members remain committed to increasing public involvement in preservation and building visionary, constructive partnerships with all Oregon heritage partners, for the good of the preservation community and the enrichment of Oregonians' quality of life.

04/18/2026

Falls Friday... there's not much left of Blue Heron.
The sulfite plant portion of Mill C is the last remaining building on the east side of old Main Street. But as of today it's almost gone...

04/08/2026

And the demise of Mill C's digesters continues...

04/05/2026

More Mill C demo...
This is the first time those digesters have been totally exposed to daylight in since they were installed in 1908.

03/20/2026

Falls Friday!
The Advocates recently attended the "Reimagine the River" seminar hosted by the Willamette Falls Trust. The event was held in The Redd on Salmon, an Eco Trust building that was a former ironworks built in 1918.
This was a very appropriate venue choice as it is exactly the type of adaptive reuse the Advocates are encouraging for some of the buildings on Moore's Island.
Recognizing Indigenous People’s heritage at the Willamette Falls is of the highest priority, as is the goal of restoring habitats and providing close-up public access. But celebrating industrial heritage is also important. These goals can coexist with a wondrous blending of nature, culture, and history. (photo by Aurelia Rohrbacker)

03/13/2026

Falls Friday!
Some have commented that they want the Falls returned to its pre-industrial, natural condition. That's not going to happen as long as PGE's T.W. Sullivan hydroelectric power plant and dam continues to operate. And hopefully it will!
Built in 1895, the 16,000 kw plant produces enough clean electricity to power 11,000 homes and is one of the most fish-friendly hydro plants in the country.

03/06/2026

Falls Friday...
The demolition of Blue Heron's Mill C continues as the Transite panels are slowly removed, exposing its long-hidden interior.

02/27/2026

Falls Friday- with a post from another site on Tugboat Tuesday!

While Willamette Falls Locks saw lots of steam-powered boats back in the day, this big sternwheeler was designed for work in the lower Willamette as a ship assist tug.

Built in 1947, the Steamer PORTLAND is the nation's last steam-powered sternwheeler tug boat. This image from August 19, 1978 captures what no other diesel-powered tugs could do at the time: go from full ahead to full astern almost instantly. That ability plus the leverage of her 219-foot length were crucial in assisting ships through Portland's bridges and the Willamette's fast moving currents.

Now home to the Oregon Maritime Museum the Steamer remains operational as a living tribute of our local maritime heritage.

02/20/2026

Falls Friday!
As mentioned last week, the demolition of Blue Heron's old Mill C building is beginning. Here's a look inside this historic structure that was originally built as a grain elevator and then converted into a sulfite pulping operation in 1909. Most of these images were taken several years ago prior to the invasion of the graffiti vandals...

02/13/2026

Falls Friday...
It appears that the demolition of Blue Heron's Mill C has begun. As contractors remove the Transite siding the building's interior and its five digesters will soon be exposed.
Next week we'll take a photo tour through this historic structure.

01/31/2026

Falls Friday!
The demolition of the former Blue Heron mill continued today with another building's demise. This structure was built in 1928 as Mill B but is referred to on the photo below as #4 Finishing Room. This makes sense as it was adjacent to the #4 Paper Machine Building. It later became the De-Ink Building when it was used to prepare recycled paper for pulping.

01/02/2026

Falls Friday...
Happy New Year from your friends at the Advocates!
Looking back to December 1986 finds both mills steaming away with some action on the river as well.
An oil barge is spotted at the Smurfit mill in Oregon City by the tug WILLAMETTE CHIEF, while Western Transportation's tug WESTERN METEOR pulls a paper barge from one of the cells at the James River mill on the West Linn side.

12/19/2025

Falls Friday: Running a Little High!
A lot of folks were checking out the Falls today from the viewpoint. The lower gauge at Oregon City is predicted to crest around midnight at 26 feet. Flood stage begins at 27 feet.
However, the Clackamas River at Gladstone (2nd video) crested just above flood stage at 46.5 feet and is flat out cooking through High Rocks.

Address

P. O. Box 635
West Linn, OR
97068

Telephone

(503) 650-9570

Website

http://www.willamettefalls.org/

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