Oregon Experience

In 1923, a Missouri lumber company built a town in northeastern Oregon named Maxville. Hundreds of loggers left Arkansas and Mississippi to live and work there. Many brought their families, and many were African Americans. While the town has long since disappeared, the Maxville story is still unfolding. The Logger’s Daughter follows Gwen Trice, an African-American woman who was born and raised in Eastern Oregon, as she sets out to explore her family’s past.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a popular New Deal program that put young men to work on public lands. The "CCC boys" fought fires, planted trees and improved the landscape. Many of our current parks and forests are their legacy. Through interviews and rare footage, this program tells the story of the CCC in Oregon.

In the late 1800s, thousands of Chinese miners came to Eastern Oregon in search of gold. Among them were two men - Ing “Doc” Hay and Lung On - who opened a store and herbal apothecary called Kam Wah Chung. Though originally catering to their fellow Chinese, over time these two men attended to the medical needs of many, becoming highly regarded members of the community.

From Razor clam souffle’ to her famous currant teacakes — Mary Beard loved to cook, and always with the freshest seasonal ingredients. Her son James embraced his mother’s passion for food. And even as the proclaimed “dean of American cookery” later moved away and traveled the world, James Beard would forever champion Oregon as a food-lover’s paradise.

The Lewis & Clark Expedition was a pivotal moment in American history. But the story of York, a slave to William Clark and comrade on this journey, has been obscured by omission and stereotype. Searching for York paints a portrait of this unofficial member of the Corps of Discovery as it discusses the ways in which history is written.

The beauty and magic of the Columbia River Gorge has attracted photographers for more than 150 years. The River They Saw chronicles the history of the Gorge with rarely seen images crafted by Carleton Watkins, Sarah Ladd, Benjamin Gifford, Al Monner and many others. These early photographers left a stunning visual legacy through images still considered among the greatest landscape photos ever made.

In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state in the Union. Road to Statehood celebrates Oregon’s 150th birthday by exploring the lives of Native peoples already living here, the mountain men and fur trappers who came for adventure and wealth, and the pioneers who brought their hopes and prejudices with them over the Oregon Trail.