History

Most visitors to Champoeg State Heritage Area know Butteville only as the little oasis at the end of the bike path.  In fact, Butteville was once a thriving river port with several stores, schools, churches, warehouses, a livery service, vinegar factory, and other commercial services. As you travel the bike path to Butteville, picture what it would have been like to go by sternwheeler.   

In the picture above, the Historic Butteville store is on the far right: “Josie Ryan General Merchandise.” The adjoining saloon, featuring Weinhard’s Beer, is where the store’s deck now stands. The next building down, an Oddfellows Hall, was on what is now the store’s lawn.  The church-like building, which is across the east-west street, was actually a Masonic Temple. 

The end of the street dips down ot the Willamette River and the steamboat landing.  Althouigh this area is now grown with trees, it is still public access, and you may go take a look.  This path was once crowded with people, farm animals, and wagons bearing produce and merchandise.

The only remaining structure on the left side of the photo is the small building - a saloon - with a few men standing in front of it.  This is now a resident’s garage.  At the very left edge of the photo is the corner of a porch.  This was Butteville’s hotel, which advertised the naturally occurring stream behind.  The stream is still here, but it runs invisibly through a culvert.

Butteville’s early residents were mostly French-speaking Canadians.  Butteville competed with Champoeg for river commerce until the disastrous flood of 1861, which damaged Butteville that filled the need for French Prairie trade and services.  But near the turn of the 20th century, Butteville’s fortunes plummeted as river commerce was replaced with the more-efficient railway, which passed Butteville by.

Some structures from old Butteville are still standing.  These include the General Store - the oldest operating store in Oregon - the small garage across the street which was formerly a tavern, and the W.R. Scheurer house, a large, gray, Victorian place on the left as you go down to the old sternwheeler landing.  Scheurer, one of Butteville’s most prominent residents, controlled river shipping from this area, and owned two warehouses that once sat on either side of his house.  The  Butteville General Store was first operated by J.J. Ryan in the 1860s.  (Josie Ryan, named in the photo below, was his son.)  Several photo from the early days of Butteville can be seen in the store’s Heritage Room.  If you want to learn more about the history of Butteville, visit the Butteville General Store.