The park’s monument entry in Oregon’s historic inventory
provided by Merrilee Johnson
Aerial view of the park. It is the wooded area in the center between farm fields. The road across the highway leads down to the Matheny Ferry (Wheatland Ferry).
Maud Williamson State Recreation Site is a family historic site, not just because it is partially on the Adam Matheny Donation Land Claim, but also because our Reunions have been held there since the mid 1940s.
Excerpt from “The Reunion” by Elma Hewitt, President Emeritus
“Jasper Hewitt (a dentist in Portland) was the first president I remember and he was it for a long time. The next president that I remember was Roy Hewitt, a son of James Andrew and Mary Jane (Rose) Hewitt. In his tenure the reunion had to find a different site. From 1939 to 1941, they tried the city park in Dayton and later Champoeg State Park but neither of them were suitable. When Maud Williamson State Park opened, the reunion moved there and has been meeting there ever since. It is on the Adam Matheny donation land claim so it is part of the family roots.”
Reunions were not held for a couple years during World War II.
The park also has its own history, not related to our family, although the Williamsons were presumably neighbors to the various members of our family who lived in the area.
Description of the park