History Tidbits: Bowman Hicks Remains

The Bowman Hicks Logging company arrived in Wallowa County in the 1920’s bringing with them equipment and laborers to log vast areas of Wallowa County.  This operation was centered at Maxville which became a bustling little town north of Wallowa and one of the few communities in Oregon to have both a White European and an African American population.

The site of Maxville today is pristine as most things have been removed and people have combed the grounds for artifacts for many years. However, even today, left behind items are located in many areas of the timber lands which were logged by the company. Hunters, berry and mushroom pickers and hikers find locomotive lights, pieces of railway track, and wheels.

Recently, several have ventured on Powakka Ridge to view the last known set of railroad wheels still visible. Pictures of the wheel set can be viewed at the Wallowa History Center in the Bowman Hicks file. We are told there is a collapsed caboose in the East Grossman area. Logging history lives again in these found items.

Written By Marilyn Hulse, January 2024