On Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2, Willamette Falls Legacy Project staff and volunteers welcomed more than two hundred members of the public on tours of the former Blue Heron paper mill site. Participants who were quick enough to claim a ticket, meandered through the site starting at the typically locked gate on historic Main Street. Tour groups had the opportunity to pause at the woolen mill foundation built in 1865, then headed on to the future public yard atop the pipe chase, offering panoramic views up and down the Willamette River. Just before stepping onto the PGE dam, people stopped to admire the Horton Sphere (a cement-lined metal vessel that at one time contained sulfuric acid used in the paper-making process). The groups then headed across the PGE dam to the main attraction: a breathtaking close-up of Willamette Falls.
As in the past, these very popular tours filled up quickly. To hear about future tours, be sure you’re on our email list. You can sign up here.
