In 1916, two competing logging companies opened mills within a month of each other on opposite banks of the Deschutes River: Shevlin-Hixon in March and Brooks-Scanlon in April. That same year, Deschutes County incorporated, electing local officials such as county judge, commissioners, district attorney, sheriff, treasurer, county clerk, and school superintendents, with the city of Bend (established in 1905) as the county seat. By 1920, the small dot on the map once known as Farewell Bend Ranch had become a logging town with a population of over 5,000 and growing.

Reportedly, the new mills were producing up to 750,000 board feet of lumber per day, an economic boom that transformed this small ranching region practically overnight. But how did two lumber companies, both from Michigan, amass so much land? Fifty-seven years earlier, in 1859, Oregon was admitted to the Union after colonizers had taken advantage of the 1841 Preemption Act, which invited squatters to purchase 160 acres of Indigenous lands for just $1.25 per acre. In 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act, hoping more northerners would populate and make the western lands more productive for the benefit of eastern industrial markets.

The Indigenous Nations who already lived here, including the Wasco, Warm Springs, and Northern Paiute Nations, had little say in the matter. When select members of nearly a dozen bands marked their names with an X on the Treaty of 1855, they did so under the encouragement of Oregon Territory’s Superintendent Joel Palmer, whose instructions were to clear the lands of Indigenous inhabitants and make room for American settlers. The Treaty of 1855 ceded nearly 10 million acres of Indigenous lands in Central Oregon while maintaining 578,000 acres of what is now the Warm Springs Reservation, as well as harvesting, fishing, and hunting rights in the usual and accustomed places.

As Western Indigenous Nations were being removed, killed, and relocated, businessmen in the East were licking their chops. The call to buy cheap land in the West was heard by many, including Minneapolis businessman Thomas H. Shevlin. Born in New York in 1852, Thomas cut his teeth in the lumber industry at age 15 and eventually founded Shevlin-Carpenter Company in 1892.

In 1906, he sent his 23-year-old son Thomas “Tom” L. Shevlin to Oregon to assess the quality of timber stands on land he had purchased from the US government. A recent Yale graduate and famed four-time All-American selection, Tom Shevlin lived like the wealthy son of an East Coast timber baron, fancying race cars and elite social events.

When he returned home with glowing reviews of the wealth of Oregon’s forests, his father partnered with old-time acquaintance and Wisconsin banker Frank Hixon to finance what became Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company. In 1912, after the unexpected death of his father, 29-year-old Tom suddenly found himself in charge of 13 lumber companies and two Minneapolis banks, according to Bend Park and Recreation’s park history page.

Soon, the Shevlin timber holdings included 200,000 acres of previously unmolested timber stands, which they cut swiftly and indiscriminately. The wealth of Central Oregon’s ancient ponderosa stands was deemed to provide a 30-year supply at peak cutting rates. According to the Oregon Historical Society, the combined landholdings of the Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon lumber companies comprised billions of board feet. This sudden timber boom and the investment from Midwest companies skyrocketed Bend’s population while devastating nearby forests.

Tom, meanwhile, ever the sportsman, occasionally returned to Yale to coach his old alma mater, leaving his Oregon responsibilities of overseeing the mill’s construction and planning in the hands of trusted employees. On one such sojourn, he was coaching at Yale and contracted pneumonia on the sidelines. He died a month later in December 1915 at age 32. News hit Central Oregon hard, but the Shevlin-Hixon company still had a skilled and compassionate manager, Tom McCann, and co-owner Frank Hixon to keep things running.

Around this same time, residents of Bend were looking to relocate their fish hatchery because the mills’ log ponds on the Deschutes were impairing the existing hatchery’s efficacy. Citizens suggested Tumalo Creek as a better location, and in 1919, the Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company donated 13.5 acres along the creek. Shortly after, the Oregon State Game Commission constructed what is now Aspen Hall and a dedicated fishing pond. Today, Aspen Hall serves as a beautiful and affordable events venue owned and operated by Bend Park and Recreation District (BPRD).

As citizens began to enjoy the hatchery grounds and beautiful nearby Tumalo Creek, they advocated for more protected parklands to be available to the public. Luckily for all of us, Shevlin-Hixon manager Tom McCann also believed in protecting lands for enjoyment and recreation, having seen what unchecked logging did to the forests in the Midwest.

But the city could not afford to buy land so rich in timber, and even Deschutes National Forest supervisor N. G. Jackson was trying to figure out ways to protect what’s now Shevlin Park. He suggested a land swap — today’s Shevlin Park for an equal amount of national forest ready to be cut. But then Frank Hixon, president of Shevlin-Hixon, decided that in honor of his late business partner, Tom Shevlin, the land would be donated. He even negotiated with nearby landowners to consolidate the checkerboard ownership and secure a single, comprehensive parcel that became a 350-acre park.

The deed transferring these lands to the City of Bend, dated 1921, stipulates that this park should forever be known as Shevlin Park, that its lands be used for lawful public recreation and enjoyment, and that Shevlin-Hixon and its appointees maintain the right to build a railroad through the park, which did come to fruition in 1941.

Despite preserving this section of forest, Shevlin-Hixon and Brooks-Scanlon lumber companies rapidly stripped the rest of Central Oregon’s forests throughout the early twentieth century. With constant rotating shifts, they kept the mills running practically 24 hours a day and produced nearly 500 million board feet per year at peak production. As timber stands were cut farther from the mills and the Deschutes River that once carried them, various other companies made fortunes building logging railroads that spiderwebbed throughout the region.

By 1950, Shevlin-Hixon had cut all they were able to cut of the timber stands they owned, and finally, they shuttered their mill, selling what was left to Brooks-Scanlon. Brooks-Scanlon continued cutting well into the 1990s, having been absorbed by larger logging companies like Diamond International and then Crown Pacific Ltd. With production unable to justify the costs of running a mill, the Brooks-Scanlon mill closed in 1994.

After nearly 100 years of indiscriminate clear-cutting without the forethought to replant or consider sustainable harvesting practices, the mills along the Deschutes closed for good. What remains of the Shevlin-Hixon legacy is Shevlin Park — a rare jewel of untouched forests where you can still find 300-year-old ponderosas reaching up to 200 feet tall just on the northwestern outskirts of town.

After Shevlin-Hixon sold to their competitor Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company, the park remained under the ownership and care of the City of Bend and then BPRD. Untouched forests are hard to find in Central Oregon, exactly because of benefactors like the Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company. But a group of citizens advocating for the preservation of public lands made this section of the river canyon untouchable.

Today, Shevlin Park includes nearly 1,000 acres owned and operated by Bend Park and Recreation District, with miles of trails meandering north and south along the river canyon. Vigorous aspen groves have become favored backdrops for photographers taking nature shots and family portraits, especially in the fall. Typically in October, generous stands of western larch trees shine like golden beacons as these uniquely deciduous conifers shed their bright yellow needles in preparation for winter.

Shevlin Park is always alive with wildlife, anglers, trail runners, hikers, mountain bikers, and families and children exploring, and yet it rarely feels crowded. The undulating terrain, winding river canyon, and thick stands of untouched ponderosa pines make this a true gem of Central Oregon.

With so many trails and offshoots to explore, so many hidden nooks to sit quietly by the river, and plenty of picnic tables and resting spots along the way, this park offers a perfect respite for everyone. While some trails climb steeply up the canyon walls and many footbridges crossing Tumalo Creek have wooden or rocky steps leading up and down, the main canyon corridor offers a paved road (closed regularly to cars) and a wide, well-graded trail that is more accessible to those with varying mobility levels.

Two parking lots bookend NW Shevlin Park Road on the north and south sides. Both are free and open unless an event is in progress at Aspen Hall. The Shevlin Fishing Pond near Aspen Hall has a wheelchair accessible boardwalk overlooking the shallow, trout-filled pond and is open only to anglers 17 years or younger and those with a disability.

Before you visit Shevlin Park, please check the Bend Park and Recreation District website for details on trails, maps, picnic areas, dog leash laws, fishing rules, and helpful sustainability practices. For more information about Shevlin Park’s history, visit the Deschutes County Historical Museum, located at 129 NW Idaho Avenue in downtown Bend.