Provisional Government Park Cottonwood – Heritage Tree

This black cottonwood is prominent in photographs taken in 1900 and 1901 to document where the vote for a Provisional Government in Oregon took place. Francis X. Matthieu, the last living participant of the 1843 vote, is shown setting the location of this site in 1900 and unveiling the monument here in the ceremony of 1901. The area around the monument is believed to be the first land purchased by the State for a public park and was originally called Provisional Government Park.

Located in the Riverside day use area of Champoeg State Heritage Area