Maffet's Falls Villa

Just a few months after Henderson's Falls Chalet burned...

"... By June, 1915, Maffett had rebuilt a 'summer resort' named Falls Villa on the north side of the highway, which, the Gresham Outlook (June 15, 1915) reported, 'Is now serving refreshments to tourists.' In the '40s, it was purchased by Benjamin and Alice Bennett, who operated it under the name, 'Latourell Falls Villa,' until its closure in the late '50s. In 1959, the State of Oregon razed the structure and added the land to Talbot State Park. At one time, a service station was located where the parking lot is now situated. Later a gift shop replaced the service station."

"Maffett's Falls Villa opened in June, 1915, only five months after fire destroyed the Chalet. Maffet remodeled and made extensive additions to the Villa in 1923. In the late '20s, Harold Maffett and George Joseph took a 'giant,' a gravity-fed water cannon, to blast away the hillside across the highway to give Villa patrons a better view of Latourell Falls. A subsequent owner added a gift shop on the south side of the highway. Another commercial development included a garage and service station built near the west entry to the town of Latourell."

"After the State of Oregon purchased the Latourell Falls Villa in 1959, it razed the landmark and added the land to Talbot State park. Today the former vibrant community of Latourell is quiet, there are no business establishments and few residents compared to its earlier years."

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