Tualatin's oldest home and the arts camp it inspired.
The John Sweek House, built in 1858, is Tualatin's only National Register-listed property, and it gave birth to Willowbrook Arts Camp, now a beloved summer program at Brown's Ferry Park on the Tualatin River, minutes from 22379 SW 107th Ave.
A short drive from 22379 SW 107th Ave, two of Tualatin's most interesting stories sit side by side: the pioneer home that predates the city itself, and the summer arts camp that grew out of it. Together they are a reminder that this suburb on the Tualatin River has deep roots, and that those roots still shape how the community raises its kids and tells its history.
For homebuyers weighing where to put down roots, a town that preserves a 1858 landmark and runs a decorated outdoor arts camp in a riverside park is a town that invests in place. Here is the story of both, and why they matter to anyone getting to know Tualatin.
The landmark
The house that helped start a town.
The John Sweek House at 18815 SW Boones Ferry Road was built in 1858 by Oregon Trail pioneers John and Maria Sweek. It is a two-story, five-bedroom Classical Revival home and one of the oldest surviving buildings in Tualatin. John Sweek donated the land for Tualatin's original townsite, so the city's very layout traces back to this property.
In 1974 the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it remains Tualatin's only property on the register. The house is a private residence and rarely open to the public, which made a moment this summer special: the Tualatin Historical Society hosted its first public Sweek House tour in more than 20 years on July 12, 2026. For more of the town's story, the Tualatin Heritage Center nearby carries the wider history of the community.
The legacy
From the living room to the river.
The Sweek House arts era
The camp's first home
Althea Pratt-Broome bought the Sweek House in 1955 from Harry Harding, John and Maria Sweek's grandson, and made it her home. From the late 1970s through the 1980s she ran summer arts programming there under the Center for Development of Human Potential, turning the historic property into a creative gathering place.
Willowbrook Arts Camp
Founded 1982, now at Brown's Ferry Park
In 1982 Pratt-Broome founded what became Willowbrook Arts Camp as Adventures in the Arts, opening with about 20 children and 10 volunteer staff. By 1992 the program outgrew the house and the City of Tualatin Parks and Recreation offered it a home at Brown's Ferry Park, where it has run ever since.
Today Willowbrook is a nonprofit, award-winning outdoor summer arts camp offering drama, music, nature study, and arts and crafts for kids, and it runs each summer in the park's Group Use Area, with a 2026 season spanning June 29 through August 7. The camp also received the City of Tualatin's Community Arts Enhancement Commendation for a second time in 2026. Families and prospective buyers can learn more at willowbrookartscamp.org.
The setting
Brown's Ferry Park, named for a river crossing.
The camp's home is itself part of Tualatin's story. Brown's Ferry Park is a 28-acre natural-area park on the Tualatin River, named for Zenas J. Brown, who claimed the land in 1850 and started the area's first ferry. The same stretch of river is covered in our riverfront park guide and is a favorite spot for the paddling and outdoor recreation that makes living along the greenway so appealing.
Together the Sweek House, Willowbrook Arts Camp, and Brown's Ferry Park capture what people mean when they say Tualatin has character: a town old enough to honor its founders, young enough to fill its parks with kids' art, and green enough to keep the river at the center of it all.
Make Your Move
A neighborhood with roots and room to grow.
History, parks, and community traditions all sit within minutes of 22379 SW 107th Ave. Paul Knighton of MORE Realty can show you the home and help you picture your family in a town with this much character.
Schedule a Tour