Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, or Helmick Park, lies south of Monmouth on the Luckiamute River floodplain in a wooded landscape of bigleaf maple, Douglas-fir, and black cottonwood. Named for Oregon pioneer Sarah Helmick, who arrived in 1845 and later settled nearby with her husband, the park connects early settlement with the rise of automobile travel through her donation of the original campground parcel. On February 15, 1922, her gift of 5.16 acres, joined by 0.3 acres from James and Amanda Helmick, became the first land the State Highway Commission acquired for park use, establishing Oregon’s first state park. It was expanded in 1948 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.