The papers consist of four groups of materials acquired by the Oregon Historical Society at various times. The first group, designated Mss 114, consists of correspondence (1848-1869) concerning the conduct of Indian affairs in Oregon, enlistment of a state militia, and efforts to establish a Union League Council. Correspondents include Benjamin Alvord, Jesse Applegate, Benjamin Bonneville, Samuel Culver, Addison C. Gibbs, and Joseph Lane. Also included is a diary (1857) kept by Palmer while on a voyage from Oregon City to Washington, D.C. via Panama; typescript copies of diaries (1854, 1856, 1860-1861) recording his travels throughout the Pacific Northwest; hand written copy of an agreement (1854) between the United States, represented by superintendent of Indian Affairs, Joel Palmer, and the Calipooia Indian tribe; and articles of incorporation (1862) of the Columbia River Railroad Company.

The second group of materials, designated Mss 114-1, consists of letters sent to Sarah Ann Palmer from various relatives, and receipts and other ephemera of Joel Palmer. Among these are hand written copies of poems dated 1783, possibly from one of Palmer's ancestors.

The third group within the collection, designated Mss 114-2, contains mostly biographical information about Palmer, along with letters written by his descendants and letters relating to the dedication of a statue of Palmer in 1971.

A fourth group of papers, designated Mss 114-3, consists of general correspondence, primarily political and military in nature, legal papers, and a survey of an unidentified Indian reservation.

The final group of materials, designated Mss 114-4, includes a manuscript poem, Bristol, England, 1784; letters from Palmer to General Joseph Lane and others; manuscript copy of report to the U.S. Secretary of War or the Commissioner of Indian Affairs from General Joseph Lane, ca. 1849; a letter from W. B. Bonney to Joel Palmer, 1850 Jan. 17; letter to Joel Palmer from Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Bonneville, 1855 Mar. 27; printed copy of the treaty between the United States and the Rogue River Indians, 1855; manuscript extracts from "Articles of treatry made at Port Orford," 1857 Sept. 20; hand drawn map of the Columbia River and its tributaries, undated; and a pamphlet titled "History of the Grand Ronde Military Block House," 1911.

Collection consists of photographs collected by the Tabor family. Most of the photographs are believed to have been taken or acquired by J. W. Tabor and Margaret Tabor during a trip to Portland, Oregon in 1895. Subjects include various views of Portland, including City Park (now Washington Park) gardens and bear pit, Mount Tabor reservoir, the Portland Heights cable car line, the Willamette River waterfront, and the Morrison Bridge; Celilo Falls; photographs of James Waucop Tabor, Margaret S. McNulty Tabor and her cousin, Alice Bachman Bettner; and a coroner's investigation of a body found in a mining camp near Granite, Oregon. None of the photographers are identified.

News footage from the KATU Television station in Portland, Oregon.

This oral history interview with Monroe Sweetland was conducted by an unidentified woman on March 11, 2000. In this interview, Sweetland discusses moving to Milwaukie, Oregon, around 1949. He discusses his purchase of the Milwaukie Review newspaper, the houses he and his young family lived in, and life in the Island Station neighborhood. He talks about his children, their early education, their families, and their careers. He talks about his neighbors, including Milwaukie Mayor Joy Burges, as well as the changes in the neighborhood. He also speaks at length about growing lilacs and camellias. He talks about the livability of the Island Station neighborhood. Sweetland and the interviewer discuss the upcoming Milwaukie High School reunion. He goes on to talk about his wife, Lil Megrath, her involvement in progressive politics, and her government career. He also briefly discusses his family background. Sweetland then returns to discussing his children. He speaks at length about urban wildlife, particularly nutria, Canadian geese, and foxes, as well as Kellogg Creek in Milwaukie, particularly regarding its fish and clam populations.

Sketchbook, 1 vol., August 1898-August 1899, filled with charcoal sketches of houses and scenery on the Oregon Coast including: Garibaldi, Tillamook and Seaside.

Advertising broadside for the Mount Tabor Villa subdivision of Portland, Oregon, sold by the Hart-Royal Company, including a colored plat map. Mount Tabor Villa is today part of the Montavilla neighborhood.

The collection consists of 17 black-and-white photographs of attendees and performers at the Vortex I music festival. The photographs depict crowds arriving at the festival, performers on stage, audience members dancing, and attendees sunbathing in the park.

The Vortex I music festival, also known as Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life, was a rock festival held at Milo McIver State Park near Estacada, Oregon. Members of Governor Tom McCall’s staff in collaboration with members of the Portland counterculture community planned the state-sponsored festival. Vortex I officially ran from August 28 to September 3, 1970 to coincide with the American Legion annual convention held in Portland the same week.

This oral history interview with Nancy E. Stevens was conducted by Dale Archibald, Susan Horton, and Robert Keeler at Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview, Oregon, on January 29, 1981. Susan Horton was also recording video at the time of the interview.

In this interview, Stevens directs a driving tour of Blue Lake Park. She uses a 1930 U.S. Geographic Survey map to point out the former locations of buildings, piers, and Native sites. She talks about her childhood on the land when it was owned by her family, including fishing in the lake and people who lived in the area. They all also discuss Multnomah County's plans for the park.

This oral history interview with Mary M. Whittier was conducted by Elizabeth Patapoff in 1971. In this interview, Whittier discusses the family of Lucinda Caples and Dr. Charles Caples, of Columbia City, Oregon, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This oral history interview with Margaret L. Furrow was conducted by Bill Koen at Furrow's home near Odell, Oregon, from August 22 to September 26, 1985. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on August 22, 1985, Furrow discusses her family background, particularly regarding her grandfather, Peter Mohr, who owned the first commercial orchard in Hood River, Oregon. She describes daily life on the family orchard and dairy farm in Hood River. She talks about working as a fruit packer for Nakamura Orchards.

In the second interview session, conducted on September 26, 1985, Furrow shares her observations of the treatment of the Japanese community in Hood River during World War II, and describes racial discrimination in Hood River. She revisits the topic of daily life on her family's orchard and dairy farm in Hood River, and talks about the gendered division of labor. She describes her work picking and packing fruit for Nakamura Orchards. She talks about the ranch she ran with her husband, William Henry Furrow, and discusses selling their fruit through Diamond Fruit Growers Inc. She discusses the future of small farms in Oregon. She closes the interview by talking about her involvement in the Hood River County Historical Society.

This collection consists of early census and tax records from the Oregon provisional and territorial governments and early Oregon statehood. The materials in this collection were gathered from early, mostly pre-1958, Oregon Historical Society Research Library accessions of census and tax related records. The early census and tax records document demographic and economic data for what are now portions of Oregon and California. Original census records include Elijah White's 1842 census; a census (1849) of males over the age of 21; Jackson County census rolls (ca. 1854-1855, 1858); a Washington County census (1856); a Washington County tax roll (1852); and an agricultural census for Clackamas County (1870). Typescript and photostat reproductions of census records include Joseph Meek's Census of Oregon (1845); Charles Wells’ Benton County census (1854); the United States Census roll for Coos County (1860); and a partial typescript of the 1880 United States Census for Wasco County. The collection also includes reports of the 1850 census for Butte and Calaveras counties in California.

This oral history interview with Norma Paulus was conducted by Clark Hansen at Paulus's home in Salem, Oregon, in Lincoln City, Oregon, and in Portland, Oregon; and at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, from February 10, 1999, to November 2, 2000, and from February 10 to 27, 2010. In the interview, Paulus discusses her family background and early life in Burns, Oregon, including life during World War II and contracting polio at the age of 19. She also discusses working as a secretary for the Harney County district attorney, Leland Beckham; moving to Salem to work for a law firm; working for Judge Earl Latourette; and going to law school. Paulus describes meeting Bill Paulus while attending law school; his family background; and their marriage. Paulus discusses her involvement with the Republican Party; working as an appellate lawyer for the Oregon Supreme Court; working on Wally Carson's campaign for the Oregon Legislature in 1965; and getting her first political appointment, to the Marion County Boundary Commission, where she focused on land-use and city planning issues. She focuses on managing a career in law and politics while raising two young children and building a house.

She then discusses her time in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1970 to 1976, including environmental issues such as the Bottle Bill of 1971 and recycling; education; the criminal code; taxes; attempts to make Cape Kiwanda a state park; and the Rajneeshees. Paulus goes into detail about the women's caucus and the bills they focused on for women's rights, as well as efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. She describes working with Bob Smith, Paul Hanneman, Betty Roberts, Stafford Hansell, Jack Anunsen, Wally Priestly, Dick Eymann, Lynn Newbry, Glenn Jackson, Jason Boe, and Gretchen Kafoury. She also talks about being co-chair for Clay Myers' 1974 race for Oregon governor.

Paulus goes on to speak about her time as Oregon's first woman secretary of state from 1977 to 1985, including her first campaign in 1976 against Blaine Whipple; her efforts to increase voter turnout; and conducting audits, particularly of the Forestry Department. She also discusses the secretary of state's role as state archivist and the conflict between the Oregon State Archives and the Oregon Historical Society over which records belong with which institution. She also discusses working with Governor Vic Atiyeh. Paulus discusses running for governor against Neil Goldschmidt in 1986 and the challenges her campaign faced. She discusses her position on the Northwest Power Planning Council from 1987 to 1990, including working with Ted Hallock and Bob Duncan. She also discusses her position as Oregon superintendent of public instruction from 1990 to 1999, including her efforts to fund K-12 education. Paulus also relates a story about sharing an airplane with Moshe Dayan.

This collection contains black-and-white photoprints of images taken by Gary Scott on the occasion of Oregon Governor Tom McCall's visit with the students of Parkrose High School and Fremont Jr. High School, in Portland, on April 22, 1970. This marked the first celebration of Earth Day in Oregon. Those in attendance included personnel from both Parkrose High School and Fremont Junior High School.

Digital Collection consists of retouched high resolution scans created by Gary Scott from original prints.

Collection assembled by the Oregon Historical Society regarding elections in Oregon. Included are Poll Books for Sauvie Island (1859), Astoria Precinct (1857), Elkton Precinct (1856), Santiam Precinct (1860), and Butte Creek (1872); contributors to the 1873 election fund; certified documents of electors, president and vice-president, U.S. (1876, 1880, 1888); and newspaper clippings and list of contributors to the 1888 election. Additional materials include oversize ballots and tally sheets (in 2 flat boxes), and 1860-1862 election materials (1 reel of microfilm).

The collection covers various aspects of the history of the church and of its leader, Rev. O.B. Williams, and his wife Willa Jackson Williams. It includes a variety of photographs, with a large percentage of the images relating to the various church groups, including choirs, youth groups, and ushers. A large collection of members’ memorial cards, the pastoral anniversaries of Rev. Williams, some bibles and hymnals (many annotated by Rev. Williams, including two dated 1867 and 1890), church financial records and meeting minutes, and a collection of materials from Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1961 visit are included. A small collection of the Williams’ personal photographs and ephemera can also be found in collection.

This oral history interview with Clayton P. Strain was conducted by Larry C. Skoog on September 30, 1970, for the Oregon Historical Society.

In this interview, Strain discusses the political career of his father, Charles Preston Strain, on the Pendleton City Council, including a conflict with the Union Pacific Railroad. He shares his memories of life in Pendleton, Oregon, in the first decades of the 20th century. He describes the town, talks about ranches and farms in the area, and discusses the origins of the Pendleton Round-Up. He speaks at length about the Round-Up's early years. He closes the interview by further discussing his father's political career.

The collection contains satirical and comedic short films and early film experiments by Portland, Oregon, filmmaker Tim Smith. The collection includes 9 complete films (three on one reel) and one reel of assorted home movies, experiments and outtakes. The collection includes the following titles: "The Orange"; "Irritation and Frustration"; "Come and Get it"; "The Salmon Street Saga"; "This is Portland"; "Drugs: Killers or Dillers"; "The Case of the Kitchen Killer"; "Infernal Voyage"; "Hyperactivity: The Facts." All films are 16mm. The collection also includes various picture and audio production elements for some films, including A and B rolls, magnetic soundtracks, answer prints, negatives, and assorted lab and printing paperwork.

The Yasui Brothers records primarily document the business, personal, and community-related activities of the Yasui family in Hood River, Oregon, from the start of the 20th century until World War II, when they were among the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated by the U.S. government.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence and records relating to the business activities of Masuo Yasui (1886-1957). These include the general store, Yasui Bros., that he ran with his brother Renichi Fujimoto; and orchards in the Hood River Valley and surrounding areas that the firm operated. Store records include a variety of advertising materials, while farming records include packing lists, crop reports, and records of local farming associations Masuo Yasui was involved with. The collection also reflects Yasui’s involvement in the local community, including his work assisting other Japanese immigrants to the United States. A small quantity of materials relates to the Yasui Bros. store’s forced closure and the management of the family’s property and assets while they were incarcerated during World War II.

The collection also includes personal papers of Masuo Yasui; his wife, Shidzuyo Yasui; his brother Renichi Fujimoto; and his children. These consist of correspondence, ephemera, and a personal history that Masuo Yasui wrote at the request of the Japanese consulate. Other materials in the collection include records from the 1970s and 1980s of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), in which Masuo Yasui’s son Homer Yasui and his wife, Miyuki Yasui, were active, and magazines and newspapers the family received in both Japanese and English.

A substantial amount of this collection is in a pre-World War II Japanese script that is distinct from modern Japanese. Some of these materials, particularly those in Series 1 (Business correspondence and related materials) and Series 6 (Personal papers) have been reviewed and summarized by translators. Selected documents have been translated into English and modern Japanese.

The collection contains 64 glass negatives, 44 sheet film negatives, and 39 photographic prints taken by or attributed to the Bettman family between approximately 1880 and 1920. Thirty-five of the prints have corresponding negatives in the collection. Negative numbers are noted on the back of prints when known. The collection includes individual and family portraits, views of the interior and displays of the Bettman drugstore, photographs depicting medical equipment and practice, including a neck brace and Adalbert G. Bettman’s sanitary measuring sugar bowl, and scenes throughout Oregon, including Portland, Eugene, and Corvallis. This collection may be of interest to individuals researching the history of medicine, pharmacy, and plastic surgery in Oregon.

Lantern slides depicting activities of the Spruce Production Division in Oregon and Washington State during World War I.

Writer, pioneer, editor, and champion of women's suffrage, Abigail Scott Duniway was born in Groveland, Illinois, in 1834. One of her brothers, Harvey Scott, would become the editor of the Oregonian. The Scott family traveled overland to Oregon in 1852, a trip on which Abigail's mother and youngest brother died. The family came first to Oregon City, then settled in Lafayette. Abigail taught school at Eola, and in 1853 she married Benjamin C. Duniway, with whom she had four children. After her husband was incapacitated in an 1862 accident, Duniway supported her family through teaching and a millinery business in Albany, Oregon. After moving to Portland in 1871 she published and edited The new northwest and became Oregon's leading advocate of women's suffrage. She moved to Idaho in 1887 and helped to achieve women's voting rights there in 1896. After returning to Oregon she was instrumental in the passage of Oregon's own women's suffrage bill in 1912. Her writings include the autobiography Path Breaking (1914) and the novel Captain Gray's Company.

The collection, which represents only a small portion of Duniway's papers, includes: the records of the Oregon State Equal Suffrage Association, including minute book, membership and account books, constitutions, a small amount of correspondence, and a copy of a letter from Susan B. Anthony regarding the woman's suffrage movement; and records of the Duniway Publishing Company, consisting of cash, mailing and advertising ledgers (1880-1886) of the publication The new northwest. Also included in the collection is a copy of a typed transcript of Duniway's journal kept during her family's overland trek from Illinois (1852 April 2) to Oregon City, Oregon (1852 September 28), on which her mother and younger brother died. The transcript contains an introduction by Leslie M. Scott. A subscription list from the Oregon State Secular Union from 1891 can also be found in the collection.

Negatives documenting company activities, including electrical infrastructure, employees, power generation and distribution throughout Portland, the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Cascade Range. Additional general images include streetcars and trains, street lighting, power line installation, Rose Festival floats, office buildings, car barns and bridges. Of particular note are dam building projects at Bull Run and along the Clackamas River (1910-1930), and early electric stations in Oregon City at Willamette Falls.

A single pencil sketch of Camp Watson, Oregon dated to 1865. The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry maintained Camp Watson from 1864 to 1869 during the conflict with members of the Bannock, Shoshoni, and Paiute peoples known as the Snake War.

The collection contains home movies filmed by members of the Tsuboi Family circa 1925-1960. The films depict Japanese American family scenes and feature locations around Oregon, Washington, California, and British Columbia, including the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, downtown Portland, Pendleton Round-Up, the Oregon Coast, Seattle, Yosemite National Park, and Los Angeles. Also included in the collection is footage taken in Northeast China, Japan, and on voyages across the Pacific Ocean.

This collection consists of photographs of the Yasutome family, a Japanese-American family from Portland, Oregon, taken from 1945 to 1948. Most of the photographs were taken by Jerry Jiro Yasutome; a smaller number were created by other members of the Yasutome family and by unidentified students at the Northwest School of Photography in Portland, where Jerry Yasutome studied from approximately 1946 to 1948. Photographs taken by Jerry Yasutome and other family members document their experiences during incarceration at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California from 1945 to 1946. These images include portraits of the Yasutome family, including Jerry Yasutome’s son, James Mamoru Yasutome, and his parents, Sadao Kurata Yasutome and Ju Jiro Yasutome; group portraits of electrical workers and a Buddhist Sunday School; and photos of a fire at the Tule Lake high school. The remainder of the photographs in the collection represent the work of students at the Northwest School of Photography. They include photographs of the processing lab and students in classes, as well as portraits taken by the students. Also included are photographs taken by Yasutome and other students depicting the aftermath of the Vanport Flood in May 1948.

This oral history interview with Lynne E. Scott was conducted by an unidentified woman in May 1978. In this interview, Scott shares her memories of life in Brownsville, Oregon, from 1900 to 1909. She talks about her education and her recreational activities. She describes the houses her family lived in, and downtown Brownsville. She talks about her marriage to David Sterling and about their life in Cottage Grove. She also speaks about her family's journey from Nebraska to Oregon in 1898.

Collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Reverend Jason Lee. The papers date from 1834 to 1845. Included are Lee’s diary of his overland journey to Oregon and the construction of his mission with entries dating from 1834 to 1838; an 1844 report Lee made to the Methodist Missionary Board; miscellaneous papers related to the illness and death of Lee in 1845; and fragments of an undated biography of Jason Lee likely written by Harvey Kimball Hines. The collection also contains a folder of Anna Maria Pittman Lee's correspondence dated from 1834 to 1835.

Jason Lee was born on June 28, 1803, in Stanstead, Quebec. After his ordination in 1834, Lee and his nephew, Daniel Lee, journeyed overland to Oregon with the intention to establish a mission to minister to the Flathead Indians. He instead established his mission in the Willamette Valley near present-Day Salem, Oregon, in territory that was home to bands of the Kalapuyan people. Lee returned east in 1838 to justify his decision and recruit reinforcements for the Willamette mission, as well as missions at The Dalles and Clatsop plains. In 1840, The Great Reinforcement, a group of 51 men, women, and children, arrived in Oregon on the ship Lausanne in response to Lee’s promotion in the East. In 1843, Jason Lee participated in the founding of Oregon's provisional government and Willamette University. Lee was relieved of his missionary post in 1844. Lee married Anna Maria Pittman, who died in 1838, and then Lucy Lee who died in 1842. Jason Lee died on March 12, 1845.