Collection

Oregon School for the Deaf photographs

• 1870-1989 (Creation)

Collection consists of photographs related to the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem, Oregon. The photographs date from about 1870 to 1989. Included in the collection are photographs showing the outside of the school buildings and campus grounds; the inside of classrooms, dorms, dining areas, and other spaces; the farmland which belonged to the school and was worked by students; and exhibits in the Oregon School for the Deaf Heritage Museum. Other images include sports team photographs, especially of boys and girls basketball teams from 1907 to 1947; students participating in activities such as club meetings, playing in the snow, going to dances, and swimming; school and class photos of students and staff; students in their classes, including general education, printing, sewing, cooking, woodworking, and home economics. The collection also includes portraits of individuals who were important to the school, including Mark Hamstreet, William S. Smith, and Edward and Hilda Tillinghast, as well as a photograph of attendees at the first biennial meeting of the Oregon Association of the Deaf. Most of these photographs are copies from originals held by the Oregon School for the Deaf Heritage Museum. Many photographs are mounted on photo mats and almost all include explanatory notes provided by Mark Hamstreet, the first historian and curator of the Oregon School for the Deaf Heritage Museum.

https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv730880

Gift of Mark Hamstreet, Oregon School for the Deaf Heritage Museum, May 1989 (Lib. Acc. 19341).

The Oregon School for the Deaf (OSD) is a state-funded boarding school in Oregon specializing in the education of deaf and hard of hearing children and young adults ages 5-21. William S. Smith, a deaf teacher, founded OSD in Salem, Oregon in 1870. The school’s original name was the Oregon Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, which was changed to the Oregon School for Deaf-Mutes in 1880. It was the first school for deaf children in Oregon, and also educated children from Washington until that state’s school for the deaf was opened in 1886. OSD operated in rented buildings until 1879, when it acquired its first property on the corner of Church and Mission Streets. It moved to a more permanent location on Turner Road in 1895. The school moved to its current location on Locust Street in 1910. In 1913, the name was again changed to the Oregon State School for the Deaf and finally changed to its current name, Oregon School for the Deaf, in 1989. The terms “deaf and dumb” and “deaf-mute,” used in the school’s earlier names, are outdated and generally considered derogatory.

Historically, education at OSD included reading and writing in English, as well as speaking and lip reading for students who were able. Early vocational training included woodworking, leatherworking, farming, sewing, and cooking. Later vocational training included typing, nursing, and shoe repair. Until 1970, the students farmed part of the land, providing food to the school. Beginning in the early 1900s, students also began participating in extracurricular activities such as Basketball, Boy Scouts, Knitting, and other clubs. Currently, OSD has a bilingual educational model using both American Sign Language and written English to teach students from kindergarten through an Adult Transition Program. The school is also home to the Oregon School for the Deaf Heritage Museum. Mark Hamstreet founded the museum and served as its first curator while he was still a student at the school. The museum includes displays of objects documenting the history of the school and also houses an archive of photographs, periodicals, and documents from the school.

Online collection contains a selection of items from the full collection. The remainder of the collection can be viewed on-site at the OHS Research Library.

• Citation: Oregon School for the Deaf photographs, Org. Lot 618, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Hearle, Linda. The 140th Anniversary of Oregon School for the Deaf. Printing and Binding Warehouse, 2010. “Oregon School for the Deaf : About OSD : State of Oregon.” Accessed July 20, 2022. https://www.oregon.gov/osd/about-us/Pages/default.aspx. National Association of the Deaf, Community and Culture Frequently Asked Questions, https://www.nad.org/resources/american-sign-language/community-and-culture-frequently-asked-questions/

• Oregon School for the Deaf
• Deaf children--Education