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.

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.

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.

Consists of general correspondence, primarily political and military in nature, legal papers, and a survey of an unidentified Indian reservation.

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.

This series consists of typewritten and handwritten manuscripts of newspaper and magazine articles, books, lecture notes, circa 1910-1942. Some were submitted to publications such as Pacific Monthly, Sunset Magazine, Century and Nature Magazine. Many describe particular species of birds. Authors include William L. Finley, Irene Finley, Phoebe Finley, Kenneth Reid, and Ed Averill.

This series contains oversize materials, including maps and newspaper features and clippings.

This series consists of publications, including typescripts and newspaper clippings of articles written by William and Irene Finley and Ed Averill for the Oregon Journal and the Sunday Oregonianbetween 1935 and 1945 The articles describe bird, fish and mammal species, wildlife refuges, and trips taken by the Finleys. Some are editorial in nature, such as advocating for a new Portland zoo or calling for certain limits on hunting. The series also includes articles written for Nature, National Geographic, and other publications.

This series consists of correspondence between William Finley and individuals in agencies, associations, commissions, academic institutions, and societies such as the National Association of Audubon Societies, state and federal Departments of Fish and Game, and the State of Oregon, as well as individuals, including Theodore Roosevelt and Oregon Governor Oswald West. It also includes correspondence related to the drafting of a bill proposal for a new State Fish and Game Commission for Oregon, and Finley’s subsequent appointment as Chairman, as well as bills for wild bird protection that led to the establishment of Oregon’s first wildlife refuges and private land reserves. Also included is correspondence between William and Irene Finley, between the Finleys and Campbell Church, pertaining to the Finleys' 1926 Alaska trip. Other topics addressed in the correspondence are exchanges with journal editors concerning Finley’s articles and photographs; Finley’s inquiries about providing lectures for a planned Midwest and East Coast trip that was later cancelled due to illness; requests for his photographs and requests for lectures. Also represented is the issue of illegal sale of hats using wild bird feathers at millineries in San Francisco and Los Angeles leading to the loss of species; Finley’s concerns regarding the attempted removal of meadowlark protection in California, due to a public perception that they negatively impact agriculture; arrangement and negotiation of a traveling demonstration train for the purpose of wild bird educational exhibits (activism).

Series IV consists of radio talks and brochures, clippings and ephemera pertaining to Finley's film lectures.

This series consists of trip notes, most of which pertain to the Finleys' 1926 Alaska trip. Other notes document a 1931 Alaska trip by Arthur Pack and William Alakangas, a 1929 trip to Arizona and New Mexico, a 1927-28 trip to the eastern United States, and a 1938 trip to Oregon's Paulina Lake.

This series consists of files pertaining to various organization and issues. Organizations represented include the Isaac Walton League, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, and the Oregon State Planning Board. Issues include reclamation in the Klamath and Malheur basins, salmon and Bonnevile Dam, stream pollution, and mountain lions. Also included is a 1915 report by Stanley Jewett, "Report on Birds Seen at Netarts Bay."

This series consists of personal materials and includes academic materials and ephemera from William Finley's student days at the University of California, William and Irene Finley's 1906 wedding book, and Phoebe Finley's notebook on costume design from the 1920s.

Series VIII consists of several of Finley's motion picture films and related materials, such as film ownership notes, lecture posters, title lists and title placards. The films are silent, black and white 35mm safety film copies of earlier nitrate films and are grouped into three subseries. The first group consists of six films of the Pacific Northwest and Montana and date from 1927 to circa 1930. They document forests, Bonneville Dam, waterfowl, salmon, Crater Lake, and elk and mountain goats in Montana. The second group consists of five Alaska films documenting the Finleys' 1926 Alaska trip, various Aleutian Islands, Kenai, and Mt. McKinley. The third group consists of short film segments. They show the Finleys on board a ship, probably from one of their Alaska trips, and in Arizona and New Mexico. The latter includes footage of cactus and desert wildlife and birds. All films have been transferred and include a BetaSP or MiniDV duplication master and a VHS or DVD use copy. Most of the films have been made available online.

This series consists of photographs and a painting. The bulk of the photographs are prints used in or similar to those in Finley's American Birds, taken by Finley and/or Herman Bohlman. Other photographs depict wildlife, including bears, mountain goats, birds and wolves; fish ladders at Bonneville Dam; and the Finleys and their children and grandchildren.

Correspondence (ca. 1889-1985); legal documents (1898-1931); patents for window construction (1921-1922); a list of other contributors that assisted Horner in his research.

An unfinished typescript with hand corrections of J. H. Horner’s work, Wallowa River and Valley. The manuscript details the history of the Wallowa Valley region in northeastern Oregon from approximately 1805 through 1950. The document includes extensive details on the origins of many place names in the region. The manuscript also includes a history of the Nez Percé people and their cultural traditions which Horner wrote in collaboration with Otis Halfmoon. Topics covered in the manuscript include Chief Joseph and the events of the Nez Percé war of 1877, settlement of the Wallowa Valley region, and local participation in World War I and World War II. John Harland Horner (1870-1953) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved to Enterprise, Oregon, in 1911. He served as Wallowa County's deputy assessor from 1918 to 1924, before being elected county assessor in 1924. Horner also had a long-standing interest in the history of Wallowa County. For more than thirty years, he collected historical information and interviewed most of the area's early settlers and local Native Americans.