A series of oral histories conducted in conjunction with an OHS museum exhibit. These interviews are mostly with veterans of WWII, and some are with individuals active in the war effort at home.

Collection of materials assembled by the Oregon Historical Society relating to women in Oregon, ca. 1899-1950. Included in the collection are postcards with anti and pro-suffrage images, the correspondence and diary of Mrs. Sylvia Thompson, the correspondence of M.H. Wicoxon, scrapbook of the League of Women Voters, papers of various women's political groups (including anti-suffrage groups) and newspaper clippings regarding women's rights, legal status and prominent women.

This collection consists of five photographs that were originally owned and may have been taken by William Russell Parnell during his service in the United States Army, with materials ranging between 1864-1871. Photographs depict Camp Harney, Camp Warner and Fort Boise, bases where Parnell was stationed, and also Camp Barry near Washington D.C. Parnell's relationship to Camp Barry is unknown, but he was stationed in various locations in that area during the Civil War. Of the five photographs included in the collection, four have Parnell’s signature.

Images of wildlife, primarily birds of the western United States, c.1900-1940s, photographed by William Lovell Finley and his associate Herman T. Bohlman, with the help of his wife, Nellie Irene Barnhart Finley and others. The collection includes fine images of adult and immature birds, chicks, eggs, and nests. Many show habitat. Others document the camera equipment and techniques used to make the photographs.

William L. Finley's papers primarily document his work as a wildlife conservationist, author, lecturer, photographer, and filmmaker from about 1900 to 1940. The collection also documents the work his wife Irene Finley and photography partner Herman Bohlman. The collection consists of published and unpublished manuscripts, lecture and field notes, reports, correspondence, photographs and motion picture films.

An addition to the collection (Accession 2014:062) is made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings documenting the wildlife conservation work of William and Irene Finley. Among the topics addressed in the correspondence include: song bird protection laws in Oregon, requests to Finley for use of his photographs, the forming of an Oregon Fish and Game Commission, biological surveys conducted by Finley, legislation in California repealing meadowlark protection, and letters by Finley to various organizations regarding the presentation of one of his lectures. A highlight among the correspondence is a thank you letter from Finley to President Theodore Roosevelt for his establishment of wild bird reservations. The clippings are newspaper articles written by Irene and William Finley about encounters with wildlife, nocturnal bird sounds, and their filming of wildlife at Paulina Lake. The four articles all appeared in editions of the "Oregon Sunday Journal."

Collection includes: Scrapbook and letters, 1 vol. and 1 folder, 1946-1962, regarding personal matters, the Izaak Walton League, conservation, etc.

Collection includes: Plans and blueprints for buildings in Oregon, 1963-1967. Willard Kenneth Martin (1930-1985) was a Portland Architect who is best known for his design of the Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon.

Watercolor sketch of the ship Lausanne painted by missionary Hamilton Campbell during his journey by ship from New York to Oregon in 1839. The collection also includes a typescript document signed by Ben Campbell Holladay explaining the provenance of the painting.

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 video tour of Isaka Shamsud-Din's art studio in Portland, Oregon, was conducted on October 3, 2018. The tour was recorded by P. C. Peri, and Milo Reed was also present. Shamsud-Din shows some of his paintings, drawings, and murals, and talks about the inspiration for and meaning behind each work.

Photographs of the aftermath of the flood that destroyed Vanport, Or. on May 30, 1948. The images depict the damage to buildings, bridges, roadways, and other structures in both Vanport and Portland, Or. Includes postcards and snapshots, as well as photographs taken by the Camera Art Studio of Portland, Or.

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.

Collection consists of photographs used by the Valley Migrant League (VML) for its program newspaper, "Opportunity News." Most of the photographs were taken by VML staff. Many of the individuals and places depicted in the prints and negatives in this collection were identified by Oregon Historical Society archivists from the corresponding articles in "Opportunity News."
Subjects depicted in the photographs include VML-sponsored adult education and vocational training programs, including photographs of classrooms, workshops, and businesses hosting work-training programs as well as portraits of program graduates and teachers. Also depicted are VML’s children’s daycare programs including photographs of children in the daycare centers and on educational field trips as well as community events, sports, and cultural celebrations including the Woodburn Fiesta Mexicana, May Day, and Christmas. Photographs in this collection also document living and working conditions for Migrant laborers including depictions of laborers in fields, operating agricultural equipment, and in labor camps, as well as rural healthcare and mobile medical clinics. Also represented in the collections is VML involvement in labor and community organizing, including meeting with political leaders and local picket lines in support of the Delano Grape Strike. The photographs in the collection also include portraits of many individuals associated with VML and the agricultural labor movement of the 1960s.

Since 1984, the Oregon Historical Society has partnered with the United States District Court of Oregon Historical Society to interview judges, lawyers and other legal professionals affiliated with that Court.
With an appeal rate at around 10%, the decisions made by the District Court of Oregon have been deeply influential on the laws and peoples of the state. It has presided over decisions on public land disputes and fishing rights, as well as civil rights and law enforcement. The stories of the people that make up this judicial body provide a valuable tool for helping the public understand the pivotal role the court has had on Oregon’s history.

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.

The oral history interviews included in this oral history series were conducted in 1992 and 1993 for the purpose of inclusion in the Trails to Oregon exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society.

This speech by Tom McCall was given at Portland Television Studios in 1970 and broadcast on KGW-TV. This audio recording of the speech was made by an unknown individual from the television broadcast. The broadcast begins with a weather report and two commercials.

In the speech, McCall discusses the actions taken by the Portland and Multnomah County governments in response to protests expected to be held by the People's Army Jamboree against an upcoming American Legion convention. He describes plans for the music festival known as Vortex I as a way to mitigate the possibility of violence.

After the speech, the recording includes additional commercials and remarks by news analyst Floyd McKay. The recording ends with audio from the evening news broadcast about McCall's speech, including excerpts of the speech and McKay's remarks.

Collection consists of typescript and manuscript correspondence and reminiscences recorded by T. A. Wood from approximately 1890-1902. The reminiscences include typescript copies of accounts by Wood regarding his work as a Methodist minister between 1858 and 1876 and his time serving as a chaplain for the Union Army in Illinois during the Civil War between 1861 and 1862. also included are typescript and manuscript copies of his account of involvement in advocacy to admit the first Black children into Portland public schools which resulted in the establishment of a segregated school for Black students. Also included is a letter written by Wood in 1902 containing reminiscences about his involvement in conflicts with Native peoples, which contains a list of engagement details for Indian War Veterans. The collection also contains a 1902 manuscript copy of an undated letter from E. H. Lenox to Wood requesting the names of members of an 1843 wagon train and relating a story concerning rescuing a man from drowning.

Typed note, signed, from Theodore Roosevelt when governor of New York, to George H. Himes, assistant secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, complimenting Himes and the Society on their work. This letter was a response to Himes' letter of February 13th, 1900, a transcript of which is included.

The Video Access Project (TVAP) recordings consist of over 800 3/4" Umatic Video tapes and 1/2" Open Reel video tapes, most produced in the Portland Community Access facilities from the early 1980s into the 1990s. These programs were mainly produced and recorded in a television studio and covered various Portland related topics, including politics, music, art and social services. The collection also contains earlier video recordings that were not produced by TVAP. These videos, from the 1970s, were shot on location (not in a studio) and are more focused on art, sexuality, performance and neighborhoods in transition.

The Immigrant Story is a private non-profit organization created by Sankar Raman in 2017 with the mission "to document, narrate, and curate the stories of immigrants in order to enhance empathy and help promote an inclusive community." Its goal is to both advance the national dialogue and to dispel myths about new Americans through strong, thoughtful narratives.

The Bo's'n's Whistle was a publication distributed to the employees of the Kaiser Shipyards in Oregon and Washington between 1941 and 1946. The first publication was released on July 18, 1941 under the editorial direction of Chick Johnson, and was given its distinctive name by Edgar Kaiser the General Manager of the shipyard. Subsequent issues released bi-weekly, along with a special issue on September 27, 1941 commemorating the launch of the "Star of Oregon". Distribution expanded to the Vancouver and Swan Island Shipyards in April 1942, with Hal Babbit, director of public relations for Kaiser Company serving as editorial supervisor.

The format of the Bo's'n's Whistle changed from a magazine to a weekly newspaper beginning March 10, 1944, with separate editions for each of the three shipyards - Oregon Shipyard, Swan Island, and Vancouver. On September 7, 1945 The Bo's'n's Whistle was again consolidated into one edition for all three shipyards, and on January 1, 1946 it was moved to a twice-monthly publication schedule. The final issue of The Bo's'n's Whistle was published on May 24, 1946. At its peak, The Bo's'n's Whistle was circulated to 90,000 employees, with over 4,000,000 copies distributed over its lifespan.

This collection of audio recordings consists predominantly of political advertising work created or managed by Ted Hallock for his public relations agency. Most of the materials are open-reel tapes and date from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. All but two recordings in the collection are unprocessed.

The processed recordings consist of interviews conducted in 1968 and circa 1975. The 1968 interviews were conducted by an unidentified woman with staffers for U.S. Senator Wayne Morse's re-election campaign. Also on the reel tape with the staff interviews are variations of political ads, produced by Hallock's company, for the Morse campaign. The interview conducted circa 1975 was with Aaron Brown, who became the first black judge in Oregon in 1969 and later served as a judge on the Multnomah County District Court. The interview was conducted by an unidentified woman for Grassroot News Northwest.

Unprocessed recordings in the collection include political campaign materials for Oregon politicians such as Ted Kulongoski, Jim Weaver, Les AuCoin, Wayne Morse, Bob Straub, Mike Lindberg, Connie McCready, John Kitzhaber, and Bob Duncan. The recordings also include advertisements on political topics including sales taxes, ballot measures regarding zoo funding, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. There are also business advertisements, including ads for Douglas Community Hospital, Bidwell & Co., and John's Landing.

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.

Ranging in date from 1940 to 1973, the Stella Maris House Collection consists of printed material, correspondence, and administrative, financial, and legal records created and collected by the Portland, Oregon-based social justice group during the course of their work. The collection demonstrates the local evolution of social issues key to the history of the United States during the 1960s. Over a third of the archive's content is dedicated to Oregon's migrant labor rights movement, and it also features records documenting the area's civil rights movement, urban renewal projects, interstate highway infrastructure, and social welfare programs initiated by the Economic Opportunity Act.

The bulk of the collection consists of printed material created by a number of local and national organizations between 1960 and 1972, then collected by the Stella Maris House. This portion of the archive includes programs, reports, studies, surveys, correspondence, brochures, and flyers generated by civil rights, migrant rights, and peace movement groups. Items of note include the Albina Neighborhood Improvement Project's plans for urban redevelopment (Series B), an African-American employment survey conducted by the Metropolitan Interfaith Commission on Race (Series E), and records documenting the Housing Authority of Portland (Series I). The collection also features printed material created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Series E), the Valley Migrant League (Series J), and the United Farm Workers (Series J). Newspaper clippings that document events important to social justice movements constitute a substantial part of the collection.

A small but significant portion of the collection was created by the staff members of the Stella Maris House; it includes notes by the staff documenting the meetings of local groups. These meeting notes often provide remarkably candid insights into the workings of area groups. Additionally, Stella Maris House staff members also contributed group and program histories to the collection.

Collection consists of 14 plans on 8 sheets of the steamer R. R. Thompson, which was originally designed by John Gates. It is unknown whether the plans are original or are later reproductions; they include writing in at least two different hands. Drawings include plans of top and side views; a plan of the freight deck lowerhouse, skylight, and texas; a plan of the cabin deck; engine plans; boiler plans; mechanical plans; and a plan of the piston head and rings. Some sheets are stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from the collection of L. C. Hosford."

Plans of a sidewheel steamer, Oneonta. The plans may be a depiction of the steamer Oneonta built in 1863 and operated by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, but features in the plans differ from contemporary photographs of that steamboat. It is unknown whether the drawings are originals or later reproductions. The drawings consist of 3 plans on 1 sheet: a top view, a side view, and a plan of the pilot house and rooms. Sheet is stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from collection of L. C. Hosford."