Photograph of unidentified men rowing a shell on the Willamette River in Portland. The Sellwood Bridge is partially visible in the background at right.

Photograph of unidentified men rowing a shell on the Willamette River in Portland. The Sellwood Bridge is in the background. Image note: Negative damage in upper right corner.

Photograph of unidentified men rowing a shell on the Willamette River in Portland. The Sellwood Bridge is in the background. Image note: Negative damage in upper right corner.

Photograph of an unidentified person driving a motor boat on the Willamette River in Portland. The Broadway Bridge is in the background. Image note: Photograph shows discoloration due to deterioration of the negative.

Photograph of unidentified people in a motorboat on the Willamette River in Portland. The Ross Island Bridge is in the background.

Photograph of an unidentified person driving a motorboat on the Willamette River in Portland. The 1905 Morrison Bridge is in the background. The name “Laddie” is visible on the side of the boat.

Photograph of people driving speedboats on the Willamette River in Portland. The 1905 Morrison Bridge is in the background. The name “O MY” is visible on the boat at right; the boat is also pictured in image No. 371N5173.

Photograph of speedboats on the Willamette River in Portland. The Broadway Bridge is in the background.

Photograph of ships on the Willamette River near the Broadway Bridge in Portland. The ship moored at right is the West Notus.

Photograph of an unidentified ship, possibly a United States Navy vessel, sailing under the raised Hawthorne Bridge in Portland.

Photograph, taken from a high angle and looking toward the south, showing the Willamette River at left, the Hawthorne Bridge at top, and the downtown buildings between the Hawthorne Bridge and the Morrison Bridge. The Morrison Bridge is partially visible at the lower left edge of the photograph. The intersection at bottom center is Southwest Morrison Street and Southwest 1st Avenue.

Aerial photograph showing Swan Island in Portland, taken before an airport was established on the island. The view is toward the north. Struts and the wings of the plane from which the photograph was taken are partially visible in the image.

Aerial photograph showing Swan Island in Portland, taken before an airport was established on the island. The view is toward the northwest. Struts and the wings of the plane from which the photograph was taken are partially visible in the image.

Photograph showing part of the Broadway Bridge and ice on the Willamette River in Portland. The text “1937” is written on the negative.

Photograph showing boats and ships on the Willamette River in Portland. In the background is a bridge, probably the 1894 Burnside Bridge. The view is probably to the north. The three-masted ship at left may be the same ship depicted in image Nos. 373G0433, 373G0434, and 373G0436. Image note: Photograph shows discoloration due to negative damage.

Photograph, taken from the side, showing a three-masted ship moored on the Willamette River in Portland. In the background is a bridge, possibly the 1894 Burnside Bridge. The view is probably toward the north. The ship may also be depicted in image Nos. 373G0433, 373G0434, and 373G0435. Image note: Photograph shows discoloration due to negative damage.

Card announcing Portland Ferry, a horse ferry boat operated by James B. Stevens that is scheduled to cross and re-cross the Willamette river every twenty minutes regularly during the day.

Typed letter written by Reverend Jason Lee to the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist E. Church. Written on the banks of the Willamette River in Oregon on February 6, 1835 and published in the Christian Advocate and Journal on October 30, 1835. Letter is titled, "Flat Head Indians." In this letter, Lee sums up the last leg of his journey on the Oregon Trail, from the Rocky Mountains to Oregon. Subjects include Soda Spring, the Lewis River, Captain Nathaniel Wyeth, and Lee's observations of Native tribes including the Nez Perce, Flathead, Snake, Cayuse, and Wallawalla peoples. He then summarizes his arrival in Vancouver, Washington, his interactions with John McLoughlin, and his subsequent move to the Willamette River, where he built a house. He writes of his observations of the local native tribes, including the Kalapuyan peoples. [Lee originally intended to do missionary work among the Flathead Indian tribe, but the area where he eventually settled in the Willamette Valley, near present-day Salem, was home to bands of the Kalapuyan people. Lee used language common to justifying the nineteenth century missionary movement, including using disparaging and inaccurate terms and/or descriptions of Native peoples.]

Typed letter written by Reverend Jason Lee to the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist E. Church. Written at the Mission House on the Willamette River in Oregon on March 14, 1836 and published in the Christian Advocate and Journal on September 2, 1836. Letter is titled, "Oregon Mission." Subjects include illnesses in the region, the mission's "manual labor school", Lee's support for a temperance society, and John McLoughlin's support for the mission. [Lee used language common to justifying the nineteenth century missionary movement, including using disparaging and inaccurate terms and/or descriptions of Native peoples.]

Pencil sketch of the mouth of the Willamette River with a view of Mt. St. Helens in the distance. There is a boat in the water and two houses are visible on the left.

Pencil sketch of the mouth of the Willamette River with a view of Mt. Hood in the distance.

Pencil drawing of two ships at anchor on the Willamette River. Includes notes about reflections on the water and color.

Negative of a photographic postcard showing the St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon. Taken from the west side of the Willamette River, and looking east across the river to the St. Johns neighborhood. Black smoke rises into the air from an area behind the bridge. Mount Adams is visible in the distance.

Negative of a photographic postcard showing the Portland Waterfront on the Willamette River. Taken from the east side of the river and looking west at downtown Portland. A large ship is docked in the river. Handwriting on negative reads, "Harbor Portland, Oregon. Christian 600." Top of negative is damaged.

Negative of a photographic postcard showing the Portland Waterfront. Crowds of people are lined along the Willamette River looking at a submarine (lower right) and an aircraft carrier with planes on deck, both docked in the river. Looking south and likely taken from the Burnside Bridge. The Morrison Bridge and the Hawthorne Bridge are both visible. Sunlight reflects off the Willamette River. Handwriting on negative reads, "Evening Portland Harbor. Christian 11-601."

Negative of a photographic postcard showing the USS Topeka docked in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. An aircraft carrier with planes on deck is docked behind it. A thick plume of black smoke rises in the background. The Steel Bridge is visible in the distance. Handwriting on negative reads, "Harbor - Portland, Oregon."

Negative of a photographic postcard looking west across the Burnside Bridge as it crosses the Willamette River into downtown Portland. Much of downtown and the west hills are visible. There is an industrial area with railroad tracks in the foreground. Handwriting on negative reads, "Looking West from Burnside Bridge - Portland, Oregon. Christian 11-603."