Banes-Howland Crater Lake Auto Trip Photograph Album, 1916

The Banes-Howland Crater Lake Auto Trip Photograph Album documents a 17-day journey through Oregon from Portland to Crater Lake and back. The trip was a joint effort between the Banes and Howland families of Portland and appears to have been led by W.H. Banes. The journey was taken in an Oakland 6 automobile carrying as many as seven individuals, food, and equipment. The exact makeup of the group remains unclear. However, it appears to have included W.H. Banes, a man from the Howland family, two adult women (likely the wives of Banes and Howland), a young woman (possibly a teenager), and at least one adolescent girl.

The group left the Mount Tabor area of Portland on July 22. They traveled through the Columbia Gorge and then followed what is now U.S. Route 97 through Central Oregon and into Southern Oregon. From Crater Lake, the group traveled modern day Oregon Route 99 through the Willamette Valley back to Portland. In total, the group drove approximately 880 miles.

The trip is described in detail by an accompanying newspaper article which was published on August 25,1916 and includes a day-by-day description of the journey. The article gives a detailed report of the route, campsites, road conditions, automobile accidents (involving other travelers), and recreational activities including swimming and a motorboat tour of Crater Lake. It also refers to numerous individuals met during the journey including several ranchers and William Gladstone Steele, the superintendent of Crater Lake. The article also includes six photos from the trip. Of note, what was likely a reference to the Howland family in the first paragraph of this article appears to have been intentionally obscured.

The album includes 58 pasted-in silver gelatin photographic prints and one loose print. The photographs include notable features in the Columbia Gorge such as Rooster Rock, Crown Point, Shepard's Dell Bridge, Bridal Veil Falls, Oneonta Tunnel, and Multnomah Falls; Central Oregon landscapes; road scenes; Crater Lake and the surrounding area; and numerous shots of the travelers in their Oakland 6, hiking, swimming, and in camp.

The album was likely assembled by W.H. Banes or another member of the Banes family.