Withycombe Family Collection, 1844-1918
Predominant Dates: 1897-1911
The Withycombe Family Collection consists of agriculture publications assembled by James Withycombe and his son Robert Withycombe and photographs of James Withycombe and the Withycombe House in Corvallis. James Withycombe was appointed Professor of Agriculture at Oregon Agricultural College in 1898 and the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1908 and held these positions until he became Governor of Oregon in 1915. Robert Withycombe earned an agriculture degree from Oregon Agricultural College in 1901 and was Superintendent of the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station in Union in 1906-1931.
Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
ID: MSS Withycombe
Extent: 1.0 cubic feet
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Statement on Description: Preliminary information about this collection was placed online in 2012; the collection was fully processed and described in 2019-2020.
Preferred Citation: Withycombe Family Collection (MSS Withycombe), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Acquisition Note:
The materials were donated to the Oregon State University Animal Sciences Department by James Withycombe's grandson, Thomas Withycombe, in 2005, and were transferred to the former University Archives from the Animal Sciences Department shortly thereafter.
Container List
- Series 1: Agriculture and Farming Books, 1844-1918 Add to Shelf
- Series 1 consists of agriculture and farming books that were assembled by James Withycombe and his son Robert Withycombe. These publications may have been used by James as an instructor and/or Robert as a student at Oregon Agricultural Collection. The Withycombe family may have used these to inform and develop their farming practices. The books address a variety of topics including draining of farm land, soil health and maintenance, dry land farming, animal care, and farm accounting and business practices. Of special note is the 1911 book Farm Accounting and Business Methods by Oregon Agricultural College professor J.A. Bexell. The publications are arranged chronologically.
- Box-Folder 1.01: The Book of the Farm, Volume 1, 1844 Add to Shelf
- Author: Henry Stephens
- Box-Folder 1.02: Gray's Lessons in Botany: The Elements of Botany for Beginners and for Schools, 1887 Add to Shelf
- Author: Asa Gray
- Box-Folder 1.03: Land Draining: A Handbook for Farmers on the Principles and Practice of Farm Draining, 1897 Add to Shelf
- Author: Manly Miles
- Box-Folder 1.04: Experimental Plant Physiology, 1898 Add to Shelf
- Author: D.T. MacDougal
- Box-Folder 1.05: The Rural Science Series: The Care of Animals, 1903 Add to Shelf
- Author: Nelson Mayo
- Box-Folder 1.06: The Rural Science Series: The Farmer's Business Handbook, 1903 Add to Shelf
- Author: Isaac Roberts
- Box-Folder 1.07: The Rural Science Series: How to Choose a Farm, 1906 Add to Shelf
- Author: Thomas Hunt
- Box-Folder 1.08: How to Keep Farm Accounts: A Practical Book for the Practical Farmer, 1908 Add to Shelf
- Author: H.L. Steiner
- Box-Folder 1.09: The Elements of the Science of Nutrition, 1909 Add to Shelf
- Author: Graham Lusk
- Box-Folder 1.10: Short Stories About Famous Saddle Horses, 1910 Add to Shelf
- Author: Herbert Krum
- Box-Folder 1.11: Farm Accounting and Business Methods, 1911 Add to Shelf
- Author: J.A. Bexell
- Box-Folder 1.12: Dry Land Farming, 1911 Add to Shelf
- Author: Thomas Shaw
- Box-Folder 1.13: Farm Science: A Foundation Textbook on Agriculture, 1918 Add to Shelf
- Author: W.J. Spillman
- Series 2: Publication by Withycombe, 1905 Add to Shelf
- Series 2 consists of Station Bulletin 84, Poultry Under Confinement, by James Withycombe published by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in 1905. This bulletin reports on research regarding the profitability of small poultry flocks. The publication is available online.
- Box-Folder 1.14: Poultry Under Confinement, 1905 Add to Shelf
- Station Bulletin 84 by James Withycombe.
- Series 3: Photographs, circa 1910-1911 Add to Shelf
- Series 3 consists of 12 photographic prints featuring James Withycombe, the 1911 Farming Demonstration Train in central Oregon, and the Withycombe House in Corvallis, Oregon. Many of the images of Withycombe show him on horseback. Several of the images have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
- Box-Folder 1.15: Farming Demonstration Train, 1911 Add to Shelf
- 6 prints. This train was sponsored by the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (O-W R&N); includes an image of the Culver (Oregon) station in Jefferson County (central Oregon).
- Box-Folder 1.16: Equestrian Poses, undated Add to Shelf
- 3 images of Withycombe on horseback.
- Box-Folder 1.17: Corvallis Photographs, undated Add to Shelf
- Includes a clipping of a published photograph of the Withycombe House and a photographic print of Withycombe standing at the entrance to Agriculture Hall (now Furman Hall).
- Box-Folder-Item 2.01.01: Withycombe and others at a stock judging event, circa 1910 Add to Shelf
- Box-Folder-Item 2.01.02: Withycombe House, circa 1910 Add to Shelf