Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection, circa 1860-1949

Collection Overview

Title: Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection, circa 1860-1949

Predominant Dates: 1940-1949

ID: P 156

Primary Creator: VanCleave, Ralph W.

Extent: 0.2 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection is comprised of one series: 1. Photographs, circa 1860-1949. The photographs are arranged in the order assigned during the collection's preliminary processing.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

The Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection is comprised of black and white images of the Horning Carding Mill and Frederick A. Horning residence, and images, taken in the 1940s, of public schools from in and around the Willamette Valley. The photographs appear to have been collected, rather than created by VanCleave, and many, if not all, are copy prints.

The majority of the images in the collection are photographs that document school buildings in counties across western Oregon, including Benton, Coos, Lane, and Clackamas. Some of the images document what were likely one-room school houses in “unincorporated communities,” such as Hoskins, Summit, Greenberry, Bunker Hill, Alpine, Tampico, Beavercreek, Blodgett, Ingram Island, Soap Creek, and Wren. The image of the Central School (School District #50), shows a group of children in front of the school building. There is also a photograph of Lakeside School’s 8^th grade class. None of the students in these images are identified. All of the schoolhouse images were provided to VanCleave by Doris Larkin Myers.

The collection also includes several images of historic Corvallis buildings. One image shows the Corvallis High School Band in front of the First Christian Church at the corner of 4^th and Madison in Corvallis. A second image features what was, at the time of the photograph, the Keeney Funeral Home at the northwest corner of 5^th and Jackson. Originally the residence of a Corvallis lawyer, F.M. Johnson, the Keeney Funeral Home building also served as the erstwhile residence of Oregon Agricultural College’s sixth president, William Jasper Kerr. The building later became the McHenry Funeral Home. The photograph of the Frederick A. Horning residence features a flower garden in bloom in the foreground. The collection also includes histories, presumably written by VanCleave, of both the Horning Carding Mill and Horning residence.

Of particular interest is an early photograph of Philomath College, the building which would eventually house the Benton County Historical Society. The College was founded in 1867 by the United Brethren Church but closed during the Great Depression due to the sharp decline in enrollment. Also of interest is a photograph of the Fort Yamhill blockhouse, a small fortification original constructed by the U.S. Army at Fort Yamhill in 1856. In 1911, the structure was moved 30 miles northwest to a part in Dayton to save it from demolition.

Select images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Ralph War VanCleave was born July 25, 1907 in Washington state to Floyd VanCleave (alternately spelled Van Cleve) and Anna Emeline Spencer VanCleave. Floyd, who was born in Iowa in March of 1878, married Anna, who was born in Philomath, Oregon in 1885, on August 1, 1906 in Benton County, Oregon.

In 1910, Floyd, Anna, and Ralph, who was then 2 years old, were living in North Prosser, an unincorporated community in southeastern Washington located approximately one mile north of the city of Prosser. The family boarded with William Spencer, a local farmer and Anna’s uncle, for whom Floyd was employed as a farm hand. Later that same year, however, the family moved nearly 200 miles west, to Chehalis, Washington, where Floyd found work as a teamster, or truck driver, for a local produce company.

The family had moved again by 1920, this time to Millican, Oregon, 25 miles east of Bend, where Floyd purchased his own ranch and raised livestock. The family moved to Bend proper sometime before 1930. Though Floyd no longer made his living as a rancher – the 1930 census indicates he was employed as a carpenter at a local lumber mill – his home and land were valued at over $30,000, suggesting that his time as a rancher was a relatively profitable one. Ralph, who was 22 in 1930, still lived at home and was working as a salesperson in a florist’s shop.

By 1940, the family had moved to Fort Rock, Oregon a small community roughly 60 miles southeast of Bend. Floyd worked as an “engineer” at a lumber camp, and Ralph was employed as the camp’s “time keeper,” likely meaning he was either in charge of payroll, or of ensuring camp laborers correctly punched in and punched out every day.

Sometime before 1980, Ralph VanCleave moved to the Benton County area, settling in Corvallis, Oregon. He appears to have been something of an amateur historian; several of the buildings featured in the photographs in the collection have accompanying histories (the Horning Carding Mill, and the F.A. Horning residence). These histories have been included in the collection. VanCleave also served on the Board of Trustees of the Benton County Historical Society. Ralph VanCleave passed away December 27, 1984 in Corvallis, Oregon.

Author: Rachel Lilley

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 53 photographs; 1 box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection was received by the Oregon State University Archives in the 1970s or early 1980s. Additional information about the collection's provenance is unavailable. The collection is now housed in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Related Materials:

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center has countless collections within its holdings that document the history of Corvallis, Benton County, and the Willamette Valley. Of special note are Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC) -- especially HC 596 -- the Corvallis Gazette-Times Photographs (P 066), the Gerald W. Williams Regional Albums (P 303), and the Corvallis, Oregon Photograph Collection (P 051).

Additional materials documenting conditions in rural communities in Oregon can be found in the National Rural Studies Committee Records (RG 246) and the Apiary (Or.) Rural Telephone Cooperative Records (MSS Apiary).

In addition, the Benton County Historical Museum's holdings include extensive documentary and visual materials pertaining to the history of Corvallis and Benton County.

Preferred Citation: Ralph VanCleave Photograph Collection (P 156), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: The Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection contained copy negatives of prints held in other collections. It was determined these copy negatives should not be retained, and they were therefore discarded.

Finding Aid Revision History: A preliminary container list for this collection was published in 2013. This finding aid has been updated to reflect current arrangement and description best practices.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Photographs, 1860-1940

The Ralph VanCleave Photographic Collection is comprised of black and white images of the Horning Carding Mill and Frederick A. Horning residence, and images, taken in the 1940s, of public schools from in and around the Willamette Valley. The majority of the images in the collection are photographs that document school buildings in counties across western Oregon, including Benton, Coos, Lane, and Clackamas. All of the schoolhouse images were provided to VanCleave by Doris Larkin Myers. The collection also includes several images of historic Corvallis buildings, including an image of the Corvallis High School Band in front of the First Christian Church at the corner of 4^th and Madison in Corvallis, and the former Keeney Funeral Home at the northwest corner of 5^th and Jackson. Of particular interest is an early photograph of Philomath College, the building which would eventually house the Benton County Historical Society. The photographs appear to have been collected, rather than created by VanCleave, and many, if not all, are copy prints.

Item P156:01: The Horning Carding Mill, circa 1870: A written history of this building is provided in the collection; 3 photographic prints; This is a duplicate photo that was copied from a glass negative in the Oregon State University Historical Photographs Collection [P025:1231].
Item P156:02: F.A. Horning residence, circa 1860: A written history of this building is provided in the collection
Item P156:03: Philomath College: 2 photographic prints
Item P156:04: Corvallis High School Band, circa 1900: "[at] 4th and Madison [in front of a] christian church"
Item P156:05: Keeney Funeral Home: "5th and Jackson, facing east. Originally residence of F.M. Jackson [who was a] Corvallis lawyer. Also served as residence for Pres. Kerr of OSU and a sorority. Later used by Keeney Funeral Home, replaced by new McHenry Funeral Home."
Item P156:06: Alsea School, circa 1940: School District #7c. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:07: Evergreen School, circa 1940: School District #59. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:08: Hoskins School, circa 1940: School District #79. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:09: King Valley Union High, circa 1940: School District #u3. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:10: Summit School, circa 1940: School District #36c. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:11: Irish Bend School, circa 1940: School District #24; Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board and appear in this collection as photographs of those photos.
Item P156:12: Lincoln School, circa 1940: School District #38. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:13: Greenberry School, circa 1940: School District #31. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:14: Bunker Hill School, circa 1940: School District #62. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:15: Fir Grove School, circa 1940: School District #74c. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:16: Philomath-West School, circa 1940: School District #17c. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:17: Mountain Home School, circa 1940: School District #94. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:18: Westwood School, circa 1940: School District #97. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:19: Tampico School, circa 1940: School District #98. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:20: Bellfountain School, circa 1940: School District #23. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:21: North Albany School, circa 1940: School District #34. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:22: Monroe School, circa 1940: School District #25g. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:23: Oakridge School, circa 1940: School District #49. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:24: Central School, circa 1940: School District #50. Several of the photos in this collection, including this one, were originally mounted together on a presentation board, and appear in this collection as photographs of those photographs.
Item P156:25: Alder Grove School, circa 1940: School District #2
Item P156:26: Alpine School, circa 1940: School District #26c
Item P156:27: Auxiliary School, circa 1940: School District #22
Item P156:28: Beaver Creek School, circa 1940: School District #20
Item P156:29: Blodgett School, circa 1940: School District #12
Item P156:30: Eureka School, circa 1940: School District #41g
Item P156:31: Gudd Smith School, circa 1940: School District #39
Item P156:32: Harris School, circa 1940: School District #35
Item P156:33: Hazel Glen School, circa 1940: School District #40g; "little lobster"
Item P156:34: Independent School, circa 1940: School District #19
Item P156:35: Ingram Island School, circa 1940: School District #5
Item P156:36: Kings Valley School, circa 1940: School District #3
Item P156:37: Lakeside School, circa 1940: School District #21
Item P156:38: 8th grade class at Lakeside School, circa 1940
Item P156:39: Missouri Bend School, circa 1940: School District #85; "Scoville"
Item P156:40: Monroe Union High, circa 1940: School District #1
Item P156:41: Mountain Home School, circa 1940: School District #94
Item P156:42: Mountain View School, circa 1940: School District #8
Item P156:43: Nois School, circa 1940: School District #83
Item P156:44: Oak Grove School, circa 1940: School District #4
Item P156:45: Plasant Valley School, circa 1940: School District #15
Item P156:46: Richland School, circa 1940: School District #62
Item P156:47: Roy Rickard School, circa 1940: School District #16
Item P156:48: Soap Creek School, circa 1940: School District #32
Item P156:49: Union School, circa 1940: School District #13; "Mount Union; Plymouth"
Item P156:50: Ward School, circa 1940: School District #81g
Item P156:51: Wells School, circa 1940: School District #1
Item P156:52: Wren School, circa 1940: School District #11
Item P156:53: Grand Ronde Block House, circa 1899: "The Block House has now been moved to Dayton, Oregon"; 2 photographic prints