Series I includes personal and official correspondence spanning the years 1934 to 1951 and relate to Peavy's service as dean of the School of Forestry and president of Oregon State College. Correspondence relating to the Oregon State Board of Forestry, forestry-related topics, and civic affairs comprise a large portion of this series. Series II contains assorted ephemera including Peavy's 1905 University of Michigan diploma, news clippings, honorary degrees and awards. Series III contains nine notebooks of research field notes and forest surveys. Eight of these date from 1904-1914 (primarily from Peavy's work with the U.S. Forest Service) and one is from 1947-1950 that consists of speech notes and lists of students and research. The two diaries in the collection contain annotated appointment schedules spanning the years 1908-1909. Articles written by and presentations given by Peavy, including KOAC radio programs, are contained in Series IV. These cover a wide-range of topics relating to the nation's forests, forest conservation, forest policies, the political situation during the 1930s and 1940s, and Oregon State College. Series V contains photographs, including one of Peavy, circa 1940, and a reproduction of an early image of Benton Hall.
An addition to the Peavy Papers (Accession 2005:010) consists of certificates, artifacts, and photographs (14 prints in all). Depicting Peavy prior to his employment as a Forestry professor at Oregon Agricultural College, the images consist of two groupings: high school and college graduation portraits and views of Peavy engaged in fieldwork with the U.S. Forest Service in the Yellowstone and Santa Barbara areas. Issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the certificates document Peavy's employment promotions within the agency as a Forest Examiner. The artifacts consist of lapel pins, a medal, a desk name plate, and two plaques. These items document Peavy's involvement in social organizations (Rotary International, the Masons, etc.) and position as Oregon State College President.
The State Board of Forestry correspondence (Series I, Box 01), much of which centers on the appointment of J.W. Ferguson as State Forester, has been digitized and is available upon request. The USDA field notebooks (1904-1914), and the loose notes (1947-1950), from Series III (Box 01), have also been digitized and are available upon request.
