Walter S. Brown Photograph Album, 1919-1942

Title: Walter S. Brown Photograph Album, 1919-1942

Predominant Dates: 1919-1935

ID: P 274

Primary Creator: Brown, W. S. (Walter Sheldon) (1878-)

Extent: 0.5 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Walter S. Brown Photograph Album consists of images taken or assembled by Brown during trips throughout the United States and Canada documenting agricultural operations, especially orchards and processing facilities. Brown was a horticulturist and faculty member at Oregon State College from 1913 until his death in 1942.

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

The Walter S. Brown Photograph Album consists of images taken or assembled by Brown during trips throughout the United States and Canada. The images consist predominantly of photographic prints and postcards; published picture postcards (many in color) are also included in the album. About half of the images depict agricultural operations, especially orchards; nurseries; and fruit processing, packing, and warehouse facilities. Other agricultural subjects include farmhouses and barns, a cropduster airplane, wheat fields, and a cranberry bog. The album includes images of an Oregon Agricultural College student tour of Oregon farms and orchards that included a visit to the Southern Oregon Experiment Station in Medford. Several images of F.C. Reimer, Superintendent of the Station, are included.

About half of the images are of natural features and landscapes, urban parks, and town and city views throughout the United States and Canada. These includes sites in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, California, New York, Alberta, and British Columbia. Oregon locales include Portland, Ashland (especially Lithia Park), Bend, Freewater, Jacksonville, Medford, Mt. Angel, Prineville, and the Sutherlin Valley. Of special note are images of the town of Siletz, Oregon and of the Indian School in Siletz. The album includes images of the Oregon coast, climbers on Mt. Hood, Diamond Lake, Crater Lake, Silver Falls, and the Columbia Gorge.

Washington images include the Spokane Valley Growers packing house and the Wapato Fruit and Cold storage facility as well as scenes of the Wenatchee area and Lake Chelan. Photographs of Boise and Lewiston, Idaho are part of the album. Canadian images include the area of Penticton, British Columbia; Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia; and the Fraser River Valley. A trip to California is documented with images of Donner Pass, the Yosemite Valley, Los Angeles, the Imperial Valley, the Spanish missions, and the redwoods of northern California.

Some of these images depict family vacations, picnics, and outings and include photographs of his wife and daughters; photographs of his brother's house in Portville, New York, are also included. The collection also includes a published obituary, typed eulogy, and materials from Brown's funeral.

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

Horticulturist Walter S. Brown was a faculty member at Oregon State College from 1913 until his death in 1942. His initial position was as the first Extension Horticulturist for Oregon; he was appointed head of the Horticulture Department in 1920. Brown was an authority on northwestern fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants and authored many bulletins and circulars on horticultural topics. Oregon State University's Lewis-Brown Research Farm is named in his honor.

Brown was born in Portville, (Cattaraugus County) New York, in 1878; he earned a B.S. from Cornell University in 1904 and an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin in 1906. He came to Oregon in 1909 as president and manager of the Corvallis Orchard Company. He married Clara Louise Raddas in 1912 and had two daughters, Grace and Lois.

More Extent Information: 418 photographs; 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The album and related materials were donated to the Archives in 2008 by Walter S. Brown's grandson.

Related Materials:

The Horticulture Department Photographs (P 090) document teaching a research activities in horticulture at Oregon State from the early 1900s. Additional materials are available in the Horticulture Department Records (RG 187), the Oregon State Horticultural Society Records (RG 151) and the Oregon State Horticultural Society Photographs (P 054).

The OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings also contain the papers of several horticulture faculty including the James R. Baggett Papers (MSS Baggett), Arthur G.B. Bouquet Collection (MSS Bouquet), William A. Frazier Papers (MSS FrazierW), and the Melvin N. Westwood Papers (MSS Westwood).

Preferred Citation: Walter S. Brown Photograph Album (P 274), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Brown, W. S. (Walter Sheldon) (1878-)

Agriculture--Northwest, Pacific.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Brown, W. S. (Walter Sheldon), 1878-
Butchart Gardens (Victoria, B.C.)
Cascade Range
Columbia River
Fruit--Research--Oregon.
Fruit-culture--Oregon.
Fruit processing plants--Oregon.
Fruit processing plants--Washington (State)
Horticulture--Oregon.
Horticulture--Study and teaching (Higher)--Oregon.
Imperial Valley (Calif. and Mexico)
Medford (Or.)
Natural Resources
Orchards--Oregon.
Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
Oregon Agricultural College. Department of Horticulture
Oregon Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Pacific Coast (Or.)
Penticton (B.C.)
Portland (Or.)
Reimer, F. C. (Frank Charles), 1881-
Siletz (Or.)
Southern Oregon Branch Experiment Station
University History

Photograph albums.
Photographic postcards.
Photographic prints.
Picture postcards.