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McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps, 1934-1993

By Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen and Anna Stewart.

Collection Overview

Title: McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps, 1934-1993

Predominant Dates: 1934-1943

ID: MAPS McDonaldForest

Primary Creator: Oregon State College. School of Forestry

Extent: 1.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps are arranged in one series: I. McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum, 1934-1993.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps consist primarily of detailed maps of the Arboretum and Forest prepared from the mid-1930s through early 1940s. The maps document topography, forest site and timber types, and plantings in the Arboretum. Peavy Arboretum and McDonald Forest were established in the 1920s as a teaching laboratory and experimental forest for the forestry students at Oregon State College.

Scope and Content Notes

The McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps consist primarily of detailed maps of the Arboretum and forest prepared from the mid-1930s through the early 1940s. The maps document topography, forest site and timber types, and arboretum plantings. The maps depict the forest and arboretum boundaries, roads, streams and lakes, and structures. Of special note are maps depicting land owners in the area as of 1937. Most of the maps are quite detailed; multiple copies of some maps are available. The collection includes one detailed map produced on a pen plotter in 1993 depicting the topography of two tracts in the Soap Creek Valley.

The maps were prepared by students and faculty of the Oregon State College School of Forestry and the OSU Research Forests, including Fred S. Eyerly, P.R. Grimes, Olin R. Miller, Robert S. Oslund, and Alfred A. Wiener. Gordon V. Skelton prepared the 1937 map of Peavy Arboretum.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Peavy Arboretum was established in the mid-1920s as a teaching laboratory for forestry students by Oregon Agricultural College on land purchased by the College about 8 miles north of Corvallis. Eighty acres were designated as the Arboretum, which reached its present extent of 181 acres by 1931. Since its establishment, the Arboretum has been the site of a tree nursery, a "post farm" for research on fence posts and telephone poles, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp, a demonstration forest, and a public recreation site.

The lands that comprise McDonald Forest were purchased by Oregon Agricultural College for the School of Forestry beginning in the 1920s. However, the bulk of the Forest was acquired in 1935 with funds donated by Mary McDonald, for whom it is named. The McDonald-Dunn Forest now comprises over 11,000 acres and is the primary research, teaching, and demonstration forest for the Oregon State University College of Forestry.

Mary McDonald provided gifts of money and land to the School of Forestry beginning in the 1920s, initially in gratitude for recommendations Dean George W. Peavy made to address invasive weeds on the McDonald estate in California. In the early 1930s, McDonald contributed the initial volumes and funding for the McDonald Rare Book and Manuscript Collection in the Oregon State College Library.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 22 maps; 2 map folders

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These materials were transferred from the Oregon State University Libraries' maps collection to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2014.

Related Materials: Extensive materials documenting Peavy Arboretum and McDonald Forest, including maps, are part of the College of Forestry Records (RG 139) and the College of Forestry Photograph Collection (P 061). The McDonald Forest Aerial Photographs (P 294), Royal G. Jackson Papers (MSS JacksonR), and Donald B. Zobel Collection of Historic Forestry and Vegetation Maps (MAPS ZobelMaps) also provide information about the experimental forest and arboretum.

Preferred Citation: McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Maps (MAPS McDonaldForest), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Oregon State College. School of Forestry
Eyerly, Fred S.
Grimes, P. R.
Miller, Olin R.
Oslund, Robert S.
OSU Research Forests
Skelton, Gordon V.
Wiener, Alfred A.

People, Places, and Topics

Experimental forests--Oregon--McDonald Forest.
Forest mapping--Oregon--Benton County.
Forest reserves--Oregon--Benton County.
Forestry schools and education--Oregon--Corvallis.
Forests and forestry--Oregon--Benton County--Maps.
Local History
Natural Resources
OSU Research Forests
Peavy Arboretum (Benton County, Or.)--Maps.
University History

Forms of Material

Blueline prints.
Forestry maps.
Maps (documents)
Plots (computer drawings).


Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum, 1934-1993
Series I consists of detailed maps of Peavy Arboretum and McDonald Forest. The maps are described below in chronological order. Multiple copies of some maps are available.
Folder-Item 1.1: Arboretum Entrance, 1934
Detailed topography with contour interval of 5 feet; scale 1 inch = 100 feet (1:1200). Prepared by E. Marshall; dated May 1, 1934.
Folder-Item 1.2: McDonald Forest and Vicinity, 1934
Two copies of the same map; one is vellum and the other a diazo blueline print. The paper copy covers a larger area than the vellum. Scale is 1 inch = 40 chains (1:31,680). Dated December 2, 1934. This item has been digitized and is available upon request.
Extent: 2 sheets

Folder-Item 1.3: McDonald Forest and Vicinity, 1937
Two copies of the same map. Prepared April 15, 1937 by P.R. Grimes. Scale 2 inches = 1 mile. This item has been digitized and is available upon request.
Extent: 2 sheets

Folder-Item 1.4: Peavy Arboretum, 1937
Prepared by G.V. Skelton in November 1937; shows land owners, structures, and roads. Hand-colored; scale of 4 inches = 1 mile.
Extent: 2 sheets

Folder-Item 2.1: Forage Type Map of Jackson and Cockerham Properties of McDonald Forest, circa 1938
Scale of 8 inches = 1 mile. This item has been digitized and is available upon request.
Folder-Item 1.5: McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Site Map, circa 1939
From NYA Survey in 1935-1939. Scale of 4 inches = 1 mile (approximately 1:250,000). Two copies of the same map. This item has been digitized and is available upon request.
Extent: 2 sheets

Folder-Item 1.6: Topography of McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum, 1940
Scale of 4 inches = 1 mile. Prepared by Al Weiner and R. Vincent. Poor condition.
Folder-Item 1.7: McDonald Forest and Peavy Arboretum Type Map, 1940
Five copies of the same map; one is hand colored. Scale of 4 inches = 1 miles (approximately 1:250,000). From the NYA Survey, 1935-1939; prepared by Al Wiener in December 1940.
Extent: 5 sheets

Folder-Item 2.2: Plantation Type Map of Peavy Arboretum, 1940
Hand colored; scale of 2 inches = 5 chains (1:1980). Prepared by O.R. Miller in October 1940.
Folder-Item 1.8: Topographic Map Jackson Area McDonald Forest, 1943
Scale of 1 inch = 220 feet. Silviculture project by Bob Oslund.
Folder-Item 1.9: McDonald Forest, Peavy Arboretum, and Vicinity, 1943
Two copies of the same map; one is vellum and the other a diazo blueline print; scale of 2 inches = 1 mile; prepared by Fred S. Eyerly.
Extent: 2 sheets

Folder-Item 1.10: Planting Plan of Peavy Arboretum, 1943
Scale 1:1500. Very detailed.
Folder-Item 2.3: Meadows and Topography of Tracts 3 and 4 in Soap Creek Valley, 1993
At 1:9600 scale. Prepared by OSU Research Forests; produced on a pen plotter.

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