Corvallis, Oregon, Photograph Collection, 1902-1964
The Corvallis, Oregon, Photograph Collection consists of images of Corvallis and vicinity that document the city and region in the early and middle 20th century. A variety of formats are represented in the collection, including panoramic prints, nitrate negatives, hand-tinted prints, and large mounted mural-size prints. The photographs were assembled from a variety of sources.
Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
ID: P 051
Extent: 0.25 cubic feet
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation: Corvallis, Oregon, Photograph Collection (P 051), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Acquisition Note:
Most of the photographs were received from various sources in the late 1960s; additions were made to the collection through the 1990s.
Container List
- Series 1: Photographs, 1902-1964 Add to Shelf
- Series I consists of photographs of Corvallis, Oregon, and vicinity assembled from a variety of sources. The item numbers P051:02 and P051:05 have each been assigned to two different photographs. The item numbers P051:12 through P051:18 have not been assigned to any images.
- Box-Folder 1.1: P051:01-05, 19, 37 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:01: Apple Orchard, Corvallis Orchard Company, July 1913 Add to Shelf
- Extent: 2 prints
- Item P051:02: Peach Orchard in Monroe, Oregon, 1913 Add to Shelf
- Extent: print and nitrate negative
- Item P051:03: Oregon Apple Company Orchards (OACO) Prune Orchard, June 1913 Add to Shelf
- Extent: print and nitrate negative
- Item P051:04: Oregon Apple Company Orchards Manure Boxes, Monroe, Oregon, September 1913 Add to Shelf
- Extent: print and nitrate negative
- Item P051:05: Corvallis Orchard Company House, July 1913 Add to Shelf
- The Corvallis Orchard Company House was located west of Corvallis, Oregon.
- Extent: print and nitrate negative
- Item P051:19: Rotary Club member at desk, 1941 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:37: Postcard with a bird's-eye view of Corvallis, circa 1910 Add to Shelf
- Addressed to Miss Nellie Springston, Lone Rock, OR from friend Rena (music student at OAC)
- Box-Folder 1.2: P051:20 - P051:36 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:20-P051:36: Colleges for Oregon's Future Bond Measure Election, 1964 Add to Shelf
- Photographs of the Torch of Learning Progress Marathon event to promote this May 1964 bond measure election to support higher education institutions in Oregon. John Fenner, an attorney in Corvallis, was Benton County Chair for Colleges for Oregon's Future. The photographs include images of John Fenner, Erwin Reiman, other individuals, and a crowd in front of the Benton County Courthouse.
- Box-Folder 1.3: P051:38, 40-44 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:38: Oblique aerial view of Corvallis from southeast looking to Northwest, 1946 Add to Shelf
- Mural-size print (52 x 76 inches) also hangs on the west wall of the maps area on the 3rd floor of the Valley Library. This oblique aerial view of Corvallis shows downtown Corvallis (lower right), the Oregon State College campus (middle left), residential areas north and west of the campus and downtown, and the McDonald and Paul Dunn Forests to the northwest. Because it is a composite of two prints, there is some discontinuity of roads in the middle-to-upper right portion. Notable landmarks include the Corvallis Lumber Company at the confluence of the Marys and Willamette Rivers (center bottom); a hops field on the east bank of the Willamette River (bottom right corner); Corvallis High School at the northern extent of residential areas (middle right); the fire-gutted Central School (middle), which was destroyed by fire in 1946; and the Western Oregon Packing Corporation Cannery on 9th Street. The photograph was made by Leonard Delano, Sr. who worked for almost 50 years in commercial photography, including aerial photography for mapping.
- Extent: small copy print, mural-size print, 4 120 copy negatives, and 1 positive transparency
- Item P051:40: Porter Building, 1913 Add to Shelf
- The Majestic Theater is located in the Porter Building. Copy negative of photograph from page 18 of Corvallis magazine, Spring 1962, with following caption; "Porter Building in 1913. The Majestic Theater was here. The store at the right was Witham's ladies shop. Johnson Porter's 1915 Hudson is shown in right front. (Photo by courtesy of Walter Porter, grandson of Johnson Porter.)"
- Extent: copy negative
- Item P051:41: Peck residence, circa 1935 Add to Shelf
- This house was originally located on the site of the Valley Library and was likely built in the 1880s or early 1890s for E.E. Wilson and his parents, Lewis and Rose Wilson. When Oregon Agricultural College acquired the parcel for the growing campus, the Wilson House was moved to the corner of 26th and Campus Way to serve as the residence for the superintendent of grounds for Oregon Agricultural College. Arthur L. Peck served in this capacity for a number of years in addition to his roled as Professor of Landscape Architecture.
- Item P051:42: Aerial photo of Corvallis, 1962 Add to Shelf
- Taken by Western Ways, June 6, 1962 at 9000 feet elevation. Mounted mural-size print (60 x 94 inches) hangs on the south wall of the maps area on the 3rd floor of the Valley Library. This aerial photograph depicts several notable landmarks including the Willamette River (with a single bridge) and the Corvallis Sand and Gravel Company pit (lower right); the Corvallis Bypass (first phase) which was constructed in about 1960 (bottom); Highland View Middle School (upper middle right), which opened in 1957; Roosevelt School, at the southeast corner of 15th and Western (bottom middle), which closed in 1975. Western Ways, a Corvallis aerial photography company, was owned and operated by the Terway Family from the 1950s until the 1980s. They photographed farms and agricultural land; lumber mills and forests; as well as cities and towns throughout the Pacific Northwest.
- Extent: 6 small copy prints and a mounted mural print
- Item P051:44: Unidentified group, circa 1905 Add to Shelf
- Group of people at an unidentified event, perhaps in the Benton County Courthouse. The group consists primarily of men, but includes several women and a few boys.
- Box-Folder 2.1: P051:05-07 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:05: Firemen on roof of Kline's Store, circa 1915 Add to Shelf
- Hand-tinted image of night-time fire at Kline Building.
- Item P051:06: Firemen climbing ladder to put out fire on a roof, circa 1915 Add to Shelf
- Hand-tinted image of night-time fire.
- Item P051:07: Corvallis Fire Department, circa 1910 Add to Shelf
- Horse-drawn fire wagons in front of the Fire Department. Photograph by Moseley-Linton Photo.
- Box-Folder 3.1: P051:09-11 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:09-P051:11: Farmstead, road, and railroad tracks along Willamette River between Albany and Corvallis, 1915 Add to Shelf
- The road may be a precursor to Highway 20. Three panoramic prints made by L.W. Jones, Portland. Donated by Judge Richard Mengler.
- Box-Folder 4.1: P051:08 Add to Shelf
- Item P051:08: Map of Corvallis, 1902 Add to Shelf
- Extent: 5x7 glass copy negative
- Box-Folder 5.1: Nitrate negatives for P051:01-05. Add to Shelf
- Item P051:43: Aerial photo of Corvallis, circa 1955 Add to Shelf
- Mural-size print (58 inches x 71 inches) hangs on the west wall of the maps area on the 3rd floor of the Valley Library. This oblique aerial view of Corvallis shows the Marys River (bottom), Dixon Creek (from middle top to middle right), and the Willamette River as well as downtown Corvallis (middle right) and the Oregon State College campus (middle left). Notable landmarks include Highway 99 from downtown to the north; the Corvallis Lumber Company, at the confluence of the Marys and Willamette Rivers (center bottom); a baseball diamond north of the Marys River; and the new Parker (now Reser) Stadium which had been completed in 1953 (middle left). The photographer of this image is not known.
- Digital File P051:39: Oregon Electric Depot at Corvallis in flood, 1923 Add to Shelf
- January 8, 1923. Only available in digital form.