By Finding aid prepared by Lawrence A. Landis; updated by Elizabeth Nielsen.
Title: Extension Service Photographs, 1900-2007
Predominant Dates: 1920-1996
ID: P 062
Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Extension Service
Extent: 2.4 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Extension Service Photographs are arranged in 7 series: I. Extension Service Programs and Activities, 1900-2007; II. Photographs from Clatsop and Klamath County Annual Reports, 1923-1955; III. Photographs Separated from Extension Service Records, circa 1922 - 1971; IV. Frank L. Ballard Photographs, 1909 - circa 1965; V. Lane County Extension, 1929-1995; VI. Linn County Extension, circa 1921 - 1950; VII. Benton County Extension Home Economics Study Groups, 1973-1996.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The Extension Service was established in Oregon in 1911.
Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The bulk of the collection pertains to the three traditional Extension programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The photographs depict Extension Service programs and staff from all regions of Oregon; however, Benton, Clatsop, Klamath, and Lane Counties are strongly represented.
Of particular note are images of Braceros and other migrant agricultural laborers; County extension offices (exterior and interior views) and staff; the Dairy Demonstration Train; 4-H club activities and summer school; and soil conservation and dune stabilization. Many individuals farms and ranches are identified; numerous images of the Oliver Ranch in Grant County are part of the collection.
Photographers are not identified for most of the images, but they were primarily taken by Extension Service staff. Photographers and studios of note with images in the collection include the Columbia Commercial Studio (Portland), Asahel Curtis (Seattle), Benjamin A. Gifford, Arthur M. Prentiss, and the Weister Company,
The collection includes a variety of formats. The bulk of the collection consists of b/w prints, but it also includes color prints, b/w and color film negatives, nitrate negatives, color slides, digital prints, and panoramic prints.
Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
On July 24, 1911, Oregon Agricultural College's Board of Regents organized the Oregon Extension Service in response to requests from citizens of Oregon for assistance (particularly in agriculture) from the college. R.D. Hetzel, professor of political science, was named as the first director of the Extension Service. The first county extension agents began in Marion and Wallowa Counties in September of 1912. Legislation permitting counties to appropriate money for extension work that would be matched by state funds was enacted in 1913.
In May of 1914, nearly three years after Oregon had established its Extension Service, President Woodrow Wilson signed the federal Smith-Lever law, which provided federal money for the establishment of extension services in all states for developing off-campus programs, primarily in agriculture and home economics. The first home extension agents were hired in August 1917 to do wartime emergency work; several of the agents were retained by counties after World War I. By 1937, all counties had at least one county extension agent.
During the Extension Service's first forty years, it concentrated on three traditional programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. After World War II, four other program areas were added -- forestry (late 1940s), the Marine Advisory Program (late 1940s and greatly expanded in the 1960s), Community Resource Development (1960s), and the Energy Extension Service (1970s). Traditionally, the Extension Service Director reported to (or was) the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. In 1993, as part of a university-wide reorganization, the OSU Extension Service was made part of the Office of Extended Education, which reported to the university's Provost.
Frank L. Ballard graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1916 and returned to his native state of New Hampshire where he worked as a county agent for one year. He came back to Oregon in 1917 as a specialist in rural organization and agricultural economics for the Extension Service. During the next 45 years, he served as County Agent Leader, Vice Director, Extension Agriculture Editor of Publications, and Associate Director of the Extension Service in Oregon. He contributed to many leading farm magazines and gained national renown as an agricultural journalist.
Accruals: Additions to the collection are expected.
More Extent Information: 3350 photographs; 9 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: The photographs were transferred to the Archives in numerous accessions from the 1960s through 2009.
Related Materials:
The OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include numerous collections documenting Extension Service programs and activities throughout Oregon. The Extension Service Records (RG 111) document the administration and programmatic activities of the OSU Extension Service. The Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection (P 020) and the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection (P 120), and Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC) include additional photographs of Extension Service programs and staff. The 4-H Photograph Collection (P 146) provides extensive visual documentation of Oregon 4-H programs, projects, and participants. Other collections that document county extension activities include the Clackamas County Jersey Cattle Club Scrapbook (MSS ClackamasCattle), the Malheur County 4-H Leaders Council Records (MSS Malheur), and the Multnomah County Extension Home Economics Units Collection (MSS MultnomahHomeEc).
See also: Digital Resources: History of OSU Extension, a comprehensive collection of online resources documenting the 100+ year history of Extension at Oregon State University.
Preferred Citation: Extension Service Photographs (P 062), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Processing Information: The Lane County Extension Photographs (Series V) are not fully processed.
Oregon State University. Extension Service
Ballard, Frank L. (Frank Llewellyn) (1891-1971)
Columbia Commercial Studio (Portland, Or.)
Curtis, Asahel (1874-1941)
Gifford, Benjamin A.
Oregon 4-H (Program)
Oregon Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon State Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon State College. Federal Cooperative Extension Service
Prentiss, A. M. (Arthur M.)
Weister Company
4-H clubs--Oregon.
Agricultural extension workers--Oregon.
Agricultural laborers--Oregon.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Benton County (Or.)
Clatsop County (Or.)
Columbia Commercial Studio (Portland, Or.)
Crops--Oregon.
Farm life--Oregon.
Home economics extension work--Oregon.
Hops and Brewing
Klamath County (Or.)
Lane County (Or.)
Livestock--Oregon.
Migrant agricultural laborers--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon 4-H (Program)
Oregon Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon Multicultural Archives
Oregon State Agricultural College. Extension Service
Oregon State College. Federal Cooperative Extension Service
Oregon State University. Extension Service
Rural extension--Oregon.
University History
Weister Company
World War, 1939-1945--War work--Oregon--Schools.
Youth--Oregon--Societies and clubs.
Digital prints.
Film negatives.
Nitrate negatives.
Panoramic photographs.
Photographic prints.
Slides (photographs).