Charles David Little Photograph Collection, 1903-1905

Title: Charles David Little Photograph Collection, 1903-1905

Predominant Dates: 1905

ID: P 126

Primary Creator: Little, C. David (Charles David)

Extent: 0.1 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Charles David Little Photograph Collection is comprised of one series: Photographs, 1903-1905. The photographs are arranged in the order assigned during the collection's preliminary processing.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Charles David Little Photograph Collection is comprised predominately of studio photographs featuring Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) students, and taken between 1903 and 1905. These images capture OAC cadets, football and track and field athletes, and other members of the student body. Most of the collection's images are 8"x6" or larger, and are mounted on card stock.

Prints of the OAC cadets include an image of the cadet battalion marching in a parade to honor Theodore Roosevelt in Portland, Oregon in 1903. No street signs are readily identifiable, but contemporary signage - for Owl Cigars, Malley's Wholesale and Retail Groceries, and Yeoman's House - is featured in the mid-ground of the image. Little appears in several of the cadet-related photographs, and is identified as Captain C. David Little.

The collection also includes photographs featuring members of the athletics staff, and of the 1905 OAC football team. Of particular note is a 13.5"x10.5" composite image of the 1905 OAC football team (P126:013). Also included is an image of Professor Will Orian Trine, who served as OAC's Physical Director (Director of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics) in the early 20th century (P126:008). Professor Trine is pictured in full military dress. A portrait of OAC football players Harvey Earle Rinehart and Joel Emily, both pictured in early 20th-century football gear, is also included (P126:009).

Contemporary campus buildings featured in the images - formerly known as Mechanical Hall, Agricultural Hall, and Benton Hall - are identified by the building name used at the time the photograph was taken. In instances where the building name has changed, the name used at the time of the finding aid's publication appears in brackets.

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

Charles David Little – from Houlton, Oregon, a small community later incorporated by present day St. Helens, Oregon in Columbia County – attended Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) from 1900 to 1905. There is, in fact, some inconsistency with regards to his name. While the 1902-1903 General Catalog refers to Little as David Charles Little, the 1903-1904 and 1905-1906 General Catalogs refer to him as Charles David Little. Moreover, captions on the backs of several photographs in the collection refer to Little as Captain C. David Little, suggesting that his first name was Charles, though he may have gone by David.

While at OAC, Little studied mechanics and mineralogy. He also played guard on the football team, and served as Captain of 1^st Battalion, “D” Company in the OAC Cadet Corps.

Little was born in Nebraska in 1880 or earlier and moved to Oregon with his family between 1880 and 1900 (based on census records).  In 1910, he was a working as a mine engineer in Idaho and he apparently died in Idaho in 1961.

More Extent Information: 2 boxes including 1 oversize box; 13 photographs

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The Charles David Little Photograph Collection was accessioned by the Oregon State University Archives in the 1960s. Additional information about the collection's provenance is unavailable. The collection is now housed in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings contain numerous photograph collections documenting the student experience at Oregon Agricultural College during the early 1900s including the Bertha Andresen Photographs (P 026), Alva Aitken Photograph Collection (P 116), Jerry D. Belcher Collection of Oregon Agricultural College Track Photographs (P 128), and the Joshua Robert Akers Photograph Collection (P 244).

Preferred Citation: Charles David Little Photograph Collection (P 126), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: A preliminary container list for this collection was published in 2012. This finding aid was updated in 2018 to reflect current arrangement and description best practices and in 2019 to incorporate additional biographical information, an expanded description of the collection contents, and a revised name for the creator and collection.

Little, C. David (Charles David)

College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Football--Oregon--Corvallis.
Oregon Agricultural College--Football.
Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
Oregon Agricultural College--Track and field.
Oregon Agricultural College. Cadet Corps
Student activities--Oregon--Corvallis.
Track and field athletes--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History

Photographic prints.