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Withycombe Family Collection, 1844-1918

By Maya Bergmann and Elizabeth Nielsen

Collection Overview

Title: Withycombe Family Collection, 1844-1918

Predominant Dates: 1897-1911

ID: MSS Withycombe

Primary Creator: Withycombe, James (1854-1919)

Extent: 1.0 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Withycombe Family Collection is arranged into 3 series: 1. Agriculture and Farming Books, 1844-1918; 2. Publication by Withycombe, 1905; and 3. Photographs, circa 1910-1911.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Withycombe Family Collection consists of agriculture publications assembled by James Withycombe and his son Robert Withycombe and photographs of James Withycombe and the Withycombe House in Corvallis.  James Withycombe was appointed Professor of Agriculture at Oregon Agricultural College in 1898 and the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station in 1908 and held these positions until he became Governor of Oregon in 1915.  Robert Withycombe earned an agriculture degree from Oregon Agricultural College in 1901 and was Superintendent of the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station in Union in 1906-1931.

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

Scope and Content Notes

The Withycombe Family Collection consists of agriculture publications assembled by James Withycombe and his son Robert Withycombe and photographs of James Withycombe and the Withycombe House in Corvallis.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of books on agricultural topics that were assembled by James and Robert Withycombe, many of which were required texts at Oregon Agricultural College in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and may be have been used by James as an instructor and/or Robert as a student.  The family may have also used these texts to inform themselves about farming practices.  Topics include keeping livestock, soil health and maintenance, dry farming, and farming business tools.  Of special note is a book on farm accounting written by John A. Bexell, Professor of Commerce at Oregon Agricultural College.  The collection also includes one publication written by Withycombe during his time as a faculty member at Oregon Agricultural College on the profitability of small poultry flocks.

The photographic component of this collection includes many images depicting James Withycombe; several of these show Withycombe on horseback.  Other photographs depict the 1911 Farming Demonstration Train tour of Oregon.  An image of Withycombe in front of Agriculture Hall (currently Furman Hall) and a photograph of the family’s home (known as Withycombe House) on Monroe Avenue in Corvallis, Oregon are also part of the collection.

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

Biographical / Historical Notes

James Withycombe was born in Tavistock, England on March 21st, 1854 to parents Thomas and Mary Ann Withycombe. Withycombe grew up with five siblings on their parents' farm. In 1871, he immigrated to the United States with his family. He and his family settled outside of Hillsboro, Oregon. In 1875, he purchased a 100-acre wheat field for fifteen dollars an acre. After purchasing this land, he decided to move away from wheat and plant multiple different crops on his piece of land. This decision made him the first farmer in the area to practice diversified farming. On June of the same year, he married Isabel Carpenter.

In 1889, James Withycombe became the state veterinarian for Oregon. He was offered this position, even though he had only taken one veterinary class while he lived in England. He held this position until 1898, when he became a professor of agriculture at Oregon Agricultural College.  In 1908, Withycombe was appointed Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station; he also served as Head of the Dairy Husbandry Department. Withycombe was never formally trained in agriculture, but his experience as an innovative farmer influenced his appointment to these positions which he held for 16 years until he became governor on January 23rd, 1915. He remained the Governor of Oregon until his death on March 3rd, 1919.

James’ son Thomas Robert Withycombe (known as Robert) graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1901 with an undergraduate degree in agriculture; he served as Superintendent of the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station in Union from 1906 to 1931.

The Withycombe House on Monroe Avenue in Corvallis was purchased by Oregon Agricultural College from the Withycombe family in about 1917 and served as a Home Management House for several decades.

Withycombe Hall on the Corvallis campus was named for James Withycombe at the time of its construction in 1952.



Author: Maya Bergmann and Elizabeth Nielsen

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 12 photographs; 2 boxes, including 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The materials were donated to the Oregon State University Animal Sciences Department by James Withycombe's grandson, Thomas Withycombe, in 2005, and were transferred to the former University Archives from the Animal Sciences Department shortly thereafter.

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's holdings include hundreds of collections pertaining to agriculture and farming, agricultural research, and the agricultural extension and outreach programs in Oregon.  Of particular note are the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025).  More information about farm demonstration trains in Oregon is available in the Extension Service Records (RG 111) and Photographs (P 062).  Photographs of James Withycombe, Withycombe House, and Withycombe Hall are available in Harriet's Photograph Collection.  The Oregon Historical Society has materials documenting Withycombe's role as a farmer, Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, and Oregon Governor in  the James Withycombe Papers.

Preferred Citation: Withycombe Family Collection (MSS Withycombe), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: Preliminary information about this collection was placed online in 2012; the collection was fully processed and described in 2019-2020.

Creators

Withycombe, James (1854-1919)
Bexell, J. A. (John Andrew) (1867-1938)
Oregon Agricultural College. Experiment Station

People, Places, and Topics

Agriculture--Accounting.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Dry farming.
Farm management--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon Agricultural College
Oregon Agricultural College. Experiment Station
University History
Withycombe, James, 1854-1919

Forms of Material

Photographic prints.


Box and Folder Listing