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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

Series 1: Agriculture and Farming Books, 1844-1918
Series 1 consists of agriculture and farming books that were assembled by James Withycombe and his son Robert Withycombe.  These publications may have been used by James as an instructor and/or Robert as a student at Oregon Agricultural Collection.  The Withycombe family may have used these to inform and develop their farming practices.  The books address a variety of topics including draining of farm land, soil health and maintenance, dry land farming, animal care, and farm accounting and business practices.  Of special note is the 1911 book Farm Accounting and Business Methods by Oregon Agricultural College professor J.A. Bexell.  The publications are arranged chronologically.
Box-Folder 1.01: The Book of the Farm, Volume 1, 1844
Author: Henry Stephens
Box-Folder 1.02: Gray's Lessons in Botany: The Elements of Botany for Beginners and for Schools, 1887
Author: Asa Gray
Box-Folder 1.03: Land Draining: A Handbook for Farmers on the Principles and Practice of Farm Draining, 1897
Author: Manly Miles
Box-Folder 1.04: Experimental Plant Physiology, 1898
Author: D.T. MacDougal
Box-Folder 1.05: The Rural Science Series: The Care of Animals, 1903
Author: Nelson Mayo
Box-Folder 1.06: The Rural Science Series: The Farmer's Business Handbook, 1903
Author: Isaac Roberts
Box-Folder 1.07: The Rural Science Series: How to Choose a Farm, 1906
Author: Thomas Hunt
Box-Folder 1.08: How to Keep Farm Accounts: A Practical Book for the Practical Farmer, 1908
Author: H.L. Steiner
Box-Folder 1.09: The Elements of the Science of Nutrition, 1909
Author: Graham Lusk
Box-Folder 1.10: Short Stories About Famous Saddle Horses, 1910
Author: Herbert Krum
Box-Folder 1.11: Farm Accounting and Business Methods, 1911
Author: J.A. Bexell
Box-Folder 1.12: Dry Land Farming, 1911
Author: Thomas Shaw
Box-Folder 1.13: Farm Science: A Foundation Textbook on Agriculture, 1918
Author: W.J. Spillman
Series 2: Publication by Withycombe, 1905
Series 2 consists of Station Bulletin 84, Poultry Under Confinement, by James Withycombe published by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in 1905.  This bulletin reports on research regarding the profitability of small poultry flocks. The publication is available online.
Box-Folder 1.14: Poultry Under Confinement, 1905
Station Bulletin 84 by James Withycombe.
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1910-1911
Series 3 consists of 12 photographic prints featuring James Withycombe, the 1911 Farming Demonstration Train in central Oregon, and the Withycombe House in Corvallis, Oregon.  Many of the images of Withycombe show him on horseback.  Several of the images have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.
Box-Folder 1.15: Farming Demonstration Train, 1911
6 prints.  This train was sponsored by the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company (O-W R&N); includes an image of the Culver (Oregon) station in Jefferson County (central Oregon).
Box-Folder 1.16: Equestrian Poses, undated
3 images of Withycombe on horseback.
Box-Folder 1.17: Corvallis Photographs, undated
Includes a clipping of a published photograph of the Withycombe House and a photographic print of Withycombe standing at the entrance to Agriculture Hall (now Furman Hall).
Box-Folder-Item 2.01.01: Withycombe and others at a stock judging event, circa 1910
Box-Folder-Item 2.01.02: Withycombe House, circa 1910

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.