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Title: G. Burton Wood Papers, 1908-1987

Predominant Dates: 1946-1975

ID: MSS Wood

Primary Creator: Wood, G. B. (Gregory Burton) (1909-)

Extent: 2.7 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The G. Burton Wood Papers are arranged in 3 series: 1. Trip and Meeting Files, 1950 -1987; 2. Speeches and Presentations, 1946-1970; and 3. Reference Materials, 1908-1984.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The G. Burton Wood Papers document Wood's professional work as the Director of the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station from 1966 to 1975 and as an agricultural economist.  The collection includes trip and meeting files, speeches, and reference materials.  Wood was a faculty member in agricultural economics at Oregon State University from 1951 until his retirement in 1975.

The G. Burton Wood Papers document Wood's professional work as an agricultural economist and administrator.  The collection consists of trip and meeting files, speeches, and reference materials  The Papers reflect Wood’s representation of Oregon State University at special events, in meetings of Oregon commodity groups, and in regional associations and advisory groups.  The bulk of the records are for Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, and the western United States.  The collection also reflects Wood’s particular interests within agricultural economics – farm management, marketing, cooperative associations, the role of land grant colleges and universities, and the administration of agricultural research through Experiment Stations.  Speeches, reports, and publications on agricultural forecasts and the future of agriculture broadly in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest are part of the collection.  Also of note are materials pertaining to agriculture in Turkey assembled by Wood as part of a large Oregon State University contract with the United States Agency for International Development.  Materials pertaining to mint oil, grape wine research, and the Winegrowers Council are part of the papers.  Several photographs of groups of individuals (which may include Wood) are included as well.

G. Burton Wood joined the faculty of Oregon State College in 1951 as head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, a position he held until 1966 when he was appointed Director of the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean of Agriculture.  Wood retired from these positions in 1975.    Wood earned a BS from the University of Oregon in 1938, an MS from Oregon State College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1945.  From 1944 to 1951, he was on the faculty at Purdue University.  Wood's specialities within agricultural economics were marketing, farm management, and arbitration.

Gregory Burton Wood was born in 1909 in Medford Oregon.  He married Ramona Jackson, daughter of E.P. Jackson, in 1935 and they had two children, Gregory Jr. and Patricia.  Wood died in 1990.

Author: Roxanne Edgar

More Extent Information: 6 photographs; 4 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The materials were donated to the University Archives by Wood's daughter, Pat Gregory, in 1998.

Related Materials: Oral history interviews of G. Burton Wood are available in the A.L. Strand Oral History Collection (OH 007) and the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 010).  Records documenting Wood’s administrative role and research are part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department Records (RG 128) and the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025).  The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds the papers of several other agricultural economics faculty including Emery N. Castle, D. Curtis Mumford, and Fred W. Obermiller as well as Elvin A. Duerst, Oregon State alumnus and international agricultural economist.

Preferred Citation: G. Burton Wood Papers (MSS Wood), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

This finding aid replaces a stub record created in 2012.  Administrative Regulations for Oregon Agricultural College that were assembled by E.P. Jackson have been removed from the collection and transferred to the President's Office Records of William Jasper Kerr (RG 013 - SG 7).

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

Historically, "squaw" has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used in the context of the Squaw Butte Experiment Station. This station is now known as the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collecctions, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]

Wood, G. B. (Gregory Burton) (1909-)
Henderson, Robert W. (Robert Wesley) (1914-2006)

Agricultural development projects--Turkey.
Agricultural economists--Oregon.
Agriculture--Economic aspects--Oregon.
Agriculture--Research--Oregon.
Crops--Research--Oregon.
Natural Resources
Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station
Oregon State University. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University History
Weeds--Control--Oregon.
Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors
Wood, G. B. (Gregory Burton), 1909-

Photographic prints.