138 results
Oregon Land Donation Claim Notification
This image shows a certificate issued March 8, 1866, that grants 640 acres of land in Clackamas County to Thomas J. Chase and his wife, …
Oswego Iron Works
In 1867, workers smelted the first iron ingots produced at the Oregon Iron Company at the confluence of the Willamette River and Sucker Creek, now …
Otter Hunting
The illustration above shows a party of otter hunters near Coos Bay in 1856. It was common to shoot otter from the shore as depicted …
Portage Railroad near Cape Horn
In 1863, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company (OSNC) built a fourteen-mile-long portage railroad eastward from The Dalles around Celilo Falls, a series of several long …
Portland Chinatown, 1886
This color lithograph accompanied an article titled “A Night in Chinatown” in the October 1886 issue of West Shore, a Portland news and literary …
Portland Construction Co. House Plans, 1886
These plans for a modest urban cottage were prepared by the Portland Construction Company in 1888 for George C. Flanders. The house was built at 1826 …
Portland Fire, 1873
In the early hours of August 2, 1873, fire bells rang summoning the Portland volunteer firefighters to a fire that raged, according to newspaper accounts, …
Portrait of Henry Pittock with Two Babies
Henry Pittock, shown here near the turn of the twentieth century, arrived in Portland in 1853. Thomas J. Dryer, publisher of the Oregonian, …
Proclamation from Governor George Abernethy
Oregon Provisional Governor George Abernethy issued this proclamation for the raising of a voluntary militia following an authorization from the Oregon Provisional Legislature. The legislature’s intent …
Quis-quas-hum (Frances Harney Johnson)
The woman in this photograph is identified as Quis-quas-hum, also known as Frances Harney Johnson, a member of a Takelma band in the Rogue River …Interpretive Essays
Interpretive essays use primary documents from the Oregon Historical Society archives to help readers imagine the events, people, and issues that shaped Oregon history.
