138 results
Tecumtum (Chief John)
Tecumtum (“Elk Killer”), also known as Chief John, was chief of the Etch-ka-taw-wah, a band of Indians who lived along the Applegate River in southwestern …
Temple Beth Israel
Beth Israel, organized in 1858, is Portland’s oldest Jewish congregation. The members worshipped above commercial space on Front Street before moving to this synagogue on …
The Applegates
The Applegates were one of Oregon’s most influential early pioneer families, a fact reflected in the landscape. They have a river, a valley, a mountain, …
The Arrival of Looking Glass
This excerpt from Army officer Lawrence Kip’s journal describes the dramatic arrival of Chief Looking Glass at the 1855 Walla Walla Council. Looking Glass had …
The Great Flood of 1861
In this excerpt from an undated handwritten reminiscence, George Anson Pease, a steamboat captain based out of Oregon City, relates his experiences during the 1861 …
Title Page, Chinook Dictionary, 1871
The 1871 edition of Father Modeste Demers’s Chinook Dictionary, Catechism, Prayers, and Hymns was edited and amended by Rev. F.N. Blanchet and Rev. L.N. St. …
Toby Winema Riddle
Toby Winema Riddle, also known as Kaitchkana and Nanooktowa, was born near southern Oregon's Link River around 1850. She was related to Kintpuash, better known …
Train Passing through The Needles, c. 1885
This photograph, taken about 1885, shows a freight train of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company along the south shore of the Columbia River several …
Treaty with the Snake (Northern Paiute), 1865
This treaty, dated August 12, 1865, is reprinted from the second volume of Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties, published in 1904. J.W. …
Union League Secret Code and Translation
This coded message was created by a national organization called the Union League, a fraternal/political club with many chapters formed during the Civil War to …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.
