138 results
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 …
Volunteer Firefighters, 1858
In this photo, Stephen Skidmore, age 19, is shown sitting on the left in the front row with other members of Multnomah No. 2 Volunteer …
Voting Rules, 1845 Letter to L.H. Judson
This document is a transcription of a May 12, 1845, letter sent to Lewis Hubble Judson, who was serving as a judge of elections that …
Wasco (Warm Springs) Reservation Map, 1855
From 1854 to 1855, Joel Palmer, the superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon Territory, negotiated nine treaties between Pacific Northwest Indians and the U.S. …
Whale Butchering at Coos Bay
This sketch, published in an article in the June 1856 issue of Harper’s Monthly, depicts a group of Coos butchering a whale on the …
Wilhelm Keil
This photograph of Wilhelm (William) Keil (1812–1877) was taken sometime between 1855 and 1877. Keil was the founder of two German-speaking Christian communal societies—one in …
William Logan to Captain William J. Spencer
Warms Spring Indian agent William Logan wrote this letter to U.S. Army Captain William J. Spencer, commander of Fort Dalles, regarding Indian fishers at Celilo …
Winter Lodge of Umpqua Indians
This engraving was prepared from a sketch made in 1857 by an unknown artist. It appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, April 24, 1858, …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.
