Skip to main content

Refine your search

Enrich your results

854 results

From Governor Charles Martin to James Bain

From Governor Charles Martin to James Bain

This letter from Oregon Governor Charles H. Martin to James R. Bain refers to a contentious dispute between competing labor unions and business owners that …

Oregon History Project
From Granville Arnold to his Father

From Granville Arnold to his Father

The 1850s were easily the bloodiest decade in the history of southwestern Oregon. While relations between whites and Indians in the Rogue Valley had long …

Oregon History Project
From Horace Lyman to the Editor

From Horace Lyman to the Editor

Reverend Horace Lyman was a County School Commissioner in Portland and a strong advocate for public education. In this letter to the editor of the …

Oregon History Project
From J.F. Caples to Portland City Council

From J.F. Caples to Portland City Council

Oregon District Attorney J. F. Caples wrote this letter to the Portland City Council warning about the city’s violation of a state law banning the …

Oregon History Project
From J.T. Dizney to Eva Emery Dye

From J.T. Dizney to Eva Emery Dye

This letter was written in 1903 by John T. Dizney, an employee of the Warm Springs Indian agency, to Eva Emery Dye, an Oregon City-based …

Oregon History Project
From James Mullany to his Sister Mary, 1861

From James Mullany to his Sister Mary, 1861

This letter was written by James Mullany to his sister Mary on November 28, 1861. He discusses his experience as a miner in Idaho during …

Oregon History Project
From Jean Baptiste A. Brouillet

From Jean Baptiste A. Brouillet

Catholic priest Jean Baptiste A. Brouillet wrote this letter to the United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs on May 2, 1866. In it, Brouillet requested …

Oregon History Project
From Jean Baptiste Charbonneau

From Jean Baptiste Charbonneau

As the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau holds a special place in the history of the American West. Charbonneau …

Oregon History Project
From Jesse Applegate to John Minto

From Jesse Applegate to John Minto

This letter of December 12, 1883, was written by Oregon pioneer Jesse Applegate to pioneer and Oregon State legislator John Minto.  Applegate was responding to …

Oregon History Project
From Neakahnie Mountain near Manzanita

From Neakahnie Mountain near Manzanita

This panoramic view looks south along the Oregon coastline from the steep slopes of Neahkahnie Mountain. It was photographed by Wesley Andrews, a producer of …

Oregon History Project

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.