This collection includes correspondence, deeds, financial records, and wills associated with the Amedee M. Smith, Sr. family. Amedee's parents, Freeman and Margaret H. Smith, moved to Buena Vista, Oregon in 1866, where Freeman established the first pottery business on the Pacific coast in 1866. Amedee M. Smith, Sr. operated the Buena Vista Pottery Company, moving it to Portland and renaming it the Oregon Pottery Company, from 1870 to 1897. In 1897 the business was reorganized under Amedee M. Smith, Jr. and was called the Western Clay Manufacturing Company. Amedee M. Smith, Sr.'s and first wife Mary Speelman's children were: Albert G., Elizabeth (Mrs. W.H. Britts), Amedee M., Jr., Blaine R., Mary E. (Mrs. F.C. Sellwood), Leta R. (Mrs. Roger Haselton); after the death of his wife Mary, his and his second wife Mrs. Emma J. Coulter's children were Harold S. and Mildred. The bulk of the collection is materials collected by Amedee M. Smith, Jr. He was active in pottery manufacturing, politics, charitable organizations, various businesses, community activities and institutions, and labor issues, including the 1934 Portland waterfront strike. His various interests were the Masons, the Manufacturing Association, the Republican Party, Multnomah County Commissioners, Realty Associates, Willamette Iron and Steel Corporation, Oregon Terminal Company, Willamette University, YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, Farm and Home Owners Association, Oregon Society Sons of the American Revolution, First Methodist Church, and the Arlington Club. Additional materials include Harlan C. Smith's recollections of the Fort Clatsop area, Oregon Pottery Company, and Buena Vista Pottery Company; and a journal of a trip to the Yreka Mines in 1851 by Freeman Smith.
