Gerald W. Williams collection, 1855-2007 (bulk 1910-2005).

ArchivalResource

Gerald W. Williams collection, 1855-2007 (bulk 1910-2005).

The Gerald W. Williams Collection consists of Williams' personal papers; the historic photograph collection that he assembled; photographs taken by Williams and his family; oral histories; maps; moving images and sound recordings; and posters, ephemera, and artifacts pertaining to forestry, environmental history, Native Americans, and geography of the Pacific Northwest. Williams' personal papers include 35 years of his research notes, manuscripts, and final publications. Included in this component of the collection are copies of more than 6000 documents from the papers of Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, which are held at the Library of Congress. The papers also include materials pertaining to Judge John B. Waldo, the first 100 years of the U.S. Forest Service, the geography and place names of the McKenzie River region, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army Spruce Production Division. The historic photographs collected by Williams include thousands of postcards from the 1900s through 1940s, documenting watersheds, forests, and communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on Oregon. Other historic photographs include a large collection of Oregon and California postcards made by photographer Frank Patterson, a Medford photographer and northwest Oregon and southwest Washington logging scenes taken by John Fletcher Ford (circa 1900-1915). There are also photographs documenting the U.S. Army Spruce Production Division in Oregon and Washington during World War I, large format prints of early 20th century forestry scenes in Washington and Oregon made by renowned photographers Darius and Clark Kinsey, and images depicting Native Americans. A variety of formats are represented including photographic prints, postcards, sterographic images, and glass lantern slides. The photographs taken by Williams consist primarily of color slides, photographic prints, and film negatives. These include images of national parks and forests in Oregon and Washington, the McKenzie River region of Oregon, and vacation photos. Of particular note are slides of Celilo Falls taken by Williams' father, Jack Williams, in September 1956, a few months before the falls were inundated by The Dalles Dam. The oral histories include sound recordings and transcripts of interviews of U.S. Forest Service employees in preparation for the Forest Service centennial as well as with residents of the McKenzie River region. Several publications of forestry-related oral histories are included. The maps consist of items assembled by Williams for his research and for their historic value. They include maps and brochures for national forests throughout the United States; framed historic maps; topographic maps; and maps of Civilian Conservation Corps structures. The moving images include films, VHS videotapes, and DVDs commemorating the centennial of the U.S. Forest Service and pertaining to the Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon and Washington, heritage resource management, and national forest roads. The sound recordings include cassette tapes of speeches, special events, and radio interviews. A CD of a production on the sounds of the forest is also included. The collection also includes political posters, a scrapbook documenting the Smoky the Bear anniversary traveling exhibit, and ephemera and artifacts of the Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

91 boxes, including 13 oversize boxes.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7108100

Oregon State University Libraries

Related Entities

There are 9 Entities related to this resource.

Kinsey, Clark

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r50zhp (person)

United States. Army. Spruce Production Division.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6257j5p (corporateBody)

Kinsey, Darius, 1869-1945

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pz5gf6 (person)

Waldo, John B. (John Breckenridge), 1844-1907

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69913qr (person)

Judge John Breckenridge Waldo (1844-1907) was born in Oregon on October 6, 1844 to Malinda Lunsford Waldo and Daniel Waldo, a pioneer of the 1843 wagaon train over the Oregon Trail with the Applegate party. John Waldo studied law at Willamette University in Salem and graduated in 1866. He was admitted to the Oregon state bar in 1870 and married Clara A. Humason in 1877. Beginning in 1880, Waldo served six years on the Oregon Supreme Court, the last two as Chief Justice. A member of the Republica...

Ford, J. F. (John Fletcher)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p87672 (person)

Williams, Gerald W.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6545h2r (person)

Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1993, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998, he served as the regional sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Williams designed and implemented a regional and national history program for t...

United States. Forest Service

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qn9w3d (corporateBody)

The evolution of the USDA Forest Service is rooted in the General Provision Act of l89l in which Congress authorized the President to designate particular areas of the forested public domain to be set aside as "reserves" for future use. The number and size of these reserves increased notably in l897 when the President was authorized to establish reserves in order to protect watersheds, to preserve timber, and to provide lumber for local use. There was no provision for management or...

Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qz62p2 (corporateBody)

The Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal agency, was created as part of the New Deal in 1935. From the description of Civilian Conservation Corps photograph collection [graphic]. 1936. (Santa Fe Public Library). WorldCat record id: 38548415 On March 31, 1933, congress passed the Emergency Conservation Work Act, creating the Civilian Conservation Corps. On April 5, the president appointed Robert Fechner of Tennessee as Director of Emergency Conservation Work. Fechner, a vic...

Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vm4992 (person)

First director, United States Forest Service (1905). He changed the name of protected "forest preserves" to "national forests" and advocated a controversial "wise use" policy for the resources of the national forests, whereby a greater use of forest resources, such as tree harvests and grazing rights could be permitted. From the description of Correspondence, 1905-1945. (Denver Public Library). WorldCat record id: 40804560 Forester and governor of Pennsylvania. F...