Oregon Improvement Company records, 1877-1935
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Oregon Improvement Company
- Title
- Oregon Improvement Company records
- Dates
- 1877-1935 (inclusive)18771935
- Quantity
- 32 cubic feet plus microfilm and 1 vertical file
- Collection Number
- 0249
- Summary
- Minutes, legal documents, correspondence, and other records of the Oregon Improvement Company
- Repository
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University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
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Open to all users.
Some material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.
- Languages
- English
Historical Note
The Oregon Improvement Company was a business that owned and operated coal mines, railroads, and steamship companies in Washington and California. Financier Henry Villard launched the Oregon Improvement Company in 1880 as a central component in his attempt to dominate the economic development of the Pacific Northwest. Villard wanted to link rail, river, and ocean transport, and he was interested in developing coal both as fuel and as payload. The company had financial problems from the beginning. Elijah Smith replaced Villard in 1884, and was himself replaced by William Starbuck in 1891. The Pacific Coast Company purchased and absorbed Oregon Improvement Company in 1896.
Content Description
Minutes, court papers, legal documents, financial records, correspondence, and other business records of the Oregon Improvement Company and its subsidiary corporations.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
Organized into 3 accessions.
- Accession No. 0249-001, Oregon Improvement Company records, 1880-1896
- Accession No. 0249-002, Oregon Improvement Company records, 1884-1935
- Accession No. 0249-003, Oregon Improvement Company records, 1877
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Accession No. 0249-001: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1880-1896
32 cubic feetcopies: 37 microfilm reels. positive. 35mm.Scope and Content: Records, 1880-1896.
Minutes, court papers, organizational materials, financial records, correspondence, and other business records of this firm, which was essentially a property holding and development wing of the Henry Villard railroad interests and was involved in coal mining, steamships, urban development, and feeder railroads, principally in Washington. Records also include miscellaneous files of several subsidiary corporations, including the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Co., the Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad Co., the Pacific Coast Railway Co., the Seattle and Northern Railway Co., the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad Co., the Seattle Coal and Transportation Co., and the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. Correspondence from this accession also available on microfilm.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Donated by Pacific Coast Coal and Oil Company: July 1962 and Nov. 1967, 7/1/1962.
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Description: Oregon Improvement Company records
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Accession No. 0249-002: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1884-1935
1 microfilm reel (negative)Scope and Content: Agreements, 1884; financial records, 1889-1895, 1914-1935.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: Received 10/20/1978.
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Description: Oregon Improvement Company records
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Accession No. 0249-003: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1877
1 vertical fileScope and Content: Contract dated June 1, 1877, between the Seattle Coal and Transportation Company, Inc. and the Seattle and Walla Walla Rail Road Company.
Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.
Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Acquisition Info: William Kombol, 2007-04-03
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Description: Oregon Improvement Company records
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Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Coal mines and mining--Washington (State)
- Coal trade--Pacific States
- Industrial relations--Washington (State)
- Railroads--Washington (State)
- Transportation--Pacific States
- Transportation--Washington (State)
Corporate Names
- Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad
- Oregon Improvement Company--Archives
- Pacific Coast Railroad Company
- Pacific Coast Steamship Company
- Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad
- Seattle Coal and Transportation Company
- Seattle and Northern Railway Co
Form or Genre Terms
- Business correspondence
- Legal instruments
- Minutes (Records)
- Scrapbooks
Other Creators
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Personal Names
- Higginson, James (creator)
- Holmes, Artemas H (creator)
- McKay, Nathaniel (creator)
- Mitchell, John H. (John Hipple), 1835-1905 (creator)
- Mohr, Paul (creator)
- Muir, John, 1847-1935 (creator)
- Reed, Simon G (creator)
- Simon, Joseph, 1851-1935 (creator)
- Smith, Elijah, 1840- (creator)
- Starbuck, William (creator)
- Villard, Henry, 1835-1900 (creator)
- Wilson, Nathaniel (creator)
Corporate Names
- Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company (creator)
- Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation (creator)
- City Bank Farmers Trust Company (New York, N.Y.) (creator)
- Colorado Manufacturing Co (associated name)
- Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad (creator)
- Columbia Railway and Navigation (associated name)
- Dolph, Bellinger, Mallory & Simon (creator)
- Great Northern Railway Company (U.S.) (creator)
- Johnson & Higgins (creator)
- Northern Pacific Railroad Company (creator)
- Northern Transcontinental Survey (creator)
- Oregon Steamship Co (associated name)
- Port Townsend Southern Railroad (creator)
- Puget Sound Shore Railroad Co (associated name)
- Smith Brothers and Watson (associated name)
- Thurston County Railroad Construction Co (associated name)
- Union Lumber Association, San Francisco (associated name)
- Union Pacific Railway Company (creator)
- Union Wharf Company (creator)
- Willamette Steam Mill and Manufacturing Company, Portland, Ore (associated name)
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
