Oregon Improvement Company records, 1877-1935

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon Improvement Company
Title
Oregon Improvement Company records
Dates
1877-1935 (inclusive)
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
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

Open to all users.

Some material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

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 DescriptionReturn to Top

Minutes, court papers, legal documents, financial records, correspondence, and other business records of the Oregon Improvement Company and its subsidiary corporations.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

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 CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 0249-001: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1880-1896Return to Top

32 cubic feet
copies: 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.

Description
Oregon Improvement Company records

Accession No. 0249-002: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1884-1935Return to Top

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.

Description
Oregon Improvement Company records

Accession No. 0249-003: Oregon Improvement Company records, 1877Return to Top

1 vertical file

Scope 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

Description
Oregon Improvement Company records

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

  • 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)