Archives West Finding Aid

The F. Ross Brown Papers consist of materials generated and assembled by Brown documenting his student years at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC), agricultural work in the 1910s, and participation in the Oregon Wildflife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation. The collection consists of photographs and a photograph album; student memorabilia; correspondence; newspaper clippings; and ephemeral items.

The collection includes 44 loose photographs and a photograph album with 41 images. Most of the images were made in 1900-1913. The loose photographs depict Brown's college classmates at OAC, campus views, farmsteads and agricultural scenes, and the first Agricultural Fair held at OAC in 1911. Portrait photographs of Brown's OAC classmates were made by W.S. Gardner and include images of R.B. Denny, R.E. Bradley, Darwin Thayer, B.L. Clark, Glenna Wilson, Ray Chapman, Ralph Rees, and several unidentified students. The campus views are from the period 1890-1910 and include several snow scenes, individual campus buildings, and a view of the construction of Apperson Hall. Several portrait photographs of Ruby Starr Witzig, taken by Mrs. M. Wiegand (Corvallis photographer), are part of the collection. Views of Heppner and Roseburg, Oregon, are included as well as a group photograph of attendees at the Annual Convention of Agents for the Oregon Fire Relief Association, held in McMinnville, Oregon, in April 1924. Two photographs (circa 1950s) depict Brown with Douglas McKay and an unidentified man; in one of the photographs McKay is viewing a sheet of National Wildlife Federation Stamps.

The photograph album consists of prints from 1900 to 1913; the bulk of the images are for 1911-1913. The album includes snapshots of friends and family (including children) and outings. Agricultural scenes, especially of orchards, and views of towns in Oregon and Washington are depicted, including Ashland, the Hood River Valley, Medford, Rex, Riddle, and Roseburg in Oregon and Camas, Washington. Photographs of several campus buildings, including construction of the new greenhouses in 1910, and the college orchard are included. Of note are two images of a wagon stuck in a muddy road identified as 11th and Harrison in Corvallis in January 1913.

The student memorabilia includes several holiday (Christmas) cards; a Class of 1910 Class Day program; and reunion booklets for the Class of 1910 for 1913, 1914, 1916, and 1935.

The correspondence consists primarily of letters between Brown, in his roles with the Oregon and National Wildlife Federations, and Mark O. Hatfield, first as Secretary of State and later as Governor of Oregon, during the period 1958-1963. These exchanges pertain to fisheries and wildlife issues, including appointments to boards and commissions. The newspaper clippings are for the period 1951-1964 and document Brown's involvement with the Oregon Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation; clippings pertaining to salmon fishing in Oregon, migratory waterfowl of the Klamath Basin, and dam construction are also included. Ephemeral items include a 1959 certificate from the County of Hawaii to Brown, as Vice President of the National Wildlife Federation, and 1956 campaign report for Save Oregon's Salmon, Inc., located in Corvallis, Oregon. This organization sponsored an initiative measure ("7") to eliminate commercial salmon netting on Oregon's small coastal streams. A World War II era ration book holder is also included in the collection.