Harold E.D. Brown photograph collection, approximately 1920-1950

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Brown, Harold E. D. (Harold Elbert Dempsey), 1895-1983
Title
Harold E.D. Brown photograph collection
Dates
approximately 1920-1950 (inclusive)
Quantity
74 photographic prints (1 box and 1 folder) ; sizes vary
Collection Number
PH0083
Summary
Photographs of U.S. Forest Service forest rangers, lookout and ranger stations, logging, camping, mining and fishing scenes, Mt. Baker and vicinity, and the Timberline Lodge.
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

Selected images can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Harold Elbert Dempsey Brown, a longtime employee of the U.S. Forest Service, was born in Plessis, New York on March 31, 1895 to Ulysses E. Brown and Sarah Dempsey. During World War I, he served with the 2nd Battalion Canadian Machine Gun Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, earning a Distinguished Conduct Medal. He began his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1911, first working at the Deschutes National Forest in southern Oregon. Later, he worked in the Umpqua National Forest, also in southern Oregon. In 1931, he became the the first U.S. Forest Ranger to serve at the Koma Kulshan Ranger Station in the Mt. Baker Ranger District of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. In this position, he was directly responsible for the planning and supervision of all the buildings and activities, the work being done by Civilian Conservation Corps personnel.

On July 6, 1933, he married Miss Margaret H. Chapin in Concrete, Washington and they moved into the Koma Kulshan Ranger Station. He served as the U.S. Forest Ranger in the Koma Kulshan area until 1935, when he transferred to the U.S. Forest Service office in Bellingham, Washington. Mr. Brown worked for the Forest Service for 31 years. After a break service, he retired in 1965 from the Mt. Baker National Forest as a Forestry. He died on May 18, 1983 in Olympia, Washington.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Photographs of U.S. Forest Service forest rangers, lookout and ranger and stations; logging, camping, mining and fishing scenes, Mt. Baker and vicinity, and Timberline Lodge.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Preferred Citation

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donor: Harold E.D. Brown, July 1983.

Processing Note

Processed by: Arlene G. Cohen, 2018.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

U.S. Forest Service Personnel and Forestry TrainingReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/1 1 February 1924
1/1 2 1934
1/1 3a-b
U.S. Forest Service personnel in front of a building with the sign "U.S. Forest Service"
On item 83.3a, the names of people in the photograph are written on the verso, including their position and the U.S. Forest Service forest they are working in
1920?
1/1 4 1933?

U.S. Forest Service Ranger Training Camp, Columbia National Forest, Wind River, WashingtonReturn to Top

On June 15, 1949 the Columbia National Forest was renamed Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/2 5
Group of the thirty-two forest rangers and seven instructors at the training camp
The names of all the instructors and students with the forest they are assigned to are written on the verso
between October and November 1931
1/2 6 between October and November 1931
1/2 7 between October and November 1931
1/2 8 between October and November 1931
1/2 9 between October and November 1931
1/2 10a-b
Tents used for housing the participants at the Ranger training camp
between October and November 1931
1/2 11-12 between October and November 1931
1/2 13 between October and November 1931
1/2 14
View from a hillside overlooking the Wind River Valley showing the Wind River Nursery and associated structures below
between October and November 1931

Ranger StationsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/4 17a June 25, 1925
1/4 17b-c
Silverton Ranger Station in Snohomish County, Washington
1925?
1/4 18 1925?
1/4 19
Ed Huff and man sitting in front of a cabin at Mt. Pilchuch in Snohomish County, Washington
Ed Huff was a U.S. Forest Service Ranger in the 1920's and a friend of Harold E.D. Brown. He is on the right in the photograph.
1923
1/4 20 1923
1/4 21 1923
1/4 22 1923
1/4 23 1923
1/4 24 between 1920-1930?
1/4 25 October 1928
1/4 26 1930?
1/4 27a-b 1932

Lookout TowersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/5 28
Fairview Peak Lookout Station located in the Umpqua National Forest in southwest Oregon
Written on verso: Fairview Look Out. 1940 Murland (?) Johnson (Packer)
1940
1/5 29 between 1931-1935?
1/5 30 between 1920-1965?
1/5 31 August 24, 1931
1/5 32
Mountain lookout probably in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
Stamped on verso: Our Own Photo Finishers, Concrete, Washington
between 1930-1935?

Logging and mining operations and campsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/6 33 June 29, 1937
1/6 34
Sauk River Lumber Camp scaler's shack
Written on verso: Scaler's Shack Sauk Sale?
June 29, 1937
1/6 35a-b 1931
1/6 36a-b 1931
1/6 37 between 1940 and 1950
1/6 38
Man standing in a burnt-out tree trunk
between 1940 and 1950
1/6 39 between 1940 and 1950
1/6 40
Man examining a tree
between 1940 and 1950
1/6 41 between 1930 and 1935
1/6 42 between 1930 and 1935
1/6 43 between 1930 and 1935
1/6 44a-c between 1930 and 1935
1/6 45a-b 1930
1/6 46
Tree stumps possibly being blown up using borax and dynamite
Documentation from the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration states "Blowing [text illegible] borax and dynamite"
October 1931?
1/6 47
Aerial view of the Musick Mine in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon
Written on verso: Musick Mine - about 1894 in Bohemia Mining area in Umpqua National Forest.
1894?

Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, OregonReturn to Top

The Timberline Lodge, built between 1936-1938, is on the south side of Mt. Hood near Government Camp in Clackamas County, Oregon

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/8 56
Main Lounge in the Timberline Lodge
Sawyers (Photographer)
between 1938 and 1942
1/8 57
Ski Lounge in the Timberline Lodge
Sawyers (Photographer)
between 1938 and 1942
1/8 58 between 1938 and 1942
1/8 59 between 1938 and 1942?

Cascade Mountains, WashingtonReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box item
OS1 60 Between 1930-1965?

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Fire lookout stations--Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Ranger stations--Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Corporate Names

  • Timberline Lodge (Mount Hood, Or.)--Photographs
  • United States. Forest Service
  • University of Washington. School of Forestry--Faculty
  • University of Washington. School of Forestry--Students

Geographical Names

  • Cascade Range--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Kinsey, Darius, 1869-1945 (photographer)