Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Willamette River Pollution Film, circa 1940
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Smith, W. Joy
- Title
- Willamette River Pollution Film
- Dates
- circa 1940 (inclusive)19381942
- Quantity
- 0.05 cubic foot, including 1 film, (1 box)
- Collection Number
- FV P 059
- Summary
- The Willamette River Pollution Film documents point sources of pollution in the Willamette River and its tributaries.
- Repository
-
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
The film was probably made by William Joy Smith, of Portland Oregon. Smith was State Manager of the National Life Insurance Company and President of the Oregon Wildlife Federation. It was made before establishment of the state Sanitary Authority and fostered much of the original interest in water quality in Oregon. The film may also have been known at the time of its creation by the title "The Polluted Willamette".
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Willamette River Pollution Film (FV P059:1) is a 16 mm color, silent film (39 minutes) of various point sources of pollution in the Willamette River and its tributaries. The film begins near Springfield and progesses downstream to Portland and includes footage of various forms of industrial, agricultural, and municipal effluent being dumped into the Willamette River and its tributaries, including the Pudding and South Santiam Rivers. The footage includes tests of the length of time that small fish can survive in water from the Willamette River and chemical tests of the river water. The film includes footage of the river or its tributaries at Springfield, Eugene, Corvallis, Crabtree, Lebanon, Salem, Woodburn, and Portland.
The full film is available online as a streaming media file: View film.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Willamette Pollution Film (FV P 059), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Processing Note
A digital duplication master (miniDV format) was made of this film in 2003. A VHS use copy is available for reference use.
Custodial History
This copy likely was part of the State of Oregon Board of Health Film Library at some point prior to its donation to the Archives. It was acquired by the OSU Archives prior to 1966. The film may have been donated to the Archives by either Philip Wiliam Schneider, Sr., or his son, Philip William Schneider, Jr. The senior Schneider graduated from Oregon State College in 1940 with a BS degree in fish and wildlife; the younger Philip Schneider also attended Oregon State University and earned a B.S. and Ph.D. (1975) in fisheries.
Related Materials
The OSU Archives holdings include a variety of collections with documentary and visual materials pertaining to the Willamette River. The Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Collection includes numerous photographs of Willamette River tributaries made about the time of this film.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Water quality--Oregon--Willamette River--Measurement.
- Water--Pollution--Oregon--Willamette River.
Geographical Names
- Corvallis (Or.)
- Eugene (Or.)
- Lebanon (Or.)
- Portland (Or.)
- Pudding River (Or.)
- Salem (Or.)
- Santiam River (Or.)
- Springfield (Or.)
- Willamette River (Or.)
- Woodburn (Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Silent films.
Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth
Nielsen.
2008
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
