Archives West Finding Aid
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Harvey Gordon letters, 1860-1862
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Gordon, Harvey, 1828-1862
- Title
- Harvey Gordon letters
- Dates
- 1860-1862 (inclusive)18601862
- Quantity
- 0.1 cubic feet, (1 folder in shared box)
- Collection Number
- Mss 741
- Summary
- Letters sent to Harvey Gordon (1828-1862), primarily concerning Oregon and U.S. politics. Gordon designed the state seal of Oregon, and was elected Oregon state printer in 1862 but died before taking office.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Harvey Gordon was born in 1828 in Vernon, Indiana. In 1846, he emigrated to Oregon by way of the southern route (also called the Applegate Trail), where he took a donation land claim at the Molalla townsite in Clackamas County, and worked as a surveyor. He went to California during the Gold Rush, but came back to Oregon and took part in the Oregon land survey of 1853 to 1854. In 1857, the Oregon Constitutional Convention adopted a resolution that led to the appointment of Benjamin F. Burch, L. F. Grover, and James K. Kelly as a committee to report on a state seal for Oregon. Gordon submitted a design to this committee, and after the committee recommended some additions, his design was approved, and was still the state seal as of 2022. In 1862, Gordon successfully ran to be the Oregon state printer, but died two months before he was to take office.
Sources: "Dictionary of Oregon History," second edition, 1989, edited by Howard McKinley Corning; "Oregon Almanac: Nut, State to Shoes, Oldest," Oregon Secretary of State, https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/facts/almanac/n-s.aspx.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of 14 letters that were written to Harvey Gordon between 1860 and 1862. Almost all of these letters concern political matters in Oregon and in the United States, such as elections and the state of party politics in Oregon; they also include a letter from Selucius Garfielde, describing Garfielde's activities in running to be the territorial delegate for Washington. Other correspondents in the collection include Jesse Applegate, Riley Evans Stratton, and R. H. Dearborn. The collection also includes an undated letter from John T. Outhouse, regarding the productivity of mines that were likely located in Idaho.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Harvey Gordon letters, Mss 741, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Letters from Jesse Applegate likely acquired in February 1907 (RL2022-145-RETRO); all other materials most likely acquired in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Related Materials
Other correspondence of Harvey Gordon at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library is located in the James Willis Nesmith papers, Mss 577.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Oregon--Politics and government--19th century
Personal Names
- Applegate, Jesse A., 1811-1888--Correspondence
- Gordon, Harvey, 1828-1862--Correspondence
- Stratton, Riley Evans, 1821-1866--Correspondence
Form or Genre Terms
- correspondence
