John P. Henderson Photograph Collection

John P. Henderson Photograph Collection, 1936-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Henderson, John P.
Title: John P. Henderson Photograph Collection
Dates: 1936-1990 (inclusive)
19361990
Quantity: .5 linear feet of shelf space, (1 box), (731 images)
Collection Number: PC 171 (collection)
Summary: Photographs, primarily taken in the 1960s and 1970s, documenting the railways of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Included are the Nez Perce Railroad, Camas Prairie Railroad, and the Walla Walla Valley Railway.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open and available for research use.
Languages: English.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

John P. Henderson, 1945-2007, was a school teacher with a degree in Music from the University of Idaho. A railway buff, he traveled the northwest researching and photographing railways of the past and present. In the years prior to his death he broke up and sold off his collected photographs.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of photographs documenting the rail lines, the trains, and the buildings and equipment of several northern Idaho and eastern Washington rail companies, notably the Nez Perce Railroad, Camas Prairie Railroad, and the Walla Walla Valley Railway. The Nez Perce & Idaho and the Nez Perce and Pomeroy are also included, though to a lesser extent. The majority of the photographs are black and white negatives dating from the 1960s and 1970s. Where the images are in color, or in other formats (some slides are included), that is noted in the folder descriptions.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] John P. Henderson Photograph Collection, 1936-1990

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is organized into series based on the various rail systems, with full series going to the Nez Perce Railroad, Camas Prairie Railroad, and the Walla Walla Valley Railway. A few other rail lines have individual folders. Within those series, items are organized by subject and then by format. Within each folder, items can have a chronological arrangement, a subject arrangement, or no apparent arrangement (original order), depending on the materials.

Acquisition Information

The collection was acquired in August, 2011 from Marc Entze of Hunlock Creek, PA, and retained as UPC-1103. Mr. Entze had been personal friends with John Henderson; he and a friend, Jim B. Davis, had been gifted many of these materials (the Walla Walla Valley Ry. materials and portions of the Nez Perce Ry. materials) by Henderson. The remainder they purchased after someone else had inherited Mr. Henderson’s photographs and put them up for sale.

Processing Note

Photographs were rehoused in 2017 in protective sleeves by student James Feller, who then photocopied the identifying information on the original envelopes onto archival paper and placed that in the sleeves with the images. The collection was then processed in February, 2018 by University Archivist Mark O’English.

Separated Materials

Several documents which came in as part of the purchase were individually cataloged: Camas Prairie Employee Timetable, 1910; Northern Pacific Employee Timetable, Pasco Div., 1913; Northern Pacific Employee Timetable, Idaho Div., 1914. However, these had been acquired independently of the photographs, and are not directly related. A blank single-sheet Walla Walla Railway Company Freight Conductor’s Train Report was moved to MASC’s Historical Ephemera collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Camas Prairie RailroadReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description
Folder
1	Cabooses, 1967-1972. 2 negatives.
2	Clearwater River, 1967-1968. 12 negatives.
3	Clearwater River (?), 1968. 5 positives.
4	Cranes & cabooses, 1966. 4 positives.
5	Derailment, BN #1702, 1975. 1 positive.
6	Gas electrics, 1947-1950. 2 negatives.
7	Grangeville local, 1967-1968. 36 negatives.
8	Grangeville local, 1967. 3 positives.
9	Jaype, Lyons Ferry, Orofino, 1987. 8 color slides.
10	Lewiston, 1966-1979. 9 negatives.
11	Lewiston terminal, 1966. 7 positives.
12	Lewiston, historical, 1910. 1 negative.
13	Locomotives, 1967. 5 positives.
14	Locomotives, Union Pacific, 1967-1979. 24 negatives.
15	Plows, 1972-1979. 3 negatives.
16	Plows, rotary, 1967-1979. 9 negatives.
17	Speeders, 1967-1979. 13 negatives.
18	Structures, 1946-1988. 8 negatives.
19	Trestle collapse, May 6, 1967. 4 negatives.
20	Union Pacific #246, #250, undated. 7 positives.

Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad (CA), 1972. 2 negatives.Return to Top

Container(s): Folder 21

Series 2: Nez Perce RailroadReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description
Folder
22	2-6-2 Prairie #4. Inc. Wisconsin images of restoration as #9., 1947-1970. 10 positives.
23	Action, 1979. 62 negatives.
24	Action, 1968. 58 negatives.
25	Action, 1984. 4 negatives.
26	Line and equipment conditions, 1967. 38 positives.
27	Miscellaneous, 1964-1965. 13 negatives.
28	Miscellaneous, 1966. 21 negatives.
29	Miscellaneous, Jan., 1967. 38 negatives.
30	Miscellaneous, Jan., 1967. 10 color negatives.
31	Miscellaneous, Jan., 1967. 25 slides.
32	Miscellaneous, Jan., 1967. 14 color slides.
33	Miscellaneous, May-June, 1967. 21 negatives.
34	Miscellaneous, 1968. 15 negatives.
35	Miscellaneous, 1972. 11 negatives.
36	Nezperce, ID, 1967. 10 color positives.
37	Plymouths #11, #12, 1952-1960. 8 positives.

Nez Perce & Idaho Railroad, 1939-1949. 12 negatives.Return to Top

Container(s): Folder 38

Nez Perce & Pomeroy Railroad, 1988. 17 negatives.Return to Top

Container(s): Folder 39

Nez Perce & Pomeroy Railroad, 1990. 40 negatives.Return to Top

Container(s): Folder 40

Series 3: Walla Walla Valley RailwayReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description
Folder
41	#770, 1967-1968. 57 negatives.
42	#770, 1967. 40 positives.
43	#770, 1967. 18 positives.
44	Engine house, #770, 1966. 8 positives.
45	Images by Harold A. Hill, 1936-1946. 13 negatives.

Zidell Exploration Ltd. (OR), 1972. 3 negatives.Return to Top

Container(s): Folder 46

Archives West Finding Aid

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