The Oregon Improvement Company was a business that owned and operated coal mines, railroads, and steamship companies in Washington and California. Financier Henry Villard launched the Oregon Improvement Company in 1880 as a central component in his attempt to dominate the economic development of the Pacific Northwest. Villard wanted to link rail, river, and ocean transport, and he was interested in developing coal both as fuel and as payload. The company had financial problems from the beginning. Elijah Smith replaced Villard in 1884, and was himself replaced by William Starbuck in 1891. The Pacific Coast Company purchased and absorbed Oregon Improvement Company in 1896.
Organized into 3 accessions.
Minutes, court papers, legal documents, financial records, correspondence, and other business records of the Oregon Improvement Company and its subsidiary corporations.
Open to all users.
Some material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Minutes, court papers, organizational materials, financial records, correspondence, and other business records of this firm, which was essentially a property holding and development wing of the Henry Villard railroad interests and was involved in coal mining, steamships, urban development, and feeder railroads, principally in Washington. Records also include miscellaneous files of several subsidiary corporations, including the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Co., the Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad Co., the Pacific Coast Railway Co., the Seattle and Northern Railway Co., the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad Co., the Seattle Coal and Transportation Co., and the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. Correspondence from this accession also available on microfilm.
Records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.