Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Battleship Oregon collection
Mss 1399
4.3 cubic feet
5 document cases, 4 flat boxes, and 1 oversize folder
1897-1993
Collection documenting the battleship USS Oregon, the Battleship Oregon Commission, and the Battleship Oregon Memorial and Museum.
English
Collection is open for research.
Gifts of Chester L. Coon, March 1958 (Lib. Acc. 7662), Mrs. T. H. Turner, February 1970 (Lib. Acc. 11399), Henry H. Cortesi, April 1987 (Lib. Acc. 18197), Arthur McArthur, December 1993 (Lib. Acc. 21557); Lib. Acc. 8992; and other accessions.
The collection is arranged in two series:
- Series 1: General materials
- Series 2: Battleship Oregon Commission materials
The battleship USS Oregon was the third ship to carry the name of the state of Oregon. The ship was originally classified as Coast Battleship No. 3, authorized in 1890, and built at Union Iron Works, San Francisco. Following the ship's launch on October 26, 1893, it served in major conflicts for the next fifty years, including the Spanish-American War (1898) and Philippine campaign (1899-1900), World War I, and World War II. The vessel was purchased by the state of Oregon for purposes of a memorial in 1925. It was recommissioned for World War II, used as a scrap and ammunition depot, and finally sold for scrap on March 15, 1956.
Battleship Oregon collection, Mss 1399, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Some reorganization of the collection was performed in 2013. Further minor revisions were made to the collection guide in November 2024 to correct some dates and conform to current standard.
Other collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library that relate to the Battleship Oregon include plans for the U.S.S. Oregon, Mss 4062; the diary of E.T. Eagling, Mss 2700; logbook of M.A. Davenport, Mss 6012; and the Military collection, Mss 1514.
This collection was compiled by the Oregon Historical Society, and consists of correspondence, reports, scrapbooks, logs, personal papers, photographs and drawings, and mementos of the battleship U.S.S. Oregon, the Battleship Oregon Commission, and the Battleship Oregon Memorial and Museum. Among these are materials concerning the vessel's construction, launch, actions in the Spanish-American War, service as a memorial and museum in Portland, and dismantling following World War II. The materials also include correspondence with the National Auxiliary of the United Spanish War Veterans, the papers of Chester Lincoln Coon (1915-1919), the 1898 diary of Sargent Weed in the Philippines, and an 1898 logbook taken from the Spanish ship Cristobol Colon.
Photograph albums acquired with Lib. Acc. 8992 were cataloged as part of the Spanish-American War photographs collection, Org. Lot 254, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
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.
Coon, Chester Lincoln
Oregon (Battleship)
Battleship Oregon Commission--Records and correspondence
Battleship Oregon Commission
United Spanish War Veterans. National Auxiliary
Philippines--History--Philippine American War, 1899-1902
Battleships--United States
Spanish-American War, 1898--Campaigns--Cuba
Oregon
Ships and Shipping
Military
financial records
correspondence
minutes (administrative records)
scrapbooks
ships' logs
General materials
Series 1
1897-1993
Assorted correspondence
1902
1919
1961
1974
1
1
Autograph book, Honolulu, Hawaii
1898
1
2
Attendance record on Battleship Oregon
1925 June 16-1942 December 15
1
3
Battleship Oregon Fund ledger
1937-1938
1
4
Battleship Oregon Memorial Association records
1938 May-1939 December
1
5
Battleship Oregon Memorial Park dedication
1944
1
6
The Bulldog, Vol. 1, Nos. 2-4 (two copies of No. 2)
1905 May-1906 January
1
7
The Bulldog, Vol. 1, No. 1
1905 March
1
8
The Bulldog, U.S.S. Oregon
1918-1919
1
9
Centennial celebration
1993 October 26
1
10
Chester Lincoln Coon, U.S. Navy, papers
1915-1919
1
11
Cristobol Colon logbook
1898
2
1
Logbook taken from the Spanish ship Cristobol Colon, destroyed at Santiago Bay, July 3, 1898.
"Cruise of the U.S. Flagship New York around the World, 1901-1902"
circa 1902
2
2
Diary of Sargent Weed, Philippines
1898
2
3
Donation of anchor links to Japan
1979 June 8
2
4
Duty Co. A 2nd Oregon Infantry, Manila, register
1898
2
5
Ephemera
1896-1942
2
6
Histories and descriptions
1942
undated
2
7
Invitation to launch
1893 October 26
2
8
Memorandum to U.S. Flagship New York
1898
2
9
Log of Battleship Oregon Museum
1949 July 1-1954 November 1
2
10
National Auxiliary, United Spanish War Veterans -- Correspondence
1935-1946
3
1
Notebook of W. H. Brannan
1900-1904
3
2
Contains photographs, notes, and drawings.
Photograph of Portland showing ship's location
undated
3
3
Poetry and song lyrics
1923
1942
undated
3
4
Postcard set -- Pacific Islands
circa 1899
3
5
Postcards
1905-circa 1925
undated
3
6
Reports
1950-1955
3
7
Rosters and lists
undated
3
8
Rough log of the USS Oregon, Bremerton, Washington, to Portland, Oregon
1925 June
3
9
Scrapbook
1898
3
10
Signal book
undated
3
11
Signals - Notes
1897
3
12
USS Detroit signal logbook
1898 May-August
3
13
Art on Paper
1931
undated
6
1
Photographs
1904
6
7
Visitors register, Captain Cabin #58
1897-1950
7
Scrapbook compiled by Cora A. Thompson and Dr. George F. A. Walker, curator of the Battleship Oregon Museum
1913-1956
8
Scrapbook - Save the Battleship Oregon Campaign
1938
8
Donor's book - alphabetical index of donors
undated
8
Battleship Oregon Memorial poster
undated
9
1
Letter to Henry T. Scott from John Davis Long, Secretary of Navy Department, regarding construction of Battleship Oregon
1898 July 21
9
1
Lithograph of Battleship Oregon signed Myrah, Agency Lithograph Co., Portland, Oregon
undated
9
1
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaii Territory)
1903 December 17
9
2
Roll of Honor, Battleship Oregon Memorial Park
1938
9
Posters
circa 1938
circa 1942
Oversize 1
Two posters: "Long Live the Oregon," promoting United States War Savings Bonds Stamps, Daily Journal of Commerce; and "Don't give up the ship!," for 1938 campaign to create a Battleship Oregon Park on the Portland waterfront.
Resolution, Scout Young Camp No. 2, Department of Oregon, United Spanish War Veterans, Portland, Oregon
1933 June 20
Oversize 1
Includes photograph of Battleship Oregon with inset image of Captain C. E. Clark.
Battleship Oregon Commission materials
Series 2
1918-1957
Audits
1946-1951
4
1
Audits
1952-1955
4
2
Ownership acceptance documents
1923
4
3
Correspondence
1918-1933
4
4
Correspondence
1935
4
5
Correspondence
1937
4
6
Correspondence
1938
4
7
Correspondence
1939-1942
4
8
Correspondence
1942-1946
4
9
Correspondence
1947-1949
5
1
Correspondence
1954-1956
5
2
Correspondence, legislation, budget figures
1938-1940
5
3
Donations
1929-1942
5
4-7
Historical address by Governor Walter M. Pierce
1925 July 3
5
8
Inventories
1927-1938
5
9
Members
1943
5
10
Minutes
1925-1943
5
11
Minutes
1944-1957
5
12
Budget
1929-1938
6
2
Budget
1936
6
3
Budget
1937
6
4
Budget
1937-1939
6
5
Budget
1938
6
6