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Portland General Electric photographs, 1873, 1888-1966

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Portland General Electric Company
Title
Portland General Electric photographs
Dates
1873, 1888-1966 (inclusive)
Quantity
17.21 cubic feet, ( 46 document cases, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
Org. Lot 151
Summary
Photographs relating to the history and development of Portland General Electric. The negatives and photographs in this collection include images of employees, power generating stations, office buildings, recreational sites, power lines, towers, streetcars, streetcar tracks, office buildings and equipment. A majority are black-and-white, with a small selection of color images. Several dam building projects are included, such as those at Round Butte, Pelton, and Oak Grove.
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

Original negatives are restricted. Photographs are available to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Portland General Electric Company was founded as Willamette Electric Company in 1888 by Edward L. Eastham and Parker F. Morey. Beginning with a hydro-electric generating plant on Willamette Falls, Station A, the company grew quickly. It acquired many of the other electrical interests in the Oregon City area and in 1892 it was reorganized as Portland General Electric. Between 1892 and 1906, PGE acquired many other small electrical utilities and electric railroads, growing its holdings rapidly.

In 1906, the company once again reorganized itself as Portland Railway Light & Power Company. It operated several electric streetcar lines, including an extensive system in the city of Portland. Ridership fell in the late 1920s and the company again reorganized itself into Portland Electric Power Company (PEPCO), with two subsidiaries: Portland General Electric as the electric utility and Portland Traction Company as the railroad. PEPCO went into bankruptcy in 1939, ultimately selling all of its railroad holdings to the Portland Transit Company in 1946 and reorganizing one final time into Portland General Electric (PGE) in 1948. It was bought by Enron in 1997 but as of 2006 PGE is independent.

PGE built many power generating plants in both Oregon and Washington. These plants were primarily hydro-electric, but they also built several steam plants, a gas plants, a coal-fired plant and a nuclear power plant.

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Content Description

The Portland General Electric photograph collection (1873, 1888-1966) contains negatives and photographs illustrating company activities, employees, publications, and power generation and distribution throughout much of the 20th century.

The negatives in Series A are arranged by original numbers assigned by PGE based on subject. These include specific stations, substations, disasters, and dams such as those built at Round Butte, Pelton, and Oak Grove. Additional general images include streetcars and trains, street lighting, power line installation, Rose Festival floats, office buildings, car barns and bridges. Of particular note are original photographs of the first station established by the Willamette Electric Company, a hyro-electric plant at Willamette Falls. A majority are glass negatives of two different sizes, 8x10 and 5x7.

The negatives in Series B are arranged by original PGE numbers assigned by year, rather than subject. Topics include dam building projects at Round Butte and Pelton, employee activities and services, stations and substations, line maintenance, PGE divisions, equipment, recreation at sites such as Timothy Lake, and the 1964 Christmas flood. Images used in the PGE Bullseye, a PGE company publication are also represented. This series also includes a large number of employee portraits, such as those from the rural services division,company presidents and retirees. It consists almost entirely of acetate negatives.

Series C includes photographs taken from 1949 to 1966, many of which are also represented by negatives in Series B. A majority of the images include corresponding negative numbers, and most are black-and-white. Arranged alphabetically by topic, they cover a diverse array of activities and events recorded by PGE. Also included are two oversize photographs mounted on board, taken of the St. Johns Bridge and Swan Island.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

941 images are viewable online in OHS Digital Collections.

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

Portland General Electric photographs, Org. Lot 151, Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 3 series. Series A-B include negatives organized by original PGE numbers. The numbers in Series A correspond to a subject, project, or location and are arranged in sequential order. In Series B, numbers correspond to year, and are arranged chronologically. While both series use original PGE numbers, differences in arrangement reflect changing organizational systems over time at PGE.

Series C, photographs, is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Acquisition Information

Lib. Acc. 16350

Related Materials

Associated materials can be found in Portland General Electric Collection (circa 1870-2012), Coll 415, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Other photographs related to Portland General Electric can be found in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library as call numbers: PGE 16-342, PGE 139-2, PGE 137-3, and 000652.

Portland General Electric's annual reports for the years 1956-1967, 1972-1977 and 1983 can be found in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

The PGE Bullseye can be found in the serials collection at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. The periodical was renamed PGE Newsline and can also be found in the serials collection at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Two films are related to this collection:

The Incredible, Lovable Heat Pump, MI 07884

Bull Run Fish Ladder, MI# 07892

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Corporate Names

Form or Genre Terms

Finding aid prepared by Lindsey Benjamin
2018

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