Data for the Oregon Community Surveys was compiled in 1925, 1930, and 1936. The 1936 surveys were done under the auspices of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration and were conducted by C.S. Hoffman, Assistant State Supervisor of Rural Research. Hoffman completed an MS in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Oregon State Agricultural College (OSAC) in 1932; his thesis was an analysis of methods used in rural community surveys. Hoffman earned a BS in Commerce from OSAC in 1930.
The 1925 surveys were conducted by S. Briggs, J. H. Kolb, M. Patten, R. Walp, and E. Wootton. The 1930 surveys were conducted by Luther S. Cressman, a Sociology Professor at the University of Oregon. In 1935, Cressman founded the Anthropology Department at the University of Oregon which he headed until 1963. His archeological work at Fort Rock in the late 1930s established that humans had lived in the Pacific Northwest 4,500 years earlier than previously thought. The 1925 and 1930 surveys may have been done in conjunction with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and/or the Extension Service.
The Oregon Community Surveys consist of data and narrative summaries documenting the schools, churches, social organizations, and economic status of the rural communities of Clatskanie, Condon, Cottage Grove, and Riddle, Oregon. The collection includes completed survey data sheets, handwritten notes, narrative summaries, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and a photograph.
Each survey includes information about the demographics of the community, including the total population and number of individuals identified as "native born", "foreign born" , and "negroes"; number and type of farms and agricultural cooperatives; types of industries and businesses; information about charities, crime, social activities, and civic organizations; medical services available; and the names of influential individuals in the community. Extensive information about the community's schools were gathered as part of the surveys and include enrollment as well as information about facilities, library and equipment, teachers, and school clubs and organizations. Detailed information about each church in the community was assembled as part of the surveys. In addition to information about the church's facilities, data on the church's finances, membership, and religious education programs are included. The surveys also include narrative summaries and comments written by the surveyors.
The 1930 survey of Condon includes a photographic postcard of street scene of the business district of Condon.
Some of the materials are fragile or in poor condition and require care in handling.
Collection is open for research.
Oregon Community Surveys, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
The materials may have been assembled and donated to the Oregon State University Library or the Archives in the 1960s by Glenn A. Bakkum, Sociology Professor at Oregon State College.
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