Archives West Finding Aid

The glass plate negatives, numbered 1-6, depict unidentified Indigenous people in a camp of tipis. Their dress and some decorative elements in the images suggest that these may be people from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. It would appear that the images were taken at some kind of rodeo or pageant event. In one image, a young woman shows her beadwork, including a small purse with a beaded "1915" and a depiction of a horseman wrangling cattle.

The Walla Walla area street scenes largely depict buildings and businesses in the region, including fire and police stations, Walla Walla High School, First National Bank, Walla Walla Bottling Company, the American Theater, and more. The First Christian Church in Milton, Oregon (today, Milton-Freewater) is also shown, suggesting other buildings and businesses may also be from that area. The Walla Walla area agricultural scenes show the Walla Walla Farmers Agency, Walla Walla Meat and Cold Storage, Palouse Falls, the Whitman Mission gravesite, and more. The collection may serve researchers interested in Walla Walla and the surrounding area during the 1920s and 1930s, particularly businesses that operated during that time.