View XML QR Code

Portland General Electric Collection, circa 1870-2012

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Portland General Electric Company
Title
Portland General Electric Collection
Dates
circa 1870-2012 (inclusive)
Quantity
47.69 cubic feet, (20 record cartons, 34 document cases, 19 flat boxes, 23 oversize folders)
Collection Number
Coll 415
Summary
Photographs and documents relating to the history and development of Portland General Electric. The photos in this collection include color and black and white photographs, negatives and slides of employees, power generating stations, office buildings, recreational sites, power lines, towers, streetcars, streetcar tracks, office buildings and equipment. The documents in this collection include correspondence, logbooks, account books, manuals, ephemera, newsletters, clippings, etc. regarding employees, power stations, office buildings, operations, outside organizations and the electrical industry as a whole.
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

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Return to Top

Biographical 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.

Return to Top

Content Description

The Portland General Electric collection, circa 1870-2012 contains documents, photographs, illustrations and negatives regarding the power utilities employees, marketing and political efforts, its publications and power generation and distribution.

The Papers, 1885-2012, contain reports, correspondence, clippings, publications, ephemera, log books, plans and other documents. Included are annual reports from 1929-2007; information on various Oregon cities; documents relating to PGE's community outreach efforts; documents relating to disasters and disaster planning, including floods, storms and accidents; Manuals, notebooks and reports relating to power distribution and other electrical services; Correspondence, minute books and other documents relating to employees, their benefits, clubs and unions; Directories and maintainence plans and records for various PGE facilities; Account books, rate schedules and other financial documents; Published and unpublished histories of PGE; Marketing materials, including brochures for power stations and recreational sites; Newsletters; Designs, plans and operating manuals for PGE office buildings in Oregon; Publications of various other organizations, including the Bonneville Power Administration; Designs, plans, logbooks, manuals, reports, correspondence, clippings and other documents relating to PGEs hydroelectric, steam, coal, gas and nuclear power plants, as well as several substations; Clippings related to streetcars and trains; Articles, books, conference materials and other publications probably used as resources and reference materials on topics including construction, dams, electricity, equipment, laws, nuclear power and water; Speeches on various topics delivered by PGE employees; Materials relating to the effect World War II had on PGE.

The Illustrations, circa 1892-1983, contain line drawings, maps, clipart and other graphics primarily used in the publication of PGE Bullseye.

The Photographs, circa 1870-2005, contain photographs and slides accompanying annual reports for 1968-1982; Community involvement, including photographs of PGE's floats in the Portland Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade almost every year from 1907 to 1989; Contact sheets primarily for use in PGE Bullseyetaken between 1970 and 1979; Photographs of disasters and PGEs response to them, including fires, the 1964 flood and other floods, the Columbus Day Storm in 1962, ice and wind storms, and railroad accidents; Images of street lights, power lines including towers, poles and underground vaults and other electrical services; Photographs of employees, including group and individual portraits, sports activities and company events; Photographs of buildings and other locations, primarily of PGE property including offices and power generating plants. Of particular note are a large amount of photographs of the construction of the Trojan Nuclear Plant, Beaver Gas Plant and the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, originally named the Willamette Center; Marketing and other commercial images, including stills from television spots and photographs of exhibits; Photographs of railroad cars, car barns, bridges and tracks, primarily in the Portland area; Photographs of equipment used by PGE employees, including pole trucks and computers.

The Albums, 1911-1978, consist of 17 photograph albums documenting various PGE activities, including retirement parties, power plant and dam construction, and power line installation.

The Negatives Series contains negatives of varying sizes for many of the photographs in the Photographs Series.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Portland General Electric Collection, Coll 415, Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 5 series:

  • Series I: Papers, 1885-2012
  • Series II: Illustrations, circa 1892-1983
  • Series III: Photographs, circa 1870-2005
  • Series IV: Albums, 1911-1978
  • Series V: Negatives

Acquisition Information

Library Accession 28137

Processing Note

The collection was received in good condition and in no specific arrangement. Since there was no original order the materials have been arranged alphabetically, and chronologically where appropriate, within the series.

Separated Materials

Two films were separated from this collection:

The Incredible, Lovable Heat Pump, MI# 07884

Bull Run Fish Ladder, MI# 07892

Related Materials

The Portland General Electric Photograph Collection can be found in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library as Org. Lot 151. An incomplete inventory of these photographs and negatives is available in the Research Library. Org. Lot 51 contains negatives for many prints found in this collection.

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.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Corporate Names

Form or Genre Terms

Finding aid prepared by Sarah Stroman
2014

CC0

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West