Oregon Historical
Society, Davies Family Research Library
Research Library
Mss
686
Portland Chamber of Commerce (Or.)
Portland Chamber of Commerce
records
1890-1984
14.5 cubic feet
2 document cases, 11 record cartons, 3 flats boxes, and 2 oversize
folders
Records of a civic and business
organization of Portland, Oregon, including minutes of meetings, financial
records, membership lists, stock books, and records concerning buildings and
property, subject and reference files. Also includes records of the Portland
Commercial Club, the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce, and other Portland
organizations.
Includes Mss 686, Mss 686-1, Mss 686-2, and Mss 686-3.
Materials in the collection are inEnglish
Historical Note
Dedicated to promoting the commercial interests of Portland and
Oregon, the Portland Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in 1890 as the
successor to the Portland Board of Trade. In 1915 it merged with the Portland
Commercial Club.
The collection contains three groups of materials received by the
repository at various times. The first group, Mss 686, consists of financial
records, building committee records, records of stock transactions, and
membership lists, all of which date from the early years of the Chamber in the
1890s. Also included are materials relating to Raymond B. Wilcox. The second
group of materials, designated Mss 686-1, is a folder of monthly reports,
1948-1952, detailing economic and industrial conditions in Portland.
The third and largest group of materials, designated Mss 686-2,
contains minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors, 1915-1917; minutes,
reports, and correspondence of committees, 1890-1975; membership lists; records
concerning Chamber buildings and property; records of Chamber projects and
activities, 1915-1982; subject and reference files; and Portland Commercial
Club records, 1893, 1903-1915. Also included are Portland Retail Trade Bureau
bulletins, 1963-1965; Downtown Promotion Committee correspondence, 1968-1969,
and minutes, 1962, 1964-1965; Oregon State Chamber of Commerce minutes and
reports, 1918-1931; and "Raw materials survey" records, 1947-1959.
The last group of records is a folder of materials relating to the
Portland Commercial Club. These include correspondence, both incoming and
outgoing, between Henry R. Beckwith, president, and representatives of New
Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson and President William H. Taft, regarding visits
to Portland in 1911. Subjects include itineraries, speaking engagements, travel
plans, and security. Programs for the Taft dinner as well as programs for
dinner honoring James R. Garfield and president Theodore Roosevelt are also
included.
The collection is arranged in the following series corresponding to
accessions received at various times:
- Series A: Mss 686, 1890-1937
- Series B: Mss 686-1, 1948-1952
- Series C: Mss 686-2, 1890-1984
- Series D: Mss 686-3, 1911
The following materials were separated to the photographic collections
of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library:
- 123 loose pictures
- Geo. M. Weister Co.,
Oregon Views, albums 1, 3, 4; two
unnumbered albums of Columbia River Highway scenes
- R. I. Gifford,
Oregon scenic views, 2 albums
- Winter Photo Co.,
Oregon scenic views
-
Oregon views: album of photos by
Prentiss, Gifford, Kiser, and Weister
-
Oregon industries: album compiled by
Portland Chamber of Commerce
- F. I. Jones,
Construction of the Bonneville
Dam
The following manuscript materials were separated from the collection:
- Scrapbook on the construction of the Bonneville Dam
- Scrapbook on longshoremen's and other strikes on the Pacific
coast, 1935
- Columbia Gorge Preservation Committee, record book, 1931-1932
(now Mss 661)
The following was separated to the government documents collection of
the Oregon Historical Society Research Library: U.S. Interstate Commece
Commission,
Before the Interstate Commerce Commission in the
matter of the joint application of Great Northern Pacific Company, Northern
Pacific Railway Company and Great Northern Railway Company, for an order
approving and authorizing the acquisition by Great Northern Pacific Railway
Company of control through lease and stock ownership, of Northern Pacific
Railway Company and Great Northern Railway Company...Applicant's exhibits
2-66 (Lacking dockets 6409-6410), 1927.
The collection is open to the public.
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.
Portland Chamber of Commerce records, Mss 686, Oregon Historical
Society Research Library.
Mss 686-1, gift of City of Vancouver, B.C., Archives, 1978.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.
Beckwith,
Henry R.
Garfield,
James R.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Taft,
William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930.
Wilcox,
Raymond
Wilson,
Woodrow, 1856-1924
Downtown
Promotions Committe (Portland, Or.)
Oregon
State Chamber of Commerce
Portland
Board of Trade (Or.)
Portland
Chamber of Commerce (Or.)
Portland
Commercial Club (Or.)
Portland
Retail Trade Bureau (Or.)
Portland
(Or.)--Economic conditions.
Business--Oregon--Portland
City
planning--Oregon--Portland
Industries--Oregon--Portland
City and Town Life
Civic Activism
Oregon
Portland
Ledgers
Letters
(correspondence)
Minutes
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Series A
Mss 686
1890-1937
14/1
Building Committee records (old volume 1)
1891-1893
14/2
Dues and rental accounts (old volume 2)
1893-1895
14/3
Stock book (old volume 3)
1890
14/4
General financial records, including capital stock and
interest account (old volume 4)
1890-1896
14/5
Cash account (old volume 5)
1896-1898
15/1
Financial journal, expeditures, and other accounts (old
volume 6)
1890-1898
15/2
Cash book (old volume 7)
1890-1893
15/3
Raymond Wilcox materials, including memorial
materials
1907-1937
Series B
Mss 686-1
1948-1952
15/4
Monthly reports
Monthly reports showing principal industrial developments,
legislative activities, factory and warehouse expansion and construction, as
well as industries ceasing operations in Portland. (34 reports, typescript,
mimeo)
Series C
Mss 686-2
1890-1984
Minutes
Executive Committee, Board of Directors
1/1
1937 April 13-November 17
1/2
1937 December 2-1938 October 27
1/3
1938 November 3-1939 November 16
1/4
1939 November 30-1941 June 19
1/5
1941 June 26-1942 September 24
1/6
1942 October 1-1944 March 30
1/7
1944 April 13-1946 May 9
1/8
1946 May 29-1948 May 20
1/9
1948 June 3-1950 July 20
1/10
1950 August 24-1954 May 14
1/11
1957 September 13-1959 December 4
1/12
1960 January 8-1961 May 19
1/13
1961 June 9-1962 December 14
1/14
1962 December 18-1963 December 10
1/15
1964 January 10-December 18
1/16
1965 January 8-July 9
1/17
1965 August 27-1966 February 11
1/18
1966 February 18-December 30
1/19
1967 January 13-December 1
1/20
1968 January 12-December 6
1/21
1966 January 10-1969 December 12
2/1
1970 January 9-November 20
2/2
1971 January 8-December 10
2/3
1972 February 11-December 8
Board of Directors
Includes committee reports, memoranda, and other materials
2/4
1964 September 18-December 18
2/5
1965 January 15-December 17
2/6
1966 February 18-June 20
2/7
1966 September 2-December 30
2/8
1967 January 20-March 24
2/9
1967 April 7-21
2/10
1967 May 19-November 21
2/11
1968 March-October
Reports and memoranda only
2/12
1969 April 18-1970 December 11
2/13
1971 January 15-November 19
Committees of the Board of Directors
2/14
Agricultural Committee--minutes, memos,
etc.
1973-1975
2/15
Budget Committee--First draft of budget
1962
2/16
Forestry Committee--Roster, minutes, memos,
etc.
1940
1970
1973
2/17
Oregon Development Fund Trustees--Minutes
1923-1927
2/18
Oregon Development Fund Trustees--Correspondence,
reports, etc.
1923-1927
2/19
Past Presidents' Council--Minutes, correspondence,
etc.
1931
2/20
Recreational Resource Committee--Rosters, minutes,
etc.
1973-1975
2/21
Special School Levy Committee
undated
2/22
Committee rosters
1964
1969
Chamber organization and membership
2/23
Articles of incorporation
1890-1960
- Articles of incorporation, 1890, 1905
- Supplementary articles of incorporation, 1929, 1937;
by-laws, 1924, 1929, 1931, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1960
2/24
Chamber organization chart; Portland Chamber
organization
1915
1922-1927
2/25
Oregon State Chamber of Commerce--By-laws, porgram of
work, finance program
undated
2/26
Information returns for tax-exempt
organizations
1941-1949
1951-1953
2/27
Portland Chamber membership directory
1925
2/28
Plural membership list, revised
1960
2/29
Classified membership list
1960
Properties
2/30
Chamber property--Purchasing contract
1931
2/31
Building mortgage--Correspondence, documents,
financial statements
1935-1941
2/32
Building insurance
1934-1937
2/33
Application for property tax exemption
1945-1946
2/34
Building remodeling specifications
1964
2/35
Annual report
1894
Activities
3/1
Convention promotion
1939-1968
3/2
External promotion, Boston
1966
3/3
Script, "100 minus 5 and you : a panorama of Portland
progress"
circa 1965
3/4
Scripts: "Roasts of Donald V. McCallum and Bill
Wessinger"
undated
3/5
Proposed enlargement of the Columbia River
Channel--Correspondence
1925-1926
3/6
Proposed enlargement of Columbia River
Channel--Hearings and report
1925-1926
3/7
Resolution urging railroad rate parity for Columbia
River points
circa 1915
3/8
Legislation: social security
1939-1940
3/9
Legislation: throughway highway
1946-1947
3/10
Proposed ordinance, City of Portland
undated
3/11
Oregon business leader of the year award: nomination
of C. Howard Burnett
1982
3/12
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry: building fund
drive
undated
3/13
Pacific Northwest Occupational Health
Conference
1963-1966
3/14
Membership campaigns--Reports, correspondence,
etc.
1925-1926
3/15
Membership campaigns--Correspondence, memos, forms,
agenda, campaign newsletter, etc.
undated
Subject and reference files
3/16
"An empire : shall it be developed or shall it be
crushed?"--Western Inland Waterways Corporation
1934
3/17
"Exposition recreation center sites," City of
Portland
1955
3/18
Forestry
undated
3/19
History of Portland Chamber
undated
3/20
"Hotel survey report, Portland, Oregon," The
Hockenbury System Inc.
1957
3/21
Oregon history reference file
undated
3/22
Reciprocal trade pact (visit of Henry F.
Grady)
1939
3/23
U.S. census
1940
3/24
U.S. Postal Service, Portland--Post office revenues,
1850-1944; U.S. Government-occupied office space, Portland
1944-1945
3/25
U.S. Postal Service, Portland: postal zone
directory
1943
3/26
General correspondence
1925-1969
3/27
General Chamber ephemera
1892-1984
Affiliated organizations
3/28
Portland Commercial Club--Articles of
Incorporation
1906
3/29
Portland Commercial Club--Loan for members
1908
Portland Retail Trade Bureau
3/31
Bulletins
1963
3/32
Bulletins
1964
3/33
Bulletins
1965
3/34
Bulletins, memos, etc.
1966
3/35
Correspondence
1968 January-June
3/36
Correspondence
1968 July-1969 January
3/37
Downtown Promotions Committee minutes
1964
3/38-39
Portland Retail Trade Bureau--Downtown Promotions
Committee minutes
1962-1965
Scrapbooks
4/1
1944-1945
4/2
1946
4/3
1948
4/4
1949
4/5
1950
4/6
1961
Bound Volumes
10/1
Portland Chamber of Commerce, Finance
Committee--Minutes
1890 June 4-1897 January 15
10/2
Portland Chamber of Commerce--Minutes of meetings;
Board meeting minutes
1895 January 24-1897 May 20
1898 May 4
5/1
Portland Commercial Club, Board of
Governors--Minutes
1903 Febuary 18-1906 March 19
5/2
Portland Commercial Club records
1893-1915
- Articles of incorporation, 1893 February 15
- Amended constitution, 1906 April 16
- House rules, undated, signed by club members (through
March 1915)
- Signed officers' oaths, 1906-1909
- Board of Governors' minutes, 1906 April 16
- Minutes of special meeting for general membership, 1906
April 16
- Board minutes, 1906 April 23-1908 January 6
5/3
Portland Commercial Club, Board of Governors'
minutes
1908 January 13-1910 January 11
5/4
Portland Commercial Club, Board of Governors' minutes;
proposed amendments to constitution
1910 January 18-1912 November 26
1910 December 24
1911 January 28
5/5
Portland Commercial Club, Board of Governors'
minutes
1912 March 17-1915
Portland Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors'
minutes
6/1
1915-1917
- Board minutes, 1915 May 11-1917 April 14
- Executive Committee minutes, 1915 May 11-1917 March
30
6/2
1917-1919
- Board minutes, 1917 April 11-1919 August 6
- Executive Committee minutes, 1917 April 18-December
18
- General membership minutes, 1918 October 4-December
2, 1918 December 18
-
6/3
1919 August 13-1920 September 1
6/4
1920 September 8-1921 October 26
6/5
1921 November 2-1923 June 27
6/6
1923 July 11-1925 September 9
7/1
1925 September 16-1928 March 28
7/2
1928 April 4-1931 February 20
7/3
1934 February 16-1936 January 3
7/4
1937 December 13-1943 July 16
7/5
1943 August 12-1949 January 14
7/6
1949 January 28-1953 February 20
Includes lists of committee members, memoranda, reports, and
copies of correspondence.
8/1
1953 March 20-1956 April 20
Includes memoranda and reports
8/2
1956 March 16
1956 May 17-1959 April 17
Includes memoranda, reports, policy declaration, etc.
8/3
1959 June 19-1961 July 21
Includes memoranda, policy declarations, copies of
correspondence, reports, etc.
8/4
1961 August 25-1962 September 21
Includes memoranda, copies of correspondence, reports
8/5
1962 October 19-1964 January 17
Includes memoranda, reports, policy declarations, copies of
correspondence, etc.
8/6
1964 February 28-July 17
Inclueds memornda, reports, lists of members dropped,
etc.
8/7
1966 November 18
1967 February 17-1970 March 20
Includes memoranda, copies of correspondence, and lists of
Directors and committee chairs
8/8
"Register"--Possibly of guests of Chamber
1929 April 30-1932 May 27
9/1
Portland Chamber of Commerce general
records
1929-1959
- Raw materials survey
- Revised by-laws, 1955
- "Questions and answers about the raw materials
survey"
- Authorization of corporate signatures, 1954-1958
- Board of Directors' minutes, 1947 April 14-1959 April
10 (includes financial statements, 1947-1948; authorizations of corporate
signatures, reports [1947], by-laws, and oath of founding directors)
- Corporators' minutes, 1947 April 14
- Certificate of Filing Articles of Incorporation, 1947
April 9
- Articles of incorporation, 1947 April 8
9/2
Property records and articles of
incorporation
1905-1940
Correspondence, memoranda, and documents, 1930-1940,
concerning property at SW 5th and Taylor, which the Chamber purchased from the
Portland School District; articles of incorporation, 1905
11/1
Portland Chamber of Commerce--Records of membership
additions and reductions and of commissions paid to membership
salesmen
1929 November-1941 December
9/3
Oregon State Chamber of Commerce records
1918-1931
- Board of Directors' minutes, 1918 December 12-1931
December 30
- Annual meeting minutes, 1919 December 19-30, 1931 March
26, with reports, tear sheets from
Oregon business, annual
reports, annual meeting programs, etc.
- Transcript of annual meeting proceedings, 1924 January
4
- Monthly reports, 1922 April 1-29
Oversized scrapbooks
32
Blank membership cards and membership record forms;
form letters, directory listing forms, letterhead, etc.
1921-1925
undated
33
News clippings, ads, Toledo Chamber and Portland
Chamber membership campaign publicity, etc.
1922-1926
34
"A united Portland program, Portland Chamber of
Commerce
1929 May 21-24
Typescript of mayor's proclamation; news clippings;
photographs; cartoons; ads; tear sheets; typescripts of speeches; campaign form
letters; campaign newsletter, "The united glue"; meeting dockets.
35
News clippings, especially from out of state papers
and magazines, mostly promoting Oregon tourism
1940-1941
36
News clippings, photographs, etc.
1952-1962
37
News clippings
1961-1962
38
Annual President's membership campaign materials, form
letters, etc.
1963
39
Second annual President's membership campaign
materials, form letters, etc.
1964
40
Third annual President's membership campaign
materials, publicity, etc.
1965
Oversize folder
"Members of the Board of Directors, Portland Chamber of
Commerce, who have served through 1932-33" (one sheet with portraits of board
members)
1932-1933
Oversize folder
"Members of the Board of Directors of the Portland
Chamber of Commerce, April 1, 1935-April 1, 1936" (one sheet with portraits of
board members)
1935-1936
Series D
Mss 686-3
1911
Folder of correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, between
Henry R. Beckwith, President of the Portland Commercial Club, and
representatives of New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson and President William
Howard Taft, regarding visits to Portland in 1911. Subject include:
itineraries, speaking engagements, travel plans, and security. Programs for the
Taft dinner as well as programs for dinner honoring James R. Garfield and
Theodore Roosevelt are also included.