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Robert Deniston Hume (1845-1908), who founded R.D. Hume and Company, came to Oregon from California. Hume began a salmon fishing and canning operation at the mouth of the Rogue River in 1877, and during the next thirty years created a commercial empire in Curry County. Known as "King of the Rogue," he controlled fishing on the Rogue River, claiming a monopoly, and also invented canning machinery and devised a successful method of hatching salmon.
In addition, he founded the city of Wedderburn, published newspapers at Gold Beach and Wedderburn, owned and operated general stores, and invested in a timber company and a fleet of coastal shipping vessels. He also established a commission house in San Francisco and shipped salmon abroad.
The collection contains ledgers, journals, cash books, inventories, statements, invoices, letterpress copybooks, as well as records of related accounts and companies: Wedderburn Trading Co., Del Norte Commercial Co., and Excelsior Packing and Trading Co.
Records of related accounts and companies are included. Hume may have been an owner or did business with these companies, most likely shipping.