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Extension Service Photographs, 1900-2007

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Extension Service.
Title
Extension Service Photographs
Dates
1900-2007 (inclusive)
1920-1996 (bulk)
Quantity
2.4 cubic feet, including 3350 photographs, (9 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes)
Collection Number
P 062
Summary
The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The Extension Service was established in Oregon in 1911.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

On July 24, 1911, Oregon Agricultural College's Board of Regents organized the Oregon Extension Service in response to requests from citizens of Oregon for assistance (particularly in agriculture) from the college. R.D. Hetzel, professor of political science, was named as the first director of the Extension Service. The first county extension agents began in Marion and Wallowa Counties in September of 1912. Legislation permitting counties to appropriate money for extension work that would be matched by state funds was enacted in 1913.

In May of 1914, nearly three years after Oregon had established its Extension Service, President Woodrow Wilson signed the federal Smith-Lever law, which provided federal money for the establishment of extension services in all states for developing off-campus programs, primarily in agriculture and home economics. The first home extension agents were hired in August 1917 to do wartime emergency work; several of the agents were retained by counties after World War I. By 1937, all counties had at least one county extension agent.

During the Extension Service's first forty years, it concentrated on three traditional programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. After World War II, four other program areas were added -- forestry (late 1940s), the Marine Advisory Program (late 1940s and greatly expanded in the 1960s), Community Resource Development (1960s), and the Energy Extension Service (1970s). Traditionally, the Extension Service Director reported to (or was) the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. In 1993, as part of a university-wide reorganization, the OSU Extension Service was made part of the Office of Extended Education, which reported to the university's Provost.

Frank L. Ballard graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1916 and returned to his native state of New Hampshire where he worked as a county agent for one year. He came back to Oregon in 1917 as a specialist in rural organization and agricultural economics for the Extension Service. During the next 45 years, he served as County Agent Leader, Vice Director, Extension Agriculture Editor of Publications, and Associate Director of the Extension Service in Oregon. He contributed to many leading farm magazines and gained national renown as an agricultural journalist.

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Content Description

The Extension Service Photographs document Extension programs, activities, and staff throughout Oregon as well as Oregon agriculture. The bulk of the collection pertains to the three traditional Extension programmatic areas -- agriculture, home economics, and 4-H. The photographs depict Extension Service programs and staff from all regions of Oregon; however, Benton, Clatsop, Klamath, and Lane Counties are strongly represented.

Of particular note are images of Braceros and other migrant agricultural laborers; County extension offices (exterior and interior views) and staff; the Dairy Demonstration Train; 4-H club activities and summer school; and soil conservation and dune stabilization. Many individuals farms and ranches are identified; numerous images of the Oliver Ranch in Grant County are part of the collection.

Photographers are not identified for most of the images, but they were primarily taken by Extension Service staff. Photographers and studios of note with images in the collection include the Columbia Commercial Studio (Portland), Asahel Curtis (Seattle), Benjamin A. Gifford, Arthur M. Prentiss, and the Weister Company,

The collection includes a variety of formats. The bulk of the collection consists of b/w prints, but it also includes color prints, b/w and color film negatives, nitrate negatives, color slides, digital prints, and panoramic prints.

Images from the collection are available online in the Best of the Archives and Braceros in Oregon digital collections.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Extension Service Photographs (P 062), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Extension Service Photographs are arranged in 7 series: I. Extension Service Programs and Activities, 1900-2007; II. Photographs from Clatsop and Klamath County Annual Reports, 1923-1955; III. Photographs Separated from Extension Service Records, circa 1922 - 1971; IV. Frank L. Ballard Photographs, 1909 - circa 1965; V. Lane County Extension, 1929-1995; VI. Linn County Extension, circa 1921 - 1950; VII. Benton County Extension Home Economics Study Groups, 1973-1996.

Acquisition Information

The photographs were transferred to the Archives in numerous accessions from the 1960s through 2009.

Future Additions

Additions to the collection are expected.

Processing Note

The Lane County Extension Photographs (Series V) are not fully processed.

Related Materials

The OSU Archives' holdings include numerous collections documenting Extension Service programs and activities throughout Oregon. The Extension Service Records (RG 111) document the administration and programmatic activities of the OSU Extension Service. The Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection (P 020) and the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photographs (P 120), and Harriet's Collection include additional photographs of Extension Service programs and staff. The 4-H Photograph Collection (P 146) provides extensive visual documentation of Oregon 4-H programs, projects, and participants. Other collections that document county extension activities include the Clackamas County Jersey Cattle Club Scrapbook, the Malheur County 4-H Leaders Council Records, and the Multnomah County Home Economics Extension Units Collection.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Lawrence A. Landis; updated by Elizabeth Nielsen.
2010

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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