Pullman school instruction began in 1882, with grades 1-8, and expanded until 12th grade was added in 1909. The high school building in these photos would have been built in 1913 and razed in 1954. The high school at the time was three buildings, known as "Gladish". Only one building remains today, and has most recently been used as a community and cultural center.
This collection consists primarily of photographic postcards and some photographs of student life at Pullman High School (PHS) and the State College of Washington (WSC; later Washington State University). The majority are focused on sports teams, but also document students when not in class. Many of the latter are undated. Collection also includes two felt patches from PHS.
While the original collector is unknown, some clues exist. The only addressed postcard is from a Hugh to a Laura Goff of Pullman. The main focus of the materials is likely male (based on images in folder 6) and graduated from PHS in 1915. Other materials are relevant to a woman, though it is unclear if that’s a relative or a girlfriend, who likely graduated PHS in 1916. A pair of 1913-1914 images are of the WSC Delta fraternity (predecessor to Phi Delta Theta). Handwritten notes provide either first names, last names, or nicknames for some friends and classmates.
Postcards have been reordered by topic and placed into folders. Folders are arranged in four small informal series, with general Pullman High School materials, then PHS sports, then general Pullman materials, then WSC materials. Within each small series, materials are ordered alphabetically.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions do not apply. All materials are now in the public domain.
[Item description]
Pullman, Washington Photographs, 1913-1916 (PC 215)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
These photographs were purchased as a set by Washington State University Libraries’ MASC in May 2010 from a commercial seller, Cottage Classics, in Fort Worth, TX and retained as UPC 2010-03. Nothing is known about earlier provenance.
WSU student Steinar Goheen processed this collection in September 2025.
Three photos of a Right Transfer / Storage company (phone ending in 9708, slogan “We Move ‘Em Right”) were discarded during processing as they’re not Pullman and we could not further place them.
For further Pullman High School history, see the publication:
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.