Collection of photographs from the Bill Walters Studio, Colfax, Washington. The bulk of the collection is safety film negatives, but it also contains many photographs, some oversize and panoramic. Highlights include photographs of the construction of the Boundary Hydroelectric Dam (1967), the 12th World Jamboree of the Boy Scouts (1967), a large number of images of agriculture in addition to images of activities and historical events of the Palouse region of Washington State.
Repository:
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical Note
Bill Walter was born on November 4, 1915 in Pullman, WA. He lived in a number of locations in Washington State, graduating from Ballard High School in Seattle. He attended the State College of Washington shortly before WWII, where he met and married Mary Sands. Mr. Walter joined the National Guard in 1940, and was assigned to one of the first units to be nationalized.
In the National Guard, he served in the medical core, rising to the rank of Colonel by the time the war ended. After the war, he located his family in Colfax, Washington and started a sporting goods and photography business. As the years went by, he shifted more and more toward photography. On several occasions, he attended photography school in Winona, Indiana.
Mr. Walter advertised himself as the "Photography on the Palouse". Many of his photographs appeared in the local newspaper, the Colfax Gazette, and at one time a large display of his work was exhibited in Colfax City Hall. Mr. Walter retired in 1979 but continued his photography until the early 1990's. He passed away on November 15, 1999.
Content Description
Highlights of the collection include a glass plate negative of the former Colfax Courthouse (torn down in the 1950's), a plethora of images depicting Palouse agriculture, both early and early modern farm machinery, local businesses, and calamities such as the Oakesdale Grain Growers Elevator Fire in 1970 and the Colfax Floods of 1910 and 1948.
Of a more regional interest are theConstruction of the Boundary Dam for Seattle City Light Company in 1967 and the 12th World Jamboree of the Boy Scouts of America held in Farragut State Park in 1967.
The collection is arranged primarily by format, either photographs or negatives. Where possible, the original order used by Mr. Walter is preserved. The major exceptions to this are Series 1, Photograph Subject Files and Series 2, Photograph Negative Subject Files. These two series reflect a subject arrangement designed to make the collection more easily accessible.
Series 1 contains photographs, mostly 8x10, depicting various scenes and subjects, mostly of regional interest. Series 2 is also a series of subject files, b&w, most of which are of a local history nature. Researchers of local and regional history will find these two series of special interest. Series 3, almost entirely portraits of individuals, familes, weddings, etc., forms the bulk of the collection. This series may be of special interest to genealogists, and researchers of family history. Series 4 contains oversize photographs, panoramic photographs and some photographs that could not be identified by subject or place. Many of these photographs are copies made by Walter from other photographers and reinforce the value of the collection in researching the history of the Palouse region.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information :
Oliver Walter donated the Bill Walter Studio Collection (UPC-0014) to Washington State University Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in 2000. Oliver Walter also donated the miscellaneous photographs in Series 4 in 2001.
Detailed Description of the Collection
1: Photographs Subject Files , circa 1920-1978
(Please note: the number after the folder heading designates the number of items in the folder.)
Container(s)
Description
Box/Folder
1/1
Early Colfax , circa 1900-1922
1/2
Palouse Region Small Towns:
Early Elberton, Wash
St. John, Wash
Winona, Wash
Oakesdale, Wash
Moscow, Idaho
Potlatch, Idaho
Thornton, Wash
1/3
Boundary Dam Construction, 1967 (Part I) (28 photos and negatives)
1/4
Boundary Dam Construction, 1967 (Part II) (44 photos, some duplicates)
1/5
12th Boy Scout World Jamboree, Farragut State Park, Idaho , 1967
1/6
Palouse Empire Fair: Exhibits , 1966
1/7
Palouse Empire Fair: Rodeo , undated
1/8
Fire, Oakesdale Grain Growers Elevator, 1970 (12 photos, includes negatives)
1/9
Palouse Highway (US 195) Aerial Views, n.d
1/10
Tanker Truck Accident on the Palouse , undated
1/11
Rock Creek Park, 1976 (color photographs, includes negatives)
1/12
Central Ferry Barge Loading - Part I , circa 1973-1978
1/13
Central Ferry Barge Loading - Part II , circa 1973-1978
